what exactly is soy wax?
Soy wax is simply vegetable wax made from the oil of soybeans. After harvesting, the soybeans are cleaned, cracked, de-hulled, and rolled into flakes. The oil is then extracted from the flakes and hydrogenated. The hydrogenation process converts some of the fatty acids in the oil from unsaturated to saturated. This process dramatically alters the melting point of the oil, making it solid at room temperature. The leftover bean husks are commonly used as animal feed. The U.S. grows the vast majority of the world’s soybeans, primarily in Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana.
How is it used?
Soy wax is used by candle makers in many different ways. It can be used straight as in our soy wax, blended with other natural oils, or mixed with paraffin to form a para-soy blended wax.
What are the benefits?
The greatest advantage of soy wax is that it is completely renewable! While the global reserves of oil shrink and paraffin prices increase, the only limit to the supply of soy is how much we choose to grow. The soy wax that you buy from the Scented Nest today was likely in the ground less than a year ago. And chances are that same field is growing more soybeans for the soy candles to be made in the future.
In addition to sustainability, a well-made soy candle will burn cleanly and slowly, much to the delight of consumers. While the performance and beauty of soy candles speak for themselves, soy wax is truly a marketer’s dream. If you are making soy candles, you can market them as eco-friendly, renewable, American-grown, sustainable, carbon neutral; the list goes on and on.