Soy vs coconut vs beeswax: what actually differs

We don't sell a wax. We have no reason to tell you one is better than another, and we're not going to, because the honest answer is that most of what's written about candle wax is written by someone who pours in one of them.

What is each wax actually made from?

The National Candle Association's own description is the plainest one available: "All waxes are essentially hydrocarbons, which means they are largely composed of hydrogen (H) and carbon (C) atoms," and candle waxes "have been developed from a variety of fats, oils and waxy-like substances derived from animals, insects, plants and rocks".

• Paraffin — the NCA says it was "developed after chemists found a way to remove the naturally-occurring waxy substance from petroleum during refining", and that it is "by far the most frequently used candle wax on a worldwide basis today".
• Soy — the NCA says soy and palm waxes were "developed for commercial use in the candle market during the late 1990s by hydrogenating soybean … [and] palm oils". It is the newest of the four in commercial candle use.
• Beeswax — "introduced to Europe in the Middle Ages, but was rarely used in homes because of its great expense", and still "used around the globe, although in significantly smaller quantities", says the NCA.
• Coconut — the NCA's wax page does not mention it at all. In practice it is nearly always sold as a blend: one supplier's coconut wax is "a blend of coconut, sunflower, and soy wax", another is a coconut and apricot blend.

What are the melting points?

This is the part you can actually compare, because wax suppliers publish it as a specification. The figures below come from CandleScience, a US wax supplier, from its own product specifications. They are °F on the source page; the °C conversions are ours.

Does the wax change how the candle burns?

The same supplier says so, in general terms: "a lower melting point wax like soy offers a slow burn. Paraffin wax, on the other hand, is prized for its superior hot throw," and it describes "the slow burn of coconut and the great scent throw of paraffin". That is a supplier describing its own catalogue, so treat it as informed opinion rather than a measurement. It does square with the melting points: a wax that liquefies at 45°C will pool sooner than one that needs 62°C.

Beeswax has a practical consequence the same source is blunt about: "Beeswax can be a challenging wax to work with because of its high melt point and hardness, which makes wicking difficult." That is a maker's problem more than a buyer's, but it is part of why beeswax candles cost what they do.

What do New Zealand makers use?

Soy, mostly. Of the eight NZ makers we checked, six state a wax on their own site and all six name soy: Earth Candles ("100% pure soy wax"), Candle Crush ("100% natural, sustainable soy wax"), NŌLA ("natural plant based soy wax; free from paraffin, GMO and unnatural additives"), Nevé ("100% natural soy wax") and Lucy King ("100% natural soy wax"). Living Light and National Candles both publish soy and beeswax ranges. Amberjack did not state a wax on the page we read. The full table is on NZ-made candles.

So which should you buy?

On the evidence available: buy on the maker, the scent and the burn time per dollar, not on the wax. If a candle is going to burn a long time in a big room, a paraffin or paraffin-blend candle is what the supplier says throws scent hardest — but almost no New Zealand maker uses it, so that's a mostly theoretical choice here. If you want the longest burn from a jar, look at what it costs per hour rather than at the wax name.