Candle wax is the important signifier for whether your candle is worth buying and if it is conducive to your health, environment and home. Here at POTC we use a clean burning luxurious blend of coconut and rapeseed wax – a powerhouse combination with many benefits.
With a plethora of candle brands now on the market, it can seem daunting to focus on anything other than the fragrance or branding of your candle – whether as a consumer of candle maker. So how do you know if the wax in your chosen candle is “right”?
As a consumer, look beyond branding and delve deeper into the make-up of your chosen candle. What exactly is the wax, and where is it from? What’s the environmental footprint? Are there additives or other unpleasant unknowns in your candle? If the wax is not transparent, reach out to the brand before buying.
As a candle maker, you’re committing yourself to wax that you will use for your brand’s lifetime – that means looking beyond candle making trends and doing lots of testing to understand what sort of ingredients you’re using and why.
Coconut wax is a neutral and natural, renewable wax derived from coconut oil and it’s an eco-friendly alternative to other waxes like soy or paraffin because of its sustainable characteristics.
Coconut wax is soft and white, tending to hold scent well, whist rapeseed wax tends to be more brittle and slightly yellow in colour depending on how refined it is. If it’s highly refined, it’ll be colourless. Though bear in mind that some perfume or fragrance oils will colour the wax. The combination of both waxes makes for a compatible pairing.
Due to the brittle nature of rapeseed, it tends to crack in colder temperatures – we’ll share more on how to avoid this future blog posts. The way most candle makers might avoid this, is to include additives in their candle compositions, but we don’t do that at POTC. Sometimes our wax might have superficial surface cracks but it’s entirely harmless and can be burned as usual. We’ve spent a long time understanding how certain waxes behave and having researched and tested many different waxes extensively in our studio from soy to beeswax, apricot to palm wax, we are really content with our chosen coconut and rapeseed wax. We steered entirely clear of paraffin wax however because this it is toxic and basically like burning plastic.
Coconut and rapeseed wax is the best for our brand because it is stable, non-toxic and emits fragrance effectively. We source it locally thus reducing carbon footprint. This blend tends to burn cleaner compared to paraffin wax, emitting fewer toxins and soot. It produces minimal to no black soot when burned properly.
Both coconut and rapeseed wax are sustainable, natural, renewable resources, making them more environmentally friendly than paraffin wax, which is derived from petroleum.
It is able to hold a high amount of fragrance oils, resulting in a stronger throw when the candle is burned. It also does not trap fragrance like beeswax, and it doesn’t need additives like Vybar to manipulate its scent throw. The candle’s cold throw is also powerful and its fragrance can be experienced when without burning. If you leave the lids off our candles for instance, it can scent a small room such as a hallway, or store your candles in your wardrobe, which is an incredible hack to scent your clothes.
Candles made from this blend often have a smooth and creamy appearance, which defers from soy, which tends to have an uneven surface.
This wax blend tends to adhere well to the sides of the container, providing a cleaner look and reducing the need for a second pour. But this depends entirely on the temperature of the pour.
Coconut and rapeseed wax has a slower burn rate, which can contribute to a longer-lasting candle compared to some other types of wax. But depending on the size of your vessel, multiple wicks can also impact burn time, such as burning slightly faster.
Various factors such as the specific formulation, additives and the candle-making process come into play into the longevity and quality of a candle.
So when choosing your wax, you need to decide on your specific requirements for scent throw, appearance, burn time, and other factors such as your wicks and containers.
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