How to choose the wax for your taper candles

From time to time I get a phone call from a customer who wants to know what type of wax we use for making our Kiri taper candles. And I tell them “we use highly refined food grade paraffin wax”. I then go on to tell them that contrary to what many people think, candles made from paraffin are NOT environmentally destructive as many believe.

1. Paraffin is not toxic. It can be found in food!

Paraffin is simply a byproduct of the oil industry and would just pile up in drums if good uses were not found for it. Paraffin is non toxic and it’s used in the food, medical, cosmetic, candle and many other industries.

Paraffin candles don’t present any health hazards to people. It would be of more concern the fragrances used in many candles than the wax itself. Unscented taper candles are fragrance free so we don’t have any issues with fragrances.

2. Most stable wax for candles

Paraffin is the most widely used raw material for candles by far because of its technical processing advantages. In fact, almost all taper and pillar candles are produced from paraffin because it’s the most stable type of wax when burning. Soy wax is just not stable enough for taper candles or pillars commercial production. Soy is mostly use for container candles. Beeswax tapers are also available in the market but as everyone knows, they are expensive.

3. Clearer wax for the candles

To get the best burn quality, you should buy candles made of the highest quality. For example, Kiri Tapers are manufactured in Denmark using the highest quality paraffin available. The wax is refined to the point where all the impurities are removed, making them burn longer, cleaner and better than most candles in the market.

4. Best dripless taper candles 

The dripless property of most taper candles is a characteristic of both the purity of the wax and the quality of the wick. The long burn time of the best taper candles can only be achieved with superior quality components, and made of highly refined paraffin allows this property to the candles.

5. Environmental responsibility?

There is a lot of buzz about other types of waxes that claim are better for the environment. However, many negative implications can be presented about the use of other waxes such as soy. Most soy produced for candles is processed by soaking the bean in Hexane which is a Petroleum Solvent. The oil is extracted and the petroleum soaked remains are use to feed the animals we eat. Now, seeing that the soy is only a Semi-Solid at this time, chemicals need to be used to get it to the desired hardness for candle making.

I hope this helps understand some of the miss information that goes around about paraffin wax.

If you still want to research a little bit more about these topics, you can take a look at Candlefind.com… the site for candle lovers, where you can find helpful and entertaining scented candle reviews, special candle sales, a candle shopping directory, candle decor tips, interesting candle articles and more.