Different Types of Candle Wax
With the various types of candle wax on the market today, it is hard to determine just which candle wax will suit your candle making projects the best.
Widely used candle waxes are:
Natural-Vegetable Based
Bayberry
Bayberry, also known as Myrtle Wax or Candle Berry is a rare, expensive natural wax made from Bayberry shrubs. The wax is made by boiling berries from the shrubs. The wax then floats to the top and is collected and processed for making candles. Bayberry wax has a natural greenish color and a fresh scent to it. With a melt point of 118 degrees, this wax is very hard and brittle.
Candles that are made from Bayberry wax are most commonly known as the Christmas Candle. Tradition is, a candle made from Bayberry wax that is burnt all the way to the socket, will bring “food to the larder and gold to the pockets”.
BeesWax
Beeswax has its own unique fragrance to it. Used without fragrance, studies have shown that beeswax actually helps to purify the air. Beeswax can be naturally filtered which results in natural white or yellow beeswax. Naturally filtered beeswax is filtered without using chemicals. White beeswax is highly refined by the Dilco Refining process, a well trusted method of naturally filtering & bleaching the beeswax. Not all beeswax suppliers naturally filter their wax. It is important to know if your wax is chemically bleached. Beeswax has a melt point of approximately 146 degrees.
Pure beeswax is known to burn longer and cleaner with minimal dripping. Candles made from Beeswax are considered a very high quality, expensive candle.
Candelilla
Candelilla wax is a vegetable wax found in great quantities in Northwestern Mexico. Candelilla is extracted from the scrub called, Euphorbia Cerifera. Like Bayberry, the wax is made by boiling the shrub, and skimming off the resultant wax. The raw material is then refined to a light yellow color..
Carnauba
Carnauba is a vegetable wax grown only in Brazil and comes from the leaves of the Brazilian “tree of life”. Carnauba palm grows in the northern and northeastern part of Brazil where the soil is dark and fertile. Quality and color vary with the age of the leaves, with the younger leaves providing the prime yellow color, and the older leaves provide the darker color.
Palm
Palm Wax is 100% natural wax made from the oil of Palm Trees. It is a hard wax with a melt point of approximately 140 degrees. It usually comes in flake form. It can be used straight or as an additive to other natural or synthetic waxes. The natural characteristics of a candle made from palm wax is the beautiful crystal effect that it produces.
Pillars made from Palm Wax naturally tunnel giving your candle a beautiful hurricane effect.
Soy
Soy wax, also commonly called, Soybean wax is a renewable and environmentally preferable alternative to paraffin wax. Soy wax is considered a safe and non toxic vegetable candle wax. Some of the great characteristics of Soy wax is that it can easily be removed from glass, tin, and other material for efficient recycling and easy clean up.
The eco movement has made Soy wax candles one of the most sought after candles on the market today.
Paraffin Based Waxes
Gel
Gel Wax is a polymer type wax that produces beautiful clear container candles.
Granule
Granular Wax is a paraffin based particle wax. Used to make candle art just like sand art and is easy to use with children.
Jelly Candle Wax
Jelly Wax is a premade wax that comes in a tube. Like Granule wax, it is generally used for craft making with children.
Microcrystalline Wax Type I
Microcrystalline wax is used to help harden other candle waxes such as paraffin. Due to it’s durability, Microcrystalline is becoming a popular candle wax used by itself. Fragrance load within Microcrystalline is higher than most waxes due to it’s ability to bind with oil, which allow for a highly fragranced candle
NOTE: This is an additive most generally used to add rigidity to taper candles, help wax adhere to the walls of a container, and reduce or eliminate mottling in pillars. Mottling can be a beautiful visual effect for candles giving you a one of a kind finished product.
Paraffin
Paraffin Wax is a refined petroleum based product.
Paraffin Beeswax Blend
This Paraffin blend usually consists of 50 percent paraffin and 50 percent Beeswax.
Paraffin Soy Blend
As with the Pariffin Beeswax blend, Paraffin Soy is also blended with a 50 percent pariffin and 50 percent Soy.
There are many types of candle wax on the market today. Each has its own characteristics and performance. The use of a particular candle wax is a choice that is individual to the candle maker.