Making your own candles can be a rewarding experience as you get to mix and match colors and scents to suit your own tastes to the T. Some knowledge of waxes is needed before you start simply making the candles. For example, only certain waxes can be used with success for votive or pillar candles.
In this article we’ll look at the different types of candle waxes and what they’re used for.
The most common types of wax that are used to make candles are:
- Paraffin wax
- Beeswax
- Soy wax
Other, newer waxes that are becoming more popular are:
- Coconut wax
- Palm wax
- Rapeseed (canola) wax
(Tallow candles, or candles made from animal fat, are very rare nowadays. Ghee and vegetable oils are mostly used as fuel in lamps for religious purposes and not used in candles.)
Paraffin wax
Sometimes called “mineral wax”, paraffin wax is part of the leftovers of the crude oil refinement process. It is a cheap wax relative to bees wax and is the most commonly used wax at the moment. Paraffin wax is easily available, which makes it a popular wax as well.
Paraffin wax is colorless and odorless, which makes it easier to color in many cases. It also holds a lot of scent, which often makes it the first choice for scented candles. This type of wax may also contain stearin (an extract of stearic acid from animal fatty acids) or other types of waxes to give it specific properties for specific types of candles.
Stearin, for example, can be used as a clear overdip that gives a crystalline finish. Stearin is most often used in European candles.
Paraffin wax can be used for:
- Votive candles, scented and unscented
- Pillar candles, scented and unscented
- Tea lights, scented and unscented
- Container candles, scented and unscented
- Carved candles
- Sculpted candles
- Novelty candles, e.g., water candles, sand candles, etc.
Beeswax
Beeswax is one of the oldest types of candles, with some even found in the Egyptian pyramids. A byproduct of honey-making, the wax carries a delightful honey scent which means that beeswax is usually not scented with any other scents.
The beeswax, after being collected, is melted and filtered before creating blocks, slabs, pastilles, and pre-rolled sheets that can all be used in candle making.
Although beeswax is a lot more expensive than paraffin wax, it has become more popular as people turn to natural waxes that doesn’t contain petroleum byproducts.
Beeswax can be used for:
- Container candles
- Pillar or taper-shaped candles made from rolled wax sheets
- Tea lights
- Votives
- Tapers
- Wax melts/tarts
Tip: Making beeswax candles using prepared wicks and beeswax sheets requires no melting of the wax, which makes it a perfect craft to do with kids or if you’re just starting out and don’t have all the candle-making equipment yet.
Soy wax
Soy wax is made from hydrogenated soybean oil and has become one of the most popular natural waxes, partly because it is cheaper than beeswax. This wax, like most natural waxes, are opaque and doesn’t take color well. Most soy candles are, therefore, available in pastel shades. However, additives are rarely necessary when scenting and coloring soy candles.
Soy candles are best for container candles, because the wax can be too brittle for pillar and votive candles. (Pillar soy candles have palm or other wax added to make the wax less brittle.)
Soy wax can be used for:
- Tea lights
- Container candles
- Pillar candles (less often)
- Votives (less often)
- Wax melts/tarts
Palm wax
Made from hydrogenated palm oil, palm wax has also become one of the more popular and widely used natural waxes. Often used along with other waxes — like in soy candle votives — to keep wax from being too brittle, it can also be used with success on its own.
What makes palm wax especially unique, is the crystallizing that takes place when pillar or container candles are made. This forms beautiful feather or fern-like patterns on the surface of the wax.
Palm wax can be used for:
- Pillars
- Votives
- Wax melts/tarts
- Container candles
Coconut wax
Coconut wax is one of the new waxes that are growing in popularity and use. Like soy and palm wax, coconut wax is also made from refined and hydrogenated (coconut) oil. Although coconut wax is more expensive, it does have benefits like a great scent throw – both when lit and unlit – and has a slow, even burn.
This wax is usually blended with other waxes, like soy, to alter the consistency of the wax, as the wax’s melting point is quite low. Because of this low melting point, it’s not suitable for pillars and votives when used alone.
Coconut wax can be used for:
- Container candles
- Wax melts/tarts
Rapeseed (canola) wax
Rapeseed – or canola – wax is another type of wax that is new on the scene and can be used instead of soy candles as a green alternative to paraffin wax candles. Canola wax candles are especially being made in Europe as a friendlier alternative to soy candles because the canola plants can be grown locally.
Rapeseed wax candles throws and retains their scent well, making them great in certain wax blends and wax melts (tarts).
Rapeseed/coconut wax can be used for:
- Container candles
- Wax melts/tarts
| Type of Wax | Type of Candle Used For |
| Paraffin wax |
|
| Beeswax |
|
| Soy wax |
|
| Palm wax |
|
| Coconut wax |
|
| Rapeseed/Canola wax |
|
How to know your candle wax is as environmentally friendly as possible
When it comes to candles – whether you’re making your own candles or are looking to buy a quality candle – knowing that you’re buying sustainable and eco-friendly wax can be tricky. There are a few reasons for this, for example:
- Cheap candles may be marked as having natural ingredients when they don’t.
- The palm wax may be derived from sources that are destructive to nature and the people who harvest it.
- Crops like soybean may have been grown in unsustainable or non-eco-friendly ways by unscrupulously using insecticides and fungicides.
Although non of the greener alternatives can be said to be eco-friendly and sustainable under all circumstances, you can do your research and buy your waxes only from reputable companies and suppliers.
You can also help by:
- Buying wax that has been manufactured locally,
- Buying wax made from local crops, like the canola plant in Europe,
- Buying candles of quality and that doesn’t contain impurities,
- Doing your homework and only buying from those companies who have people and the environment’s best future in mind.
With all the new natural waxes and wax blends being created, the sky’s the limit when it comes to your creativity with candles!
Print sources:
- Constable, David. (1992) Candlemaking: Creative Designs and Techniques. Search Press.
Carin Marais is a fully bilingual language practitioner (English/Afrikaans) and a copy and content writer for a wide variety of digital and print channels. She has worked with both local and international companies on subjects as diverse as health and mindfulness, finance, beauty, décor, pets, food, and agricultural implements.