Paraffin
Advantages
- Cheap (about 9 times cheaper than beeswax)
Disadvantages
- Non-Renewable
- By-product of fossil fuels
- The equivalent of inhaling exhaust fumes
- Creates a large amount of black sticky soot
- Polymers are added to raise the melting point and improve burning qualities
- Paraffin candles are known to drip
- Often scented with artificial fragrance
- Often bleached and dyed with toxic colorants
Beeswax
Advantages
- The purest of all natural waxes
- The benefits of beeswax and long burn times means customers save money
- A natural air cleaner and purifier
- Makes attractive, premium candles without additives
- Has a pleasant scent naturally
- Drip and soot-free in a draft free environment
- Longer lasting than other waxes
- Buying beeswax supports the beekeeping industry
- Best choice for asthma and allergy sufferers
- Recommended by the American Lung Association
- The light spectrum emitted from a beeswax candle is the closest of all waxes to natural sunshine
Disadvantages
- Considered pricier than other waxes, (however based on the long burn times and health benefits the value of beeswax is higher.)
- Some beeswax candle companies get their wax from China or blend other waxes into their candles
Specific to Honey Candles®
Advantages
- Honey Candles® are made with lead & zinc free wicks
- We source our wax from organically managed hives
- Our wax comes from Northern Alberta, a region known for its premium beeswax
- The shorter growing season in Northern latitudes produces brighter, cleaner wax
- Our beeswax supplier uses crop rotation to eliminate pesticide use
- Honey Candles® are hand-made in Canada
Soy Wax
Advantages
- Renewable resource
- No known toxins in the raw wax
- Biodegradable
- Longer burning than paraffin
- Non-carcinogenic
Disadvantages
- Soy products are commonly Genetically Modified, bleached and hydrogenated
- Aesthetically, soy wax is not pretty and candles often develop bumps and lesions while burning
- On the light spectrum, soy candles have a cooler tone
- Soy wax goes rancid without preservatives
- Some soy wax candles contain additives and hardeners
- Toxic pesticides are often used on soy crops
- Soy candle makers are limited by the type of candle they can make because the wax is so soft. They are unable to provide customers with pillars, tapers or ornamentals.
- Requires large amounts of agricultural land and processing
Palm Wax
Advantages
- Palm Crops require a lower input of fossil fuels compared to soy
- Palm oil production creates 3,200 kg/hectare per year and soybean production creates only 351 kg/hectare per year.
- Clean burning and soot free
- Toxin and carcinogen free
- Has a beautiful crystalline structure
- Slow burning
- Renewable resource
- Makes a great base for aromatherapy candles as the crude wax has no scent
- Not genetically modified
Disadvantages
- Must be imported (mostly from Malaysia)
- Pesticides are often used for palm plants
