At Dexter & Mason, we use soy wax for all our scented candles. We chose soy for several reasons, and are absolutely delighted by both its qualities and environmental credentials.
Here’s why we love to burn this brilliant bean.
Soy wax is a lovely, natural product
When we started Dexter & Mason one of our key aims was to create luxury candles using only natural ingredients. This instantly ruled out the commonly-used paraffin wax! So our research took us to the natural alternative: soy wax. This is a hydrogenated vegetable oil made from the soybean. As a food-grade oil, it’s far safer to burn than its petrol-based counterpart.
A non-toxic, biodegradable product made from a renewable resource – that does the job perfectly! We’ve been delighted with soy.
Soy wax gives a cleaner burn
Soy wax burns really cleanly, and doesn’t leave a sooty residue. This was really important to us, as we didn’t want the candles to blacken our customers’ paintwork, and the candle jars keep their clean, white finish.
It also burns for longer
Soy wax is a slow burner. One of our candles typically lasts 40 hours from first light to empty jar (that’s around 30% slower than a paraffin candle). It also burns more evenly than paraffin wax, so you won’t get those wax drifts up the side of the glass while the centre melts away.
It’s more environmentally friendly than paraffin wax
There are many reasons why soy wax is better for the planet than paraffin wax. It’s made from a renewable resource (soy beans) unlike paraffin wax, which of course, comes from the petroleum industry. Paraffin wax has the double whammy of being made from a polluting process, then releasing petrol-carbon soot when lit. Our natural soy candles simply release lovely scents!
Wax spills are easier to deal with
We really learned this the messy way when we were starting out! Because soy is biodegradable, wax splashes can usually be rubbed out with soap and hot water.
Soy is a great carrier for scents
Soy wax doesn’t have a strong scent of its own. That means that we can create wonderfully subtle, nuanced scents. We can also afford to use the finest ingredients, because we don’t have to pour them in in vast quantities to mask the wax’s scent! The slow burn of the soy wax means that the scent is slowly released, giving a long-lasting fragrance that will fill the room, but won’t assault your senses.
The fragrance lingers
We’ve found that our scented candles still release their fragrance when they’re not lit. In candle speak, soy wax has a really good “scent throw”, both hot and cold. So, your candle will be gently giving off a gorgeous scent all day, even when it’s not lighting up time. We love this about soy candles.
Have a look at our lovely collection of quality soy candles, to see the other wonderful natural ingredients we use!
If you’d like to know more about our scented candles and their ingredients, please drop us a line at Dexter & Mason.
