What is frosting in a soy wax candle?

 Have you ever looked at your candle and noticed the white speckled appearance of the wax along the top and edges of the candle? This isn't an added chemical which some people have thought but it is something called frosting. While you might think this is something bad it is actually a really good sign that you have a pure soy product.

If you've ever seen whiteish color coating on a chocolate bar then you know what frosting looks like in soy wax. Frosting is actually a natural by-product of 100% soy wax and doesn't affect the burn or fragrance of the candle. Frosting is caused by microscopic crystal growth which continues to form over time on the surface of the wax (you may notice that you don't have any frosting when you purchase your candle but a month later it begins to form).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

    Why do your candles have frosting but other soy candles I've purchased have none?

If you look carefully at many of the soy candles you purchase from other stores you will see they are actually labeled as a "soy blend". Take notice that they won't tell you what percentage of the candle is soy and there is a very important reason for that...they don't want you to know! For example if a competitors candle was created using 95% parraffin wax and 5% soy wax they would label this product as a "soy blend". This candle would now burn much faster compared to a pure soy candle. 

How do I know if my candle is actually a pure soy candle?

They best way is to check the label and see where the manufacturer states if it is a soy candle or a soy blend candle.The downside to this method is that while it is required that they include it on their label marketing companies are very clever when it comes to trying to hide the information to make you search for it.  You will likely find the information on the bottom warning label or the back label. 

Another method is to check for the frosting that we previously discussed. While a soy blend candle can still frost it is less likely. As you increase the percentage of soy in the "soy blend" you also increase the chance of frosting. Many manufacturers also offset the frosting by adding chemicals to the mixture to minimize the frosting. At Two Nerds we believe there is no need to include chemicals into your candle to eliminate naturally occuring frosting which doesn't affect any of the candle characteristics beyond the appearance.

While many manufacturers don't make their soy candles colored as it hides the frosting we like to think outside the box and accept the natural state of the material. Why shouldn't soy candle lovers also enjoy a colored candle? 

As always let us know in the comments below if you have any questions and we would be happy to answer them!