Posts Tagged ‘beeswax’
Candle Making Wax
Candle making wax seems like it's easy to choose -- at least at first. But did you realize there are many types of wax you can use for your craft? It's true; there are quite a few kinds of wax, in several different forms.
The wax you choose will have a different outcome for your candle; and some are only suitable for a special type of candle. So let's find out more about the different kinds that are available.
What Kinds of Wax?
There are five basic types of candle making wax:
- Beeswax. A natural wax that is a byproduct of a honey-making operation, tends to be on the expensive side. Comes in pellets, chunks and sheets.
- Vegetable. Made from plants other than soy or bayberry, primarily palm. Palm wax in particular holds a fragrance extremely well and is the longest-burning of the candle waxes.
- Soy. Made from soybeans, this is another type of natural wax. Very popular because of the way it holds fragrance, and it's also very long-burning.
- Bayberry. Made from the bayberry plant, it generally doesn't hold a fragrance really well, except for its natural bayberry scent. Note: Sometimes "bayberry" wax is only scented with bayberry; if you're paying a lot, know what you are getting!
- Paraffin. Made as a by-product of petroleum refining. The least expensive wax and when combined with stearic wax, quite hard when set.
There's also gel candle wax, which isn't really wax, but it is used as a candle.
The natural waxes (beeswax, soy and vegetable) are the most desirable when it comes to burning candles inside, as they cause the least amount of soot. Soy and vegetable are the best for making aromatherapy candles, as they hold scents the best.
If you are burning citronella candles outside, the smoke from the flame of a paraffin wax may also contribute to keeping away insects.
Is There a Best Kind of Candle Making Wax?
It really depends on what you are planning to make. For example, if you are planning to make a honeycomb candle (one of the easiest kind there is), you will need a sheet of beeswax.
If you plan on burning the candle indoors, one of the natural candle making waxes is best, from a low soot point of view. If you are planning to burn your candle outside, soot may be less of an issue.
Many beginners start out with beeswax, as it's easily available both locally and online. The only caveat -- beeswax is fairly expensive, for a candle making wax. It is, however, wonderful to burn!
If you're looking to make sand candles, you'll want a high melting point wax, which will probably be paraffin-based.
Supplies for Wax
If you have one of the large chain craft stores nearby, there's a good chance you can pick up at least some beeswax. If it's a very large store, you might also be able to find some soy, vegetable and/or paraffin wax as well.
Don't try your local grocery store for paraffin, though -- the paraffin sold as canning supplies isn't the same as paraffin for candles. The grocery store paraffin is too soupy and your candle will suffer greatly.
If you don't have a craft store nearby, or if for some reason it doesn't carry wax, you can order online (which is actually my favorite way, especially considering the cost of gas these days).
If you're looking for beeswax, try Discount Candle -- they have a good range of offerings.
For paraffin-based wax, try Amazon (of all places). Paraffin has the benefit of being inexpensive, so if you're just trying out candlemaking, it may be just what you need.
Surprisingly, Amazon is also good for soy candle making supplies. And I found this to be really cool -- microwavable soy wax for container candles! If you want to try your hand at candle-making the low-fuss way, get some.
For natural/vegetable wax, take a look at Candlewic -- they have a nice selection available.
Tags: The History of Candles
We enjoy them so much today, but what are the history of candles? Where did they originally come from, and where are they headed? The answers may surprise you!
The Origins
Sadly, it's not known exactly when the history of candles started. Some credit the Egyptians, with their rushlight (rush plants, dipped in grease or beeswax). When you think of this kind of use, think of torches.
Others say that the Romans were the first to use candles, as they were the first to use a wick. The Romans created candles using the rush pith (dried center) as the wick, and dipped in tallow.
In any case, the use of rushlight goes back to around 3,000 B.C., while the Roman candle dates back from roughly the first century A.D.
Use of Beeswax
Early candles were made with tallow, which is a by-product of rendering beef fat (although some cultures used sheep). Unfortunately, tallow creates a fair amount of soot, and doesn't smell very good.
In the Middle Ages, it was discovered that beeswax made a great candle fuel. The only problem -- it was in short supply, so most people had to resort to tallow after all. Beeswax burns cleaner, so it definitely had an advantage. At any rate, only the wealthy (and the Church) could afford to burn beeswax candles.
The History of Candles in America
Colonial America still used tallow-dipped candles as their main source of lighting, While beeswax was certainly available, it was still in short supply.
The Colonial women are credited with discovering bayberry wax, made from the bayberry plant. The smell was sweet (possibly the beginnings of the history of scented candles) but the work was tedious. So tedious in fact, that bayberry as a candle wax was eventually discarded.
Fast-forward to the 18th century and spermaceti was used as a new type of wax. Spermaceti is made from crystallizing sperm whale oil, and it didn't give off a smell like tallow did. And as a bonus, the spermaceti candles had a higher melting point, so didn't deform in the summer heat.
With the decline of whales and whaling, it was back to beeswax and tallow. But something happened in 1834 that caused a revolution in the candle world. Joseph Morgan invented a machine that allowed for the swift creation of molded candles. Thus, the first mass-production candles were born.
In 1850 the history of candles took a turn; paraffin was born as a by-product of the petroleum-processing industry. The benefits were that paraffin was cheap and burned relatively cleanly (compared to tallow at any rate). The problem? It had a very low melting point, unless steric acid was added as a hardener. Today's paraffin candles routinely use steric acid.
Candles Since the 1900's
Alas, Edison's lightbulb signaled the decline of the candle industry, at least for lighting use. However, as time passed, candles came in vogue again. Today, scented candles are used in most homes in the U.S. at some point or other, and the industry is roughly 2 billion dollars, according to the National Candle Association.
Richly scented candles, whether used for aromatherapy, decorating or simply their fragrant use are popular, and their growth shows no hint of decline.