As an example, a soy wax candle shop can enter a niche of eco-friendly candles that support a specific cause Strategy 5 of sticking out in a saturated market. The niche market is candles that help the environment with a humanitarian twist. In this case, the wax type plays a leading role in the story being told. In another example, a paraffin wax candle shop might design bougie containers that appeal to high end buyers. They could switch between paraffin and soy all day and never lose a customer.
The point is that wax selection can matter in competing in a saturated market, but you can also make the soy vs paraffin debate completely irrelevant with the right approach.
Therefore both soy and paraffin are equal in this category. The final quadrant of analysis brings us to what happens when the candle is actually burning, which is the final phase of a candles life. The analysis here focuses on a few main categories, though many more exist if you explore the craft even deeper:. The only point of most candles is the scent. Hardly anyone wants a candle with no aroma, which means your wax should accommodate and support the fragrance design. Fortunately, soy and paraffin both perform fairly well in scent throw and fragrance retention.
They key that unlocks this performance lies much more in the wick and container design than it does in the wax choice, but wax plays an important role in scent throw nonetheless. All things being equal, paraffin candles typically throws scent further than their soy counterparts over the course of a burn. You need to understand density to find out why, though. Heavier particles take more energy to move, whether than energy is from a candle wick or an air current, so paraffin locked in with fragrance will travel further in a room than soy can.
Again, there are plenty of factors that influence the literal scent throw, but pound-for-pound, paraffin has an easier time getting around. Burn length is a deceptive category because of the limited studies that exist around soy vs paraffin burn times. The claim that soy burns longer than paraffin probably comes from the physical makeup that soy is more dense than paraffin, and would move up through the wick with more resistance than a paraffin equivalent.
Selecting a wick that compliments the thermal properties of a wax blend is the most critical component of designing a successful candle that burns safe and performs well.
Great candles pass an industry safety test from top to bottom, and also throw scent really well. To that end, paraffin candles require wick designs that melt the wax and regulate the temperature of the candle differently than soy wax candles. The final wick for those candles provides heat to the wax at an appropriate rate to control the safety and performance elements of the candles.
Burn length is ultimately a function of heat, which is regulated by the wick. If they were, soy would likely burn longer, but a more thorough scientific approach to this idea needs to happen before marketing that material as fact.
For the most part, similar volume soy and paraffin candles will burn for roughly the same amount of time when properly designed. The impact of candle burning on human health is the center of much debate in the industry, and it seems to favor soy over paraffin. Many smaller candle shops make claims about soy candles as part of the story they tell, which essentially boils down to two statements:. Taking a much closer look at the first claim, no studies have found that burning paraffin wax candles, as found in modern day candle making, is harmful to your health.
The toxic elements of candles where the metal cored wicks that are now banned and potentially the fragrance oils used. Neither of these has anything to do with the wax.
The second claim revolves around soot, which is a product of incomplete combustion. When there is an imbalance to the combustion process, whether that comes from too much or too little oxygen, fuel, or heat, the combustion process releases black smoke. Soot is completely unrelated to the wax, and is controlled mostly by the overall candle design wick, wax, fragrance oil, container, room conditions, etc. Paraffin wax candles soot, but so do soy wax candles. Make a few errant candles of either type and the point proves itself.
Without deeper studies into the topic of candles on human health most are from too long ago to really lean on anyways , the best interpretation of the knowledge we have is that candles made today are safe, regardless of wax choice. In the above analysis, paraffin seems to have an edge over soy in a few additional categories, but the truth is not every category is equally weighted. For candle makers that sell candles, the third quadrant impacts them more than all the others. Without sales, your effort will die.
And both waxes compete equally in sales! Ultimately, both waxes have a place. Every story is different, and every candle serves a different purpose. Items like IGI are insanely popular because you can leverage the benefits of both and leave a lot of the undesirable aspects behind. If you make candles from old wine bottles or soda cans are you infringing on trademark rules? Learn about trademark law and how it applies. IFRA certificates exist to help candle makers understand the safe limits for using fragrance oils in their designs.
Learn more in this guide! Learn how to use the power of baseline wicks in your candle process to accelerate testing and quality control. Soy vs Paraffin — Which Is Better? One of the greatest conundrums facing modern candle makers is the soy vs paraffin wax debate. Or is it? Four Quadrant Analysis. Quadrant 1 - Sourcing. The first quadrant of the wax life cycle is sourcing , which accounts for the following categories: Availability Format Market Variety Price.
Slight winner: paraffin. This means that soy wax does not increase the CO2 level in the environment. Moreover, soy candles do not require chemicals to scent them. Since soybeans are vegetables, the wax is a renewable, sustainable resource and naturally biodegradable and thus easier to remove from materials and other surfaces than paraffin wax. Soy candles are non-toxic, producing insignificant amounts of soot, and releasing no known carcinogens. This can justify why soy wax candles are sometimes more expensive than paraffin wax candles, as they are still more cost-effective.
Soy also burns evenly, leaving practically no excess wax on the sides of the jar. Again, this depends on the height and width of the candle, the length of the wick and other factors. Keep the candle away from drafts, and recenter the wick if it moves when the wax is melted. Soy wax has a lower melting point than that, making it easier to burn in cooler environments or during colder seasons like winter.
Soy wax can melt on its own if you live in a very hot area where temperatures rise into the lower end of that range. Because of the crystal structure, paraffin wax also tends to be harder and more brittle, while soy wax is softer and more pliable. Due to the lack of soot and toxins released into the air, soy wax candles have a stronger scent profile than paraffin wax candles.
The chemicals released by paraffin wax can interfere with the scent during burning, which kind of defeats the point of lighting a candle. Buying our soy candles helps support farmers and workers in the United States and strengthens the local economy. Shop our collection of soy wax candles today to get your new favorite gift.
0コメント