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Country Candles   |   Edgworth, Bolton

Soy Wax Candles:
Check Out Our Ultimate Buyers Guide

Are you thinking of buying soy wax candles online?
Do you want to know the difference between soy wax and paraffin wax candles?
Are unsure of the environmental benefits of soy wax?

Our guide will answer these questions and more.

Soy wax candles are becoming very popular these days, and for good reason!

They’re environmentally friendly, more affordable than most candle alternatives, and many people feel they have an even better scent throw than paraffin candles.

However, when it comes to soy wax candles, not all of them are created equal. For this reason, we’ve compiled a list of the best candles available today in order to make your shopping experience easier and to help you find the perfect product for your needs.
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How is soy wax produced?

Firstly, some background details on how it is produced.
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The terms ‘soya wax’ and ‘soy wax’ describe the same product. You’ll see both terms used throughout this guide. On our own products, we use ‘soy wax’ on our labels.

Candles are a simple and popular way to add atmosphere and fragrance to a room. Most candles use a paraffin wax as their energy source. It’s a reliable, cost-effective and manageable wax. In the UK, people buy around six candles a year. Paraffin wax comes from fossil fuel, petroleum.
Soy (or soya) wax candles are not petroleum-based. They use the oil in soybeans as their fuel source. To extract the soy oil, refiners crush the beans, and heat the material. Then, they press the crushed beans to squeeze out the oil. What’s left is suitable for feeding cattle.

Next, the manufacturer converts the saturated fats in the oil to unsaturated fats. The saturated fats solidify at room temperature. And, it’s this fat which is the fuel for these candles. This process produces a yellowish-white liquid that’s called ‘soy oil’. It contains fatty acids and glycerol (also known as glycerin). Glycerin is a by-product of making soybean oil and can be used in cosmetics and pharmaceutical products.

Soy wax producers then use a solvent (such as hexane) to extract all of the glycerin from soybean oil. They add alcohol to remove any residual solvents from their product before they make it into soy wax flakes or pellets. You can buy these flakes or pellets online or from your local candle shop. Finally, manufacturers melt down these flakes or pellets into liquid form before they create their soy wax candles by hand, machine or both!

Then we add fragrance, which not only enhances the candle’s scent when it’s lit, but also gives off the scent when it’s unlit. Our fragrances can help candles burn more evenly and last longer.

What are the benefits of soy wax candles?

We’re not hardcore environmentalists, but we do want to do our part for the environment. This is why it was a natural fit for us to use soy wax in our candles, it has lots of benefits over paraffin candles. We carefully considered the merits of using this pure and natural oil.
The Benefits
What are the options?
Are They Healthy?

We use 100% soy wax made without GM crops.

Plus, the soybeans we use to make our soy wax were grown without using pesticides or herbicides. That means that, before you light one of our candles, you can feel confident about what’s in them.

Soy wax does a good job of preserving fragrances so that the scent lingers for the duration of the candle’s lifetime. The fragrance will be around from the time you light it for the first time, to when you have to put a new one in its place.

The lifetime of our  naturally scented candles will exceed that of a paraffin wax candle by a factor of 50%. Their inexpensive price makes them a good deal.

They burn cleaner than their paraffin counterparts and don’t fill your room with soot.

There are no added colorants or dyes in Country Candles. Fragrances are the only addition we make to create their strong and captivating aromas. All our candles are either pure white or cream in colour and do not contain any other chemical additives.

Our handmade candles are completely natural, biodegradable, and good for the environment.

If you spill melted soy wax from a candle onto something, it’s easy to clean up. All you need is hot water and soap to clean up the spill.

Unlike crude oil, soya wax is renewable, as long as the sun keeps shining and the rain keeps falling.

Animals are never involved in the soy wax production process, we love animals!

That’s why we use special wicks designed to burn in soy wax, because they make sure that the entirety of your purchase is being burned.
what are the benefits of soy wax candles
can soy wax candles be blended with paraffin wax

Like most other items you use on a daily basis, soy wax in candles can be a blend of other waxes.

Different blends of soy wax can produce different types of candles.

For example, you can blend two different types of soy candle wax to make it shinier when you pour the hot wax into a container. When choosing a soy wax for candles, some types have a different melting point than others. A wax with a lower melting point adheres better to containers than ones with a higher melting point.

On the other hand, wax with a lower melting point is more susceptible to melting in warm conditions. Typically, this is not a problem for soy wax candles, as the wax is usally inside a container like a tin or a glass.

Unlike most candle companies, Country Candles doesn’t mix other materials into the wax. We use soy wax that carries scents very well, resulting in a truly remarkable fragrance.

Many customers ask if burning soy wax candles is bad for them.

In summary, the answer is no. Air quality is a concern on a global scale. And, indoor air quality is a concern for all of us.

If we fry food, light a match, spray air freshener, or light a candle, they all emit fumes. At home, you might have an extractor fan over your stove to remove the cooking fumes. But, with different smells, we have to resort to opening a window to clear out nasty or cooking odours.

However, the answer to the question depends on what type of soy wax candle you purchase.

As an example, let’s say your candle is made up of 10% soy wax and 90% paraffin wax. When you light it, the candle will emit more soot than if you light a candle with a higher percentage of soy wax in it.

Country Candles unscented soya wax candles do not contain any colorants or dyes which means they are cleaner than the paraffin variety.
are soy wax candles healthy

Are soy wax candles environmentally friendly?

A lot of our customers ask us if they are eco-friendly.

The following is our opinion on the matter:
For our candles, we deliberately use soy wax, which comes from farms that don’t use any pesticides or herbicides on the plants. That means they’re grown in an environment that supports bio-diversity. They will do their best to help sustain local ecosystems. Rest assured, we aren’t causing soy farmers to cut down Amazonian rainforest to grow soybeans for us to make candles.
Country Candles only use 100% natural soy wax in our candles. We source our wax from sustainably run farms within the UK.

All of Country Candles’ soya wax is certified to be free of genetically modified (GM) crops. Some customers might be interested in that because of concerns about humans and wildlife. We made a concious decison to work with GM-free soy wax.

Unlike candles made from paraffin wax, soy wax candles are more eco-friendly because they burn at a lower temperature and produce less soot. Not only do they look better indoors, but they’re also safer.

Things to know about natural soy wax candles

You’ll see the term ‘natural candles’ mentioned in the world of candles and all around the internet. What are natural candles?

Candles which don’t use paraffin wax are called natural candles, such as beeswax candles and soy wax candles. Here are a few things you need to know about them:

In a word, people like natural candles because they have fewer chemicals in them, which suits their lifestyles and the environments in which they reside.

For a good quality, long-lasting candle, look for one that’s natural wax, not paraffin.

By shopping at locally owned shops, you will often find locally made candles made from natural materials. And as a result, they’re not shipped halfway across the world.

Generally, natural candles will have a more subtle fragrance than their paraffin counterparts. Due to their subtelty, natural, soy wax candles are popular among our customers.
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hand poured soy wax candles
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What to watch out for with cheap soy candles

There are both advantages and disadvantages to soy wax candles. However, what have you read about them so far?

Cheaper candles are typically a blend of soy and paraffin wax. If the soy wax candle is less pure, then it’s likely to contain synthetic wax.

Always read the label before purchasing a candle to find out the ingredients being used.

Our candles are made entirely from soy wax and are designed to burn well thanks to our rigorous testing. Since our candles burn evenly, you won’t notice the tunneling found in most cheaper soy candles. We also use a higher concentration of fragrance oil than many other candle brands. This means that your house will smell great for longer!

All of our soy candles come with a cotton wick which is both biodegradable and eco-friendly.
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