Candle Making Wax - The Raw Material For Your Craft
The most basic ingredient of your favorite hobby of course is the candle making wax.
Unlike the early days of candle making when the only choice you had was a paraffin wax, today wax is made from a range of diverse ingredients.
It is true that a lot of candles are still made with wax refined from petroleum because it is suitable for making the most popular types of candles.
This is due to the fact that a paraffin based wax is still relatively inexpensive compared to other types of wax you could use such as wax refined from vegetable or plant materials like palm, bayberry, or the increasingly popular soy candle wax.
Soy wax is becoming popular due to the renewable resource it is created from and is, therefore, more eco-friendly.
Palm wax is also made from a renewable resource.
namely palm! Unfortunately due to the increasing use of palm oil in all types of products like face creams and spreads, great areas of rain forest are being demolished to make way for the palm plants leading to many animals becoming close to extinction.
If you decide to use palm wax in your candle making make sure your supplier is obtaining it in an eco-friendly way and in accordance with the farming and cultivation practices as laid down by the WWF (the Worldwide Fund for Nature).
An organization they have created, known as RSPO, has been founded to develop and define best practices for sustainable palm tree cultivation.
Another wax that is becoming popular is beeswax.
Again this is a natural product, it has a pleasant fragrance, it is hardy and has great burning characteristics making it especially good for making candles.
Unfortunately beeswax can be expensive to buy so I would not recommend using it if you are just starting with your candle making venture.
Gel candles are the new candle on the block! Gel has a clear, rubbery texture but handles in the same way as wax.
One great property of gel wax is it is translucent which makes for great candle decorations.
The wax is available in three densities and this affects the type of candle you can make with it and also the amount of fragrance you can add, if you are making scented candles.
The denser the gel wax the more fragrance oil it can hold.
The low density gel wax is best for candles with a 0-3% fragrance load.
The medium density gel wax supports candles that have a 3-5% fragrance load and the high density gel wax is best for fragrance loads higher than 5%.
The medium density gel is the most popular gel wax to work with as it supports most types of candles you would probably want to make.
Unlike the early days of candle making when the only choice you had was a paraffin wax, today wax is made from a range of diverse ingredients.
It is true that a lot of candles are still made with wax refined from petroleum because it is suitable for making the most popular types of candles.
This is due to the fact that a paraffin based wax is still relatively inexpensive compared to other types of wax you could use such as wax refined from vegetable or plant materials like palm, bayberry, or the increasingly popular soy candle wax.
Soy wax is becoming popular due to the renewable resource it is created from and is, therefore, more eco-friendly.
Palm wax is also made from a renewable resource.
namely palm! Unfortunately due to the increasing use of palm oil in all types of products like face creams and spreads, great areas of rain forest are being demolished to make way for the palm plants leading to many animals becoming close to extinction.
If you decide to use palm wax in your candle making make sure your supplier is obtaining it in an eco-friendly way and in accordance with the farming and cultivation practices as laid down by the WWF (the Worldwide Fund for Nature).
An organization they have created, known as RSPO, has been founded to develop and define best practices for sustainable palm tree cultivation.
Another wax that is becoming popular is beeswax.
Again this is a natural product, it has a pleasant fragrance, it is hardy and has great burning characteristics making it especially good for making candles.
Unfortunately beeswax can be expensive to buy so I would not recommend using it if you are just starting with your candle making venture.
Gel candles are the new candle on the block! Gel has a clear, rubbery texture but handles in the same way as wax.
One great property of gel wax is it is translucent which makes for great candle decorations.
The wax is available in three densities and this affects the type of candle you can make with it and also the amount of fragrance you can add, if you are making scented candles.
The denser the gel wax the more fragrance oil it can hold.
The low density gel wax is best for candles with a 0-3% fragrance load.
The medium density gel wax supports candles that have a 3-5% fragrance load and the high density gel wax is best for fragrance loads higher than 5%.
The medium density gel is the most popular gel wax to work with as it supports most types of candles you would probably want to make.
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