Paraffin VS Soy : Which do you choose?
First thing’s first: as people are becoming more and more environmentally aware, we are all paying closer attention to what we’re buying, what our bodies are being exposed to and what the product’s process involves.
So, I figured by enlightening you all on this in terms of wax and candles, it would help you to make that little choice which makes a huge difference to your lifestyle and the environment.
What is paraffin wax?
Paraffin wax is the standard candle wax used, ith the likes of Yankee Candle using a “refined” version to make their wax. The problem with paraffin wax is that it is actually petroleum based (yes, the stuff you use to fill your cars with!). So, you can assume that one thing this isn’t, is sustainable or renewable, for the obvious reasons.
What is soy wax?
In short, soy wax is a vegetable wax derived from – you guessed it – soybeans. This means that soy wax candles are completely and 100% natural and they’re also sustainable in comparison to paraffin wax, since we can grow more of the beans!
So, which is it?
This is where it gets a bit tricky… There are 2 major aspects to candles that everyone takes into account before buying:
Scent throw and burn time
Realistically, no one is going to pay for an expensive candle to find out it burns out in about an hour and the room still smells of something your cat dragged in…
So, scent throw.
There is a lot of question out there over which type of wax will give you the strongest scent throw. When you compare the scent throw of a paraffin candle to that of a soy, long story short, paraffin is stronger.
But, there is a BUT.
Soy is denser than paraffin, so it requires more heat to burn it up which means it takes longer for the soy to release the fragrance (do you see where I’m going with this), this doesn’t mean paraffin is better! Soy candles still have a good scent throw it just takes longer to release, and the bonus is, it has a cleaner smell as it emits ZERO toxins!
In terms of burn time.
Obviously, several factors are involved in this, naming just a few: wick size, additives, size of the candle. Putting that aside for a min, as I’ve said already, soy wax is more dense so it burns slower. Need I say more? Soy wax wins every time.
Our Soy
After spending endless amounts of time searching for the perfect wax, we came to the conclusion of soy. This came after much deliberation as soy is, in fact, one of the biggest contributors to deforestation and being an eco-friendly brand, we didn’t feel comfortable building our brand around this, but it really is better than any other natural wax.
Due to this determination we decided to find the best suppliers out there which would make the difference between a completely unethical brand to something we really could support and use. A full supply chain audit was carried out to ensure that only ethical suppliers have been chosen that do NOT contribute to these hugely impacted areas of deforestation – which is where we found our small sustainable farm in Brazil.
Ohhh, but we didn’t stop there!
Along with every purchase, a tree is planted in the Amazon to help with the deforestation of areas which are directly affected by soy.
We pride ourselves on being an eco-friendly brand and so our contribution to the planet, be that big or small, is in the forefront of our candle creations.
Overall, (I will try and not be biased…) it does just come down to personal preference at the end of the day… but I absolutely think soy is the best! Not only does it come from a biodegradable, renewable source, but it has a great scent throw and burns longer, so I guess what I’m saying is: what’s not to like really.