All Things Are Definitely Not Created Equal

Being a business owner, I participate in different forums, specifically candle forums. They give insight, and real truth about what people like, and don’t like about candles. One of the issues that have come up a lot is “I purchased a soy candle from the store, and it seemed to burn out quick. Is it supposed to do that?” Today, I am going to give you some insight into the wonderful world of candles.

Soy Candles vs. Regular Candles

Regular

If you’re an avid candle burner, you will notice one thing right away about regular candles, and that would be the soot. Yup, that black icky stuff on your glass, and most likely on whatever that glass is near. You think that’s disgusting? What if I told you that that candle has about the same effect on your lungs as carbon monoxide. Paraffin wax is what a regular candle consists of. It comes from crude oil, otherwise known as petroleum. Petroleum companies refine the oil, separating the different properties into Gasoline, Kerosene, Lubrication oil, and other products. What’s left of it is turned into a “clean” clear liquid, and put into white blocks that you see in the store. Now let’s take a second ad remember the huge BP oil spill in the gulf. You didn’t want to swim in the beaches because you didn’t want the stuff on you right? Now some of you were probably at home burning a paraffin candle, and the same stuff was entering your lungs, and ventilation systems. Paraffin candles are inexpensive, look great, sometimes smell great, but behind the scenes they are helping to bring your health down.

Soy

Now as you probably know by now, soy wax comes from soy beans. Soy wax starts as soy oil from the hull part of the bean.  The hulls are stripped of their oil/wax coating during a solvent refinement, cooking or pressing. The solvent is recouped and the course oil is further refined. Soy oil becomes soy wax by further refinement and the addition of another natural oil, such as cottonseed oil. In a candle form a soy candle burns cleaner without the icky black stuff. Soy candles have a lower melting point, so they burn warm instead of hot. This gives it double duty as a candle and a moisturizer. A true soy candle will also burn longer, and if made correctly, hold fragrance from beginning to end.

Hardy’s Scentuous Soy vs. Store Purchased Soy Candles

Store Purchased

I am going to make this simple for you. Check your label. If it does not say 100% soy, it is not soy. You do not need to have 100% soy in a candle to call it soy. Most major stores are beginning to carry a line of soy candles, but they are not all natural. What you will find is a mixture of soy, and paraffin. Why would someone mix the two together? The answer would be to save money. Soy wax is not cheap, and that’s why you will always find that soy candles cost a little to a lot more. Major stores are in business to make money. They have to find every possible way to do that even if it means having you pay more for a candle that isn’t really 100% natural.

Hardy’s Scentuous Soy Candle Co.

If you have ever purchased a candle from us, you will notice a few things right away. The texture of the candle is different from other candles. It starts to emit room filling aroma almost right away. The glass is still clean, and your probably trying to find a way to make it burn faster so you can light your next one. We use 100% soy wax, in our containers, and anything not in a container has 99.9% soy, and the other .1% is a “natural” and comes from a plant. The fragrance is natural. We were using natural dye, but due to the economy our supplier went out of business. We are working on our own natural dye to use once we run out of the other dye. The wick is cotton, and does not contain lead. Even the containers are recycled, and reusable giving you a 100% soy candle.  True soy candles are a real experience. Make sure if you’re going to give soy a try, you try the real thing.

The next blog will give you tips on how to correctly burn a candle

Until Next Time….

Cornelius Hardy