Why I Use Coconut & Rapeseed Wax
I haven't used paraffin wax since I started making candles back in 2020.
When I first started out, I went down the usual rabbit hole of learning about candle making. Wax, fragrance oils, wicks, jars, burn times... there was a lot more to it than I'd realised.
Once I started learning about what was actually in the candles I was making, I also started looking differently at the candles I was buying. I stopped buying them from big chains and supermarkets, partly because I wanted to support smaller businesses, but also because it felt a bit odd making my own candles by hand and then going home and buying a mass-produced one.
Paraffin was one of the things I decided pretty early on that I didn't want to use.
It's petroleum-based, and if I can use a plant-based wax instead, I'd rather do that. It's one of the ways I try to be a bit more eco-conscious with what I make.
There are plenty of plant-based waxes out there. Soy is probably the one most people know, and I've used it before, but I prefer coconut and rapeseed.
I've been using the same type of wax for years now and I really like how it performs. I find it holds the fragrance really well, which is obviously a fairly important thing when you're making scented candles. I like the way it burns too, and I know how it behaves after working with it for so long.
The wax I use comes from an Irish supplier who sources it from within the EU. No, that doesn't mean the coconuts and rapeseed were grown in Ireland. I wish. :)
But I do like buying from an Irish supplier who can tell me where their materials come from and trace their own suppliers. As a small business, I can't control every part of the supply chain, but I can make decisions about who I buy from.
I'm also not going to tell you that a plant-based wax makes a candle completely eco-friendly. It doesn't. There are still plenty of resources involved in making a candle, from the wax and fragrance to the glass jar, packaging and getting it from my little studio to your house.
But I think being eco-conscious is more about the choices you make where you can.
For me, if I can choose a plant-based wax over a petroleum-based one, use a wax I know performs really well, and source it from an Irish supplier, that's a choice I'm happy with.