What types of wax for candles are there?

To make your own candles, there are different types of wax you can use.

Types of wax

Advantages and Disadvantages

We have put together some of the most common types of wax and their advantages and disadvantages here:


1. Paraffin wax:

Pros: Paraffin wax is inexpensive, easy to find, and has good burning performance

Disadvantages: It is a petroleum product and can produce soot and smoke when burned


2. Soy and rapeseed wax:

Benefits: Soy and canola is a natural and renewable resource, biodegradable, burns cleaner than paraffin wax and has a longer burn time

Cons: Soy and canola can be more expensive than paraffin wax and requires special additives to improve burning performance


3. Beeswax:

Advantages: Beeswax is natural, has a pleasant honey scent, has a long burning time and burns cleanly

Cons: Beeswax is typically more expensive than paraffin and soy wax and is not as easy to find in retail stores


4. Gel Wax:

Advantages: Gel wax creates a unique transparent look and has good burning performance

Cons: Gel wax is less flexible than other types of wax, requires special containers and wicks, and can be very more expensive



Whichever wax you choose, you can use them all to cast candles. You can find the exact instructions for this, various fragrance oils and candle colors in our CandleCraft Shop.


Have fun choosing the wax and creating your own scented candles!