In the early 1990’s a man named Michael Richards launched his company, Candleworks, with the intention of making beeswax candles. Attempting to find a less expensive way meet the increasing demand for “natural” wax candles, he began testing the waxes and oils of a variety of plants. Initially he settled on a blend of beeswax and hydrogenated soybean oil as the best combo for making cheaper Scented Soy Pillar Candles.

Hydrogenated soybean oil is made by heating soybean oil while blowing millions of tiny hydrogen bubbles through it. The hydrogen molecules combine with the soybean oil to make it much, much thicker so that when it cools to room temperature it becomes a solid, like the wax used to make Scented Soy Pillar Candles!

In the mid 1990’s Candleworks’ biggest customer, The Body Shop, started ordering lots and lots of aromatherapy candles made with this blend. They were apparently a hit! As the demand for Scented Soy Pillar Candles increased, so did the need to find ways to manufacture them more efficiently and at lower costs. The formula was refined and perfected to include less and less of the expensive beeswax and more and more of the cheaper soy wax.

Since then the popularity of Scented Soy Pillar Candles has risen dramatically and the formulas have been improved upon even further. Studies comparing the smoke and fumes produced by burning scented soy pillar candles versus candles made with paraffin wax show that scented soy pillar candles emit little or no soot while paraffin candles produce a considerable amount. Paraffin candles have also been shown to give off harmful fumes like acrolein, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde. These toxins are almost non-existent in the natural Scented Soy Pillar Candles, making them the healthier alternative.

Scented Soy Pillar Candles