soy wax frosting: why is my candle top changing?

tis the sesason to discuss frosting… no, we are not discussing sugary goodness, but we are talking about a natural process that happens to soy wax!

have you ever noticed that the top of your soy candle may get “frosty” if you keep it a long time without burning? Have you ever wondered if this is normal?

well it is! when the glossy top starts to turn to a more opaque finish, it’s called frosting. this is a natural characteristic of soy wax, and it is one way that you can tell that the candle is made with pure, all natural soy wax.

when the wax arrives to our studio, it comes in opaque white flakes- these are melted down and poured into your candle. overtime, frosting is simply the wax returning to it’s natural opaque state. frosting does not affect the way candles burn or impact the scent throw, so even if you see this on a candle you have kept for a while, go ahead and light it up!

so next time you take a look at your candle and notice little imperfections, let it remind you it was made by humans with the best all natural ingredients!

What is Soy Wax?

Have you ever wondered how soy wax is made? This is a question we get quite often, so we thought we would share a bit about how our wax is made…

Soy wax is a vegetable wax made from the oil of soybeans- a bean belonging to the legume family. The vast majority of the beans used to make soy wax is grown right here in the USA! These plants are primarily grown in the midwest states like Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana.

Soybeans are usually harvested in the late fall, during the months of October and November. After harvesting, the beans 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 a solid at room temperature. The leftover bean husks are commonly used as animal feed.

The Benefits of Soy Wax:

The most common attribute of soy wax is that is makes a natural candle that burns slowly and cleanly- making it a better choice for your home environment, but did you know they are also better for OUR environment?

Soy's greatest advantage is that it is completely renewable. While the global reserves of oil shrink and paraffin prices increase, the only limit to the soy supply is how much we choose to grow. The soy that we use in our candle making process was likely in the ground less than a year ago, and chances are that same field is growing more soy for the candles to be made in the future.

So when you shop with us, you can know that our products are sustainable, eco-friendly, renewable, and American grown.

Why Materials Matter.

Have you ever heard of someone avoiding candles because they cause headaches? Have you ever wondered why candle companies use different types of wax, like paraffin, soy, or beeswax? What most people don’t know is that candles can be made with many different ingredients- some being quite harmful and dangerous to your health, which is why we are quite particular on what we put into our candles here at Sable Candle Co. Our candles are made with a base of 100% all natural soy wax, and then fragranced with a mixture of all-natural toxin-free oils and pure therapeutic-grade essential oils, and finished with clean burning wooden wicks. Each one of these materials is chosen with intention when developing our line of candles.

---

OUR WAX

We only use natural soy wax in all of our candles, and there are a few reasons for that. The main reason is that it provides a cleaner, toxin-free burn compared to it’s counterpart paraffin.

Paraffin wax is commonly used to make candles and wax melts because it is generally cheaper to produce than soy wax. Since paraffin wax is derived from petroleum, coal, or shale oil, it has been found to contain carcinogens (cancer-causing agents) such as benzene, and other toxins like toluene which can cause migraines and other health complications. The chemical toluene found in paraffin wax mainly affects the central nervous system in the brain. Toluene enters your body when it evaporates into the air that you breathe. Research shows that melting paraffin wax-based candles emitted toxic toluene and benzene, while soy candles & wax did not.

Another benefit of soy wax is that it offers a longer, slower burn compared to paraffin- which means you get more out of the life of your candle! For these reasons, we choose soy wax to give you the best value of quality, burn time, and value for your candles.

>>> Read more about where soy wax comes from: What is Soy Wax?

---

OUR FRAGRANCES

In addition to choosing natural soy wax, we also vet all of the fragrance oils used in our candle quite carefully. Fragrance oils are often synthetic products made in a laboratory with many additional ingredients being chemicals and petroleum by-products. In fact, according to a report by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), approximately 95 percent of the chemicals used in synthetic fragrance oils are derived from petroleum. Among those chemicals are aldehydes, as well as benzene derivatives and toluene (similar to paraffin wax discussed above).

Other chemicals found in fragrance oils are phthalates and parabens- they are used to extend the aromatic strength and lengthen the shelf life of the candle. Both paraben and phthalates have been linked to adverse health effects, including cancer, reproductive problems, endocrine disruptions (hormones), allergic reactions, and respiratory issues.

Because of this, we intentionally find toxin free oils for our candles- we often used pure therapeutic grade essential oils, as well as toxin free clean natural fragrance oils. What is the difference between the two? Essential oils are truly from nature- they are collected through a distillation process that carefully separates the essential oil from the flowers, needles, twigs, fruit peels, seeds or roots where it is found. It is a process that requires far greater effort and expense than the manufacturing of synthetic fragrance oils.

Clean natural fragrance oils are man made, but are developed intentionally without any of the preservatives and toxins that are often found in synthetics- they are phthalate + paraben free, and put through rigorous standards to ensure they are free of any carcinogens or other toxins known to cause health problems.

---

OUR WICKS

We want to craft the best, high quality, clean candles for your home and we believe wooden wicks are the best option to do so. They offer a cleaner and longer burn, wider fragrance throw, are eco friendly and offer a cozy atmospheric experience.

When you burn a wooden wick, they burn slower than their cotton counterpart, which means you get more out your candle. They also don't “mushroom”, like cotton wicks, so they provide minimal soot and debris build up when burning. Wooden wicks also burn stronger than cotton wicks, dispersing fragrance with a wider throw. In a burn test between a wooden wick vs cotton wick candle, results showed that the wooden wicks can push up to 35% more fragrance throw into a room, compared to cotton wicks.

They are also a sustainable option- our wooden wick supplier uses wood sourced from FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified mills and for every $100 spent with them, they plant a tree with the “Trees for the Future” - and organization working to end hunger and poverty for small farmers through revitalizing degraded lands. this means that with every sable candle purchase, you are not only helping to plant trees, but also help support the lives of farming families. read more about this organization at trees.org.

Lastly, they offer a unique experience through their cracking ambiance. Wooden wick candle wicks have a distinct crackling sound when burning, and a generally more calming and appealing aspect in creating ambiance- in a consumer-facing study, a whopping 96% of consumers said that wooden wick candles are more calming vs. their cotton wick counterparts, and 92% of consumers stated that wooden wick candles create more ambiance. you can’t argue with those numbers!

>>> Read more about wooden wick benefits: Why Wooden Wicks?

---

We have built our recipes with healthy, clean ingredients to make sure our product creates a toxin-free environment. All of this development, along with creating our custom unique scents has taken us YEARS of work. We love the science behind concocting a clean + healthy scent for your home- nothing is added without deliberation and intention. This is our signature- gorgeous, simple, spot-on-scents made with purpose.

Make sure to read each description to find out what each candle is made with and meant for… there is a little something for everyone and every setting. we hope you appreciate and enjoy our craft!

---

RELATED POSTS:

• Why Wooden Wicks?

• What is Soy Wax?