The Advantages of Soy Candles
Making soy candles is an interesting an inexpensive hobby. Homemade candles can be made for many purposes, from simple mood lighting to ornaments to aromatherapy tools.
A mould for soy candles can be made from any heat resistant container of a suitable size and shape or you can make your own moulds from cardboard.
Wicks can be bought from craft shops, or you can make your own. Dangle the wick from a pencil over the mould and the carefully pour the melted wax into the mould, trying to leave the wick straight. Adding a small weight to the base of the wick, or sticking it to the base of the mould can achieve this. Once the candles are cooled they can be left in their moulds or removed from them. Remember to follow safety precautions when making candles, as the wax is very hot.
It is better for the environment and for you to use a soy base to make candles. Soy candles are ecologically much more friendly than the traditional paraffin wax based ones. They are greener to make, and leave a smaller carbon footprint when used. They burn at a slower rate than paraffin candles and last longer, and they have less scent of their own, meaning that you get more advantage from aromatherapy oils that you add to your homemade candles. Soy homemade candles won’t fill your home with the toxic by-products of paraffin wax ones. Some of these by-products are carcinogenic, and others have been implicated in respiratory diseases.
The lower burning temperature of soy-based candles makes them a better vehicle for scents than paraffin candles for aromatherapy oils. Instead of the scent of the essential oil being corrupted by the smell of the wax it can be enjoyed in its pure form.
The traditional alternative to paraffin based homemade candles is beeswax but this can be come very expensive. Soy based wax is the new environmentally friendly alternative to beeswax. If you want beeswax candles it is better to make them at home, or check the source carefully. Labelling regulations mean that candles can be sold as beeswax candles even if they only have a small percentage of beeswax and the rest is paraffin wax.
By making sure your candles are made with vegetable dyes and ecologically sound wicks then you can reduce the environmental impact even further. Once you have mastered the basic techniques of making candles then it is possible to get very creative with them. Any colour or perfume can be added to them, and they can be made in any shape that you can get a heat resistant mould for. Homemade candles are a lovely way to use aromatherapy in your home, and make popular gifts, which you can personalise with aroma and colour for every one you know.
Once your skill levels are high enough homemade candles can form the basis of a good home-based business. Many websites give details of how to make the candles and where to obtain supplies. Of course you could just buy soy candles instead of making them, and many Internet sites are available for you to do just that.
August 07 2008 11:19 pm | soy candles