Soy candles are made in essentially the same way that paraffin or other wax candles are made: you heat the wax to the appropriate temperature; add color and fragrance; stir; transfer to a pouring pot; insert a wick; and pour the wax.
Where soywax candlemaking differs is in the types of candles that can be made. Soy is softer than paraffin, and so it is mostly used, therefore, in container candles. Soy blends are available which are marked specifically for making votives or other molded candles. Dyes and scents that are made for paraffin candles can usually be used in soy candles also. Since soybean wax is opaque, compared to the translucence of paraffin, the colors often seem more vivid. Soy also handles scent well.
You might wonder, then, what makes soy so “special.” The major advantage that soybean wax has over paraffin is that its source – soybeans – can be renewed so much more quickly than paraffin’s source – crude oil. Whereas oil, a fossil fuel, takes millions of years to form, a crop of soybeans can be replanted over top of the old at least once a year. The second advantage that wax made from soybeans has is a much closer link to the food supply. Theoretically, you could use soybean wax to cook with. (That, however, is not recommended. First, manufacturing plants that produce food have much stricter policies, including sanitary requirements, than most manufacturing plants that do not. Second, soybean wax is partially hydrogenated – that means it has been turned into the artery-clogging fat known as trans-fat.)
Other claims about soybean wax are more suspect. Some claim that soybean wax is more environmentally friendly. Some chandlers, once they begin using soy, may want to use only pure soy in their candles, sometimes claiming that it is natural, and sometimes even that it is organic. These are claims that are hard to justify when you take into account that, according to the USDA, in 2009, 91% of the US soybean crop was genetically-modified. And that, soybeans as a crop, use more pesticide than any other crop, except for corn. Soybeans are oft lauded as “supporting American farms.” This is a true statement; it is also true that the vast majority of American soybean farms are industrial enterprises, controlled by some of the largest US corporations.
When soybeans are harvested, about 18% of the seed is extracted as oil. This is the component that can be turned into soy wax. There a few sources of wax made from soy only, such as GW402 and GW415 from Golden Brands, LLC. Most soy waxes, however, are actually blends, formulated to make better candles.
As a result of the variation among suppliers, a key point to remember when making soy candles is that not all soy waxes are created equal. Because each company supplies its own combination of blends, when you are making candles with soy wax, you will have to make adjustments each time that you switch to a different type of wax – deciding upon a wick, and what you consider to be the optimum amounts of dye and fragrance.
