Soy vs Paraffin Wax for Candles

Paraffin is a by-product of refining crude oil. Soy is a by-product of a food crop. Both will make a candle. Both will soot if you leave a 15mm wick in a draught. The internet argument is louder than the chemistry needs to be.

The practical split

• Smell on the lid. Paraffin often wins. It is a shoutier sponge.
• Smell in the room, once pooled. A well-wicked soy-coconut is not the shy animal it is accused of being.
• Soot. Technique more than tribe. Untrimmed paraffin is filthy. Untrimmed soy is also filthy.
• Look. Soy can bloom and show wet spots. Paraffin looks like a supermarket candle for longer.
• Ethics / origin. We would rather not pour petroleum in Ullapool. That is a values call as much as a lab call.

We are vegan, so beeswax and tallow are out as well as paraffin. The remaining honest options are plant waxes. Soy-coconut is the one that works in our jars. Vegan, soy, paraffin and the planet.