Waxes is a general term used to refer to the mixture of long-chain apolar

lipids forming a protective coating on plant leaves and fruits but also
in animals, algae, fungi and bacteria. Some waxes are of origin.

The various materials named waxes do not form a chemically homogeneous

group. All waxes are water-resistant materials made up of various
substances including hydrocarbons (normal or branched alkanes and
alkenes), ketones, diketones, primary and secondary alcohols, aldehydes,
sterol esters, alkanoic acids, terpenes (squalene) and monoesters (wax
esters), all with long or very long carbon chains (from 12 up to about
38 carbon atoms) and solid in a large range of temperature (fusion point
between 60 and 100°C).
More commonly, waxes are esters of an alcohol other than glycerol and a
long chain acid (wax esters). Wax esters are saponified by hot alkaline
solutions and give a fatty acid and an alcohol. They are soluble in
aromatic solvents, chloroform, ethers, esters and ketones.

www.lipidlibrary.co.uk/Lipids/waxes/index.htm

Cooking oil is purified fat of plant origin, which is liquid at room

temperature. Vegetable oils are also used for cooking.
The generic term "vegetable oil" when used to label a cooking oil product
refers to a blend of a variety of oils often based on palm, corn, soybean
or sunflower oils.
Oil can be flavored by immersing aromatic food stuffs such as fresh
herbs, peppers, garlic and so forth in the oil for a period of time.
However, care must be taken when storing flavored oils to prevent the
growth of Clostridium botulinum (the bacteria that produces toxins that
can lead to botulism).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooking oil

Paraffin wax (or simply "paraffin", but see alternative name

for kerosene, above) is mostly found as a white, odorless,
tasteless, waxy solid, with a typical melting point between about 47 °C
to 64 °C ( 116.6°F to 147.2°F), and having a density of around 0.9
g/cm3.[2] It is insoluble in water, but soluble in ether, benzene, and
certain esters. Paraffin is unaffected by most common chemical reagents,
but burns readily.
Paraffin wax (C25H52) is an excellent material to store heat, having
a specific heat capacity of 2.14–2.9 J g–1 K–
1 (joule per gram per kelvin) and a heat of fusion of 200–220 J g–
1.[6] The branched properties result in a modified paraffin with a higher
viscosity, smaller crystalline structure, and modified functional
properties.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraffin

Kerosene, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. Kerosene is a thin, clear

liquid formed from hydrocarbons, with density of 0.78-0.81g/cm3.
Kerosene is obtained from the fractional
distillation of petroleum between 150 °C and 275 °C, resulting in a
mixture of carbon chains containing 12 to 15 carbon atoms.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerosene

HISTORY OF CANDLES
Candles have been used for light and to illuminate man’s celebrations
for more than 5,000 years, yet little is known about their origin.
It is often written that the first candles were developed by the Ancient
Egyptians, who used rush lights or torches made by soaking the pithy
core of reeds in melted animal fat. However, the rush lights had no wick
like a true candle.

EARLY WICKED CANDLES

The Egyptians were using wicked candles in 3,000 B.C., but the ancient
Romans are generally credited with developing the wicked candle before
that time by dipping rolled papyrus repeatedly in melted tallow or
beeswax. The resulting candles were used to light their homes, to aid
travelers at night, and in religious ceremonies.
Historians have found evidence that many other early civilizations
developed wicked candles using waxes made from available plants and
insects. Early Chinese candles are said to have been molded in paper
tubes, using rolled rice paper for the wick, and wax from an indigenous
insect that was combined with seeds. In Japan, candles were made of wax
extracted from tree nuts, while in India, candle wax was made by boiling
the fruit of the cinnamon tree.
It is also known that candles played an important role in early religious
ceremonies. Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights which centers on the
lighting of candles, dates back to 165 B.C. There are several Biblical
references to candles, and the Emperor Constantine is reported to have
called for the use of candles during an Easter service in the 4th century.
MIDDLE AGES
Most early Western cultures relied primarily on candles rendered from
animal fat (tallow). A major improvement came in the Middle Ages, when
beeswax candles were introduced in Europe. Unlike animal-based tallow,
beeswax burned pure and cleanly, without producing a smoky flame. It
also emitted a pleasant sweet smell rather than the foul, acrid odor of
tallow. Beeswax candles were widely used for church ceremonies, but
because they were expensive, few individuals other than the wealthy could
afford to burn them in the home.
Tallow candles were the common household candle for Europeans, and by
the 13th century, candle making had become a guild craft in England and
France. The candle makers (chandlers) went from house to house making
candles from the kitchen fats saved for that purpose, or made and sold
their own candles from small candle shops.

COLONIAL TIMES
Colonial women offered America’s first contribution to candle making,
when they discovered that boiling the grayish-green berries of bayberry
bushes produced a sweet-smelling wax that burned cleanly. However,
extracting the wax from the bayberries was extremely tedious. As a
result, the popularity of bayberry candles soon diminished.
The growth of the whaling industry in the late 18th century brought the
first major change in candle making since the Middle Ages, when
spermaceti — a wax obtained by crystallizing sperm whale oil — became
available in quantity. Like beeswax, the spermaceti wax did not elicit
a repugnant odor when burned, and produced a significantly brighter
light. It also was harder than either tallow or beeswax, so it wouldn’t
soften or bend in the summer heat. Historians note that the first
“standard candles” were made from spermaceti wax.
19TH CENTURY ADVANCES
Most of the major developments impacting contemporary candle making
occurred during the 19th century. In the 1820s, French chemist Michel
Eugene Chevreul discovered how to extract stearic acid from animal fatty
acids. This led to the development of stearin wax, which was hard,
durable and burned cleanly. Stearin candles remain popular in Europe
today.
In 1834, inventor Joseph Morgan helped to further the modern-day candle
industry by developing a machine that allowed for continuous production
of molded candles by using a cylinder with a movable piston to eject
candles as they solidified. With the introduction of mechanized
production, candles became an easily affordable commodity for the masses.
Paraffin wax was introduced in the 1850s, after chemists learned how to
efficiently separate the naturally-occurring waxy substance from
petroleum and refine it. Odorless and bluish-white in color, paraffin
was a boon to candle making because it burned cleanly, consistently and
was more economical to produce than any other candle fuel. Its only
disadvantage was a low melting point. This was soon overcome by adding
the harder stearic acid, which had become widely available. With the
introduction of the light bulb in 1879, candle making began to decline.
THE 20TH CENTURY
Candles enjoyed renewed popularity during the first half of the 20th
century, when the growth of U.S. oil and meatpacking industries brought
an increase in the byproducts that had become the basic ingredients of
candles – paraffin and stearic acid.

The popularity of candles remained steady until the mid-1980s, when

interest in candles as decorative items, mood-setters and gifts began
to increase notably. Candles were suddenly available in a broad array
of sizes, shapes and colors, and consumer interest in scented candles
began to escalate.
The 1990s witnessed an unprecedented surge in the popularity of candles,
and for the first time in more than a century, new types of candle waxes
were being developed. In the U.S., agricultural chemists began to develop
soybean wax, a softer and slower burning wax than paraffin. On the other
side of the globe, efforts were underway to develop palm wax for use in
candles.
TODAY’S CANDLES
Candles have come a long way since their initial use. Although no longer
man’s major source of light, they continue to grow in popularity and
use. Today, candles symbolize celebration, mark romance, soothe the
senses, define ceremony, and accent home decors — casting a warm and
lovely glow for all to enjoy.

http://candles.org/history/

One of the earliest forms of portable illumination, candles have served

vital functions for humankind throughout history, a fact chronicled
through the discovery of candles or candle-like objects in virtually
every society. Historians believe the original candle may have been
invented by primitive men who dipped dried branches in animal fat, thus
producing a slow-burning and reliable source of light. Reliefs belonging
to the ancient Egyptians depict the use of candles by writers and
philosophers who worked well after sundown. These early candles were
most likely developed from tapers that were made of fibrous materials
mixed with wax or tallow (the white, nearly tasteless fat of cattle or
sheep that was also used to make soap, margarine, and lubricants). As
far back as 3000 b.c., dish-shaped candles were used on the island of
Crete.
Candles have also been used for religious purposes. The Bible, for
instance, makes numerous references to the use of candles, including the
story of King Solomon who, after building the Temple, used ten candle-
sticks to light the north and south ends of the structure. In the Middle
Ages, candle making became a popular occupation, as evidenced by the
creation of many candle makers' guilds throughout Europe. Later, candles
were used as a means of keeping time. At auctions, the bidding time was
limited by inserting a pin into a candle and letting the wax melt until
the pin dropped, thus concluding that period of time.
Although the materials that comprise a candle have changed through the
years, the art of candle making has remained surprisingly similar to the
original production processes. Candle wicks were, at first, made of reeds
or rushes; eventually, various natural fibers were used. In 1824,
Frenchman Jean-Jacques Cambaraceres introduced an important refinement
in wick technology with the plaited wick, which burned more evenly than
unplaited wicks. Twisted or plaited cotton still makes up most wicks
today.
Animal or vegetable fats were used for the first candles. As candle
making technology progressed, beeswax became widely used, mainly because
of its pleasing odor and the absence of the mess that melting fats
produced.
After the Revolutionary War, the whaling industry in America skyrocketed.
However, not every type of whale was cherished solely for its blubber.
The sperm whale was also used for its spermaceti—the wax taken from the
oil of this huge mammal. This wax was used extensively as the fishing
industry began to expand. The spermaceti candle was popular because it
had no acrid odor, did not soften in summer temperatures, and burned
evenly. Ozokerite, a colorless mineral hydrocarbon wax with a
high melting point, was also popular in the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries. As candle technology advanced, animal fats were separated,
leaving behind more desirable solid fatty acids such as stearine that
had no odor and gave a brighter light. Paraffin, a wax crystallized from
petroleum, became popular during the 1860s and was eventually blended
with spermaceti and ceresin—a byproduct of refined petroleum oil—to
create a more durable wax.
The original candles were produced through the dipping method. Dating
back to the Middle Ages, this method used wicks made from dried rushes,
which were peeled on all but one side, revealing the pith. The wicks
were repeatedly dipped into the molten fat until the fat had stuck to
the wick at a desired thickness. Beeswax candles were constructed using
both the dipping method and pouring method. In the pouring method, the
melted beeswax is poured over a suspended cotton wick while the wick is
simultaneously and manually twirled. After a sufficient amount of wax
has gathered at the bottom of the wick, the candled is reversed and
poured from the other end.
Large-scale manufacture of candles became a reality only after 1834,
when Joseph Morgan introduced the first mass-production candle making
machine. Today's modern machines are strikingly similar to that original
machine, with speed, accuracy and finished quality the only major
differences.
https://www.encyclopedia.com/science-and-
technology/physics/physics/candles

Soy candles are natural since they’re made from vegetable oil (soybeans).
On the other hand, paraffin candles are made from petroleum oil. As a
result, soy wax candles do not increase the CO2 level in the atmosphere
like paraffin candles do. Furthermore, soy candles do not require
chemicals to scent them. For the record… if a soy candle is made from
100% soy (not all are; some are blended with beeswax or other waxes),
and scented with essentials oils instead of chemical fragrances (as many
are), then it can be called an all-natural soy candle. Since soybeans
are vegetables, soy wax (basically made from hydrogenated soybean oil)
is naturally biodegradable. Soy wax is also easier to remove from
materials and other surfaces than paraffin wax.

Soy candles burn 50% longer than regular candles. Therefore, even though
soy wax candles are sometimes more expensive than paraffin wax candles
to buy, they are still more cost-effective in the long run. For
comparison’s sake, soy candles generally cost less than beeswax candles
(another natural wax alternative to paraffin). Furthermore, soy candles
burn evenly, leaving almost no excess wax on the sides of the jar. Soy
not only burns cleaner, but slower too. A soy candle can burn up to
twice as long (sometimes even more!) than paraffin, giving you twice the
candle.

Soy candles burn cleaner than regular paraffin candles do. As a result,
they don’t produce much black soot like paraffin candles do. Candle soot
is more of a nuisance than you might realize. If you burn a lot of
candles, over time it can discolor your walls & furniture and stain the
edges of your carpet! If you have ever had a soy wax candle in the past
that did leave black soot around the jar, there are several reasons this
may have happened. One explanation is it wasn’t 100% soy, but rather a
soy/paraffin blend. Many advertise “soy candle” have unknown blends
that you may not catch unless you search deep into their site. If it
doesn’t say 100% or tell you what’s in the candles, watch out. Another
reason you see black soot could have been the use of metal wicks. While
no candle made in the US has lead, they can have zinc. Zinc wicks are
not toxic like lead, but they will produce more soot than cotton or hemp
wicks.

Soy candles are non-toxic since they are made of vegetable oil, have a
lower melting point (so the wax itself doesn’t get as hot), produce
negligible amounts of soot, and release no known carcinogens into the
air. Compared to paraffin candles, soy wax candles are much healthier
for humans, pets, and the environment. Plus, they clean up easier (just
use soap and water) when the wax is spilled. Paraffin candles release a
petro-carbon soot that stains your walls, furniture and is circulated
through your air ducts. This soot, according to the American Lung
Association, contains 11 documented toxins, 2 of which are known
carcinogens — toluene and benzene.
The scent from soy candles is much stronger and more pleasant than the
scent from paraffin wax candles. Because of the lower melting point of
soy wax, there is a larger amount of the liquid wax pool around the
candle wick itself. It is from this liquid wax pool and the wick itself
that the essential oils evaporate into the atmosphere. When it’s said
that a candle scent “throws well”, this means it fills the room with a
strong, lasting scent. Soy wax candles not only have a great scent throw,
but also have a cleaner smell. It’s been noted by many that paraffin wax
will give them headaches. Of course it’s not the scent itself, but the
additional chemicals the paraffin is putting off. Because soy burns so
clean, you’ll get a cleaner scent as well.

Those are just a few of the many reasons to use soy candles over
traditional paraffin candles. Products that we offer are: 6oz, 16oz soy
candles, 2oz wax melts, tea lights and tapered candles.
https://candlesinthecove.com/soy-candle-info

Using Scented Soy Candles to Beat Stress

Aromatherapy has gained a lot of attention and respectability in the last
several years. While it used to be used mainly in meditation and holistic
healing settings, it has gained widespread use in spas, salons and homes.
The benefits of aromatherapy are many, but perhaps the most striking effects
can be seen in its use as a stress-reliever. The new scented soy candles
that are available are a wonderful and affordable way to use aromatherapy
to soothe away the everyday stresses that can wreak havoc on our moods, our
health and our enjoyment of life.

Scented Soy Candles

Candles have been used over the centuries for a variety of purposes such as
providing light before gas lamps and electricity were invented. These first
candles were made of unscented wax and were a necessity in order to see in
the dark. Once there were other means to provide light through the use of
gas lamps or electricity, candles were no longer a necessity. However,
candles did not go away, rather they evolved with the inclusion of scents
and discovery of different materials like soy candles, and have been used
by artists as a sculpting medium to create unique, one-of-a-kind pieces.
https://www.uscandleco.com/articles.html

WRITTEN BY:
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Candle, light source now mostly used for decorative and
ceremonial purposes, consisting of wax, tallow, or similar
slow-burning material, commonly in cylindrical form but
made in many fanciful designs, enclosing and saturating a
fibrous wick.
Candles were among the earliest inventions of the ancient
world, as shown by candlesticks from Egypt and Crete dating
to at least 3000 BC. By the European Middle Ages tallow
candles were in wide use: in a Paris tax list of 1292, 71
chandlers, or candlemakers, are named.

In the 19th century a French chemist, Michel-Eugène

Chevreul, separated the fatty acid from the glycerin of fat
to produce stearic acid, from which superior candles could
be made. New processes for producing candle stock appeared
in rapid succession. In addition to stearin, two other
important sources were found: spermaceti, from the head
cavity of the sperm whale, and paraffin wax,
from petroleum. A composite of paraffin and stearic acid
became the basic candle stock.
In use, heat from the flame liquefies the wax near the base
of the wick. The liquid flows upward by capillary action,
then is vaporized by the heat. The flame is
the combustion of the wax vapour.
Candle-molding machinery, also developed in the 19th
century, consists of rows of molds in a metal tank that is
alternately heated and cooled. After the molds are cooled,
the candles are ejected by pistons. Spools of wicking from
the bottom of the machine are threaded through the pistons
to pass through the candle mold. As the cooled candles are
ejected, the wicks are cut.

The Standard, or International, Candle is a measurement of

light source intensity. It was originally defined as a one-
sixth-pound candle of sperm wax, burning at the rate of 120
grains per hour. This intensity of light was standardized
in 1921 in terms of incandescent lamps, and candles are no
longer used for reference.
Modern candles are produced in a wide variety of colours,
shapes, and sizes. Beeswax and bayberry wax are
occasionally employed as additives, and some candles are
scented. Candlemaking has become a popular hobby.
https://www.britannica.com/technology/candle