Beeswax for Candle Making

Beeswax has many advantages when compared to paraffin as a candle making wax, and one big disadvantage: the cost. Beeswax is a considerably more costly candle making wax, but the initial costs associated with buying beeswax by the pound are diminished when you consider the ecological, health and other financial benefits of using beeswax as your candle making wax.

First, in terms of financial savings, one nice advantage of using beeswax for candle making is that it has a wonderful honey scent built into it by nature. There will be no need to purchase additional fragrances, either natural essential oils or artificial fragrances, if you are using beeswax. Also, the honey color of natural beeswax is pleasant as well, and you may not want to add any color to your homemade candles either. So there are potential financial savings from both fragrance and color expenses if you choose to use beeswax as your primary candle making wax.

Second, there are the health benefits of using beeswax, which are hard to quantify in terms of numbers but may be the most important factor for many home candle makers. Beeswax candles are known for their ability to burn cleanly, nearly free of soot and chemical pollutants. When burning beeswax you will not have to worry about what harmful chemicals are used in the candle making wax, whereas with waxes like paraffin this is a huge concern.

Finally, there are the ecological costs to consider. Paraffin is a petroleum based product, whereas beeswax is a naturally occurring renewable resource. By using beeswax candle making wax, you will know that you are not depleting the earth's resources.

Thus although at first glance beeswax may appear to cost substantially more than paraffin for candle making, by figuring in added financial, health and ecological costs, beeswax may well be worth the money for the home candle maker. For even more information about a variety of different candle making wax types, please return to the Candle Making Wax Information Home Page.

Candle Making Wax Basics

There are a wide variety of candle making wax that can be used to make candles. Most of the waxes fall into to groups: petroleum based candle making wax and natural candle making wax.

Petroleum based candle making wax is probably the most common form of candle making wax on the market. This is popularly referred to as paraffin wax, and it is the wax used to create most store bought candles.

The beauty of making homemade candles, however, is that you will have the opportunity to experiment with a variety of other natural candle making wax types as well. By "natural" I am referring a naturally occurring renewable candle making wax (although petroleum is naturally occurring, it is not a renewable resource).

There are several natural candle making wax products easily available to the home candle maker. The most popular natural candle making wax types include:

• Beeswax - Beeswax is a natural candle making wax used for centuries. Beeswax comes from a bees honeycomb, and in available in both yellow and white forms. Beeswax has a very pleasant aroma when burned, and it tends to burn cleaner than most paraffin wax. Beeswax can be a bit expensive to purchase, although those who frequently use this candle making wax in their candles will claim it is well worth the added expense.

• Soy wax - Soy based vegetable waxes are a fairly new addition to the candle making wax market, but they have been extremely popular. Soy wax tends to be more affordable than many other natural waxes on the market, in part because it comes from a resource that is grown and harvested on a large scale globally. When using soy wax, you should be aware that it often behaves quite differently than paraffin candle making wax, so you cannot simply just substitute it in you candle making recipes. Instead, you will have to experiment and learn about how it responds to heat, scent throwing, wick selection and other candle making properties.
  
  
• Palm Wax - Coming from the palm tree, palm wax is a tropical based natural wax that has some amazing marbling properties when used as a candle making wax. It is also a very hard wax. Palm wax also holds color and scent very well, and can be blended with softer candle making wax types (such as soy wax) to create beautiful candles.
  
  
• Bayberry Wax - Bayberry wax is a natural candle making wax that comes from the bayberry bush. Historically it was used by early American colonists for candle making. Bayberry wax has a very distinctive fragrance and can be a bit hard to come by (and expensive) because of the labor intensive nature of harvesting the bayberry fruit for candle making wax.

For the home candle maker, each of these natural candle making waxes offers opportunities for experimentation. Many of these natural waxes blend well with each other, with each bringing their own distinct qualities to bear on the finished candle.

In coming posts, I will examine each of these candle making wax types in more detail, and provide some useful candle making recipes for those who are interested in experimenting with natural candle making wax. Please visit the Candle Making Wax Information Page again for more discussion of these wonderful natural candle making waxes.

Candle Making Wax Information

Making homemade candles can be a fun hobby, but often finding out information about what kind of candle making wax to use in your candle making endeavors can be frustrating. Many of the online sites that have information about candle making wax are also online retailers, and the information they supply you can be biased towards the candle making wax products they are most interested in selling.

It is for this reason I started the Candle Making Wax blog. I have long been a home candle maker, and have experimented with many different kinds of candle making wax. I especially enjoy experimenting with natural waxes, like palm, beeswax and soy wax. But I know how difficult it can be to find easy to access, accurate, and unbiased information about different types of candle making wax and where you can purchase them at the best prices from reliable retailers.

On the right hand side of this blog, you will find links to a wide variety of articles I have written on different kinds of candle making wax, information about different candle making wax retailers, recipes for making candles using different candle making wax types and much much more. The Candle Making Wax blog is updated frequently, so check back frequently if you are interested in reading new posts regarding the latest information about candle making wax.

If you are a candle maker as well and feel there is some information that you would like to provide to this blog about candle making wax (such as your experience with different wax types, recipes for candles and more), or if you just want to comment on any of my articles regarding candle making wax, please feel free to use the Contact Me Form you will find at the bottom of the page.

Thank you for visiting Candle Making Wax and please bookmark me and visit frequently to read up on the latest candle making wax information!

Welcome to Candle Making Wax Information

Hello and welcome to my new website devoted to providing information about candle making wax. This website is part of a series of craft related blogs related to homemade candles and more. I will be posting my first article on candle making wax very shortly - please bookmark my site and check back soon!

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