Most candle wax looks much the same in the bag, but poured it behaves very differently. A wax made for jars is too soft to stand on its own as a pillar, and some waxes are only meant to be used as part of a blend. This guide sorts the types of candle wax by what you are making, with the melting point and fragrance load for each, and ends with a comparison table.
First, a word on fragrance. The percentages below come from each wax's working notes and are the wax's side of the limit. The oil has a limit of its own: every one of our perfume oils has a usage table on its page with the maximum level for candles, and that figure comes first. If it is lower than the wax's range, use it.
Container candles in jars and tins
A container candle never has to stand up by itself, so it can use a softer wax than a pillar. Soy is the usual choice.
Soy wax flakes are natural soy wax in thin white flakes. They melt in minutes and are the easiest form to portion for a single jar. Heat to about 70 to 75 °C, cool to 60 to 65 °C, add fragrance at 6 to 10%, and pour at roughly 50 to 55 °C. Cure for at least a week before burning. Flakes trap air, so weigh them rather than measuring by volume.
Cargill NatureWax C-3 is a container soy wax made from renewable soybeans. Its melting point is low, 50 to 56 °C, which makes it forgiving to pour and to finish. It burns with noticeably less soot than paraffin, holds fragrance well at normal loads and is vegan.
A soft jar candle left in a hot room or a car can soften and sweat. Palm wax at 10 to 20% raises the melting point of soy, and microcrystalline wax at 2 to 5% helps the candle grip the glass, cutting down on wet spots and pull-away. If your jar candles crack as they set, see why homemade candles crack.
Pillars, votives and moulded candles
A pillar has no jar to hold it, so it needs a firmer wax that keeps its shape and comes cleanly out of the mould. It also takes a smaller wick than a jar of the same width, because its melt pool should stop short of the edge.
Soy pillar wax
Soy pillar wax is a firmer soy blend in white beads for pillars, tapers, votives and silicone moulds, and the plant-based alternative to paraffin pillars. Melt it to about 75 to 80 °C, add fragrance at 6 to 8% around 65 °C, and pour at 60 to 65 °C into a mould with the wick already threaded and sealed. Let it cool slowly: a draught or a cold surface can crack a pillar. Top up the sinkhole around the wick and cure for a week.
Fully refined paraffin wax
Fully refined paraffin wax is a mineral wax with a low oil content. It holds dye vividly and gives the glossy, opaque finish that natural waxes cannot. It shrinks as it sets, which is why it releases cleanly from a mould and also why it leaves a sinkhole around the wick, so keep some wax back for a second pour. Fragrance goes in at 6 to 10% around 70 °C, and moulds are poured at 65 to 70 °C.
Palm wax
Palm wax is a hard vegetable wax that sets with a feathered, crystalline pattern, so a pillar looks finished without dye. At 80 to 86 °C it has the highest melting point of our candle waxes. Pour it hot into a pre-warmed mould: the slower it cools, the larger the crystals, so wrap the mould in a towel for a bold pattern or pour cooler for a finer grain. Choose a wick one size up from soy.
Natural beeswax
Natural beeswax comes as small white pastilles, refined to a pale colour that takes dye truly. It suits rolled, dipped and moulded candles with a long, bright burn. It melts at 62 to 66 °C, so heat it in a double boiler, never over a direct flame. It has a faint honey scent of its own and many makers leave it unscented; if you add fragrance, use 6 to 8%. Use a larger wick than for soy. Our beeswax candle recipe walks through a first batch.
Clear gel candles
Gel wax makes transparent candles, with shells, glitter and layers of colour visible right through. It burns slowly and holds colour well, and ours is screened free of heavy metals and brominated flame retardants.
It needs more care than any other wax here. Melt it slowly to about 90 to 100 °C with a thermometer, never in a microwave, and never leave it unattended. Use only a fragrance oil rated for gel wax, at 3 to 5%, because ordinary fragrance oils cloud the gel or separate from it. Anchor the wick with a metal sustainer, keep embeds non-flammable and away from the flame, and never add water to the gel. Our guide to making gel candles takes you through it step by step.
No-melt sand candles
Sand wax makes a candle without melting anything. Fill a heat-safe vessel with the granules, push a wick into the centre and trim it to about 5 mm. Only the wax nearest the flame melts, into a small pool that sets again as it cools; the rest stays dry and can be poured out and reused, or topped up as the candle burns down. That makes it practical for table candles at events and for workshops and children's classes, where nobody handles hot wax.
It is sold unscented. Mix fragrance oil into the granules at up to 5% and leave them in a sealed bag for a day to absorb it. Choose a vessel with a wide mouth, since the pool spreads outward, and pick the wick for the flame you want rather than for the width of the vessel. For the full method, see our guide to making sand candles.
Wax melts and tarts
Melts are warmed in a burner rather than lit, so there is no wick to match and the choice comes down to how the wax carries scent. Soy wax flakes are the simple start, since they weigh out precisely and take fragrance at 6 to 10%. Paraffin gives a strong hot throw in tarts and melts at the same load. Coconut wax blended into the base gives a quick, generous release of fragrance, and gel wax can be poured as decorative melts with a gel-rated oil.
Blending: coconut, microcrystalline, palm and beeswax
Some waxes do their most useful work as a share of another wax. Keep a note of every ratio you try: the difference between 3% and 6% is easy to feel and hard to remember.
- Coconut wax melts at 38 to 42 °C and is too soft for a candle on its own. Start at 10 to 20% in soy for smoother tops, better adhesion and a stronger scent throw, and go higher for a softer, more scented candle, stopping where it still feels firm at room temperature in a UAE summer. A blend heavy in coconut needs a larger wick.
- Microcrystalline wax is a mineral wax used at 2 to 10% of the total. Melt it first, at about 80 to 85 °C, then add the base wax. At 2 to 5% it makes a pillar noticeably harder; at 10% it adds the flexibility and slight tack that carved candles need. It also raises the blend's melting point, so a candle in a sunny window softens later.
- Palm wax at 10 to 20% raises the melting point of soy, for container candles in a hot climate.
- Beeswax in a small share stiffens soy or coconut wax. It works the other way too: 10 to 20% coconut wax in beeswax gives a softer container candle.
Soy vs paraffin
Soy is a plant wax made from soybeans; paraffin is a mineral wax. Soy suits jars, and C-3 burns with noticeably less soot than paraffin. Paraffin gives brighter colour, a glossy finish and a strong scent throw, which suits pillars and tarts.
You don't have to pick one. A 20 to 30% share of paraffin in soy gives a firmer candle with a stronger throw. And if you want a soy pillar, use soy pillar wax: container soy is too soft to stand on its own.
Candle wax comparison
| Wax | Form | Melting point | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soy wax flakes | White flakes | 45–65 °C | Container candles, wax melts, test batches |
| Cargill NatureWax C-3 | Container soy wax | 50–56 °C | Container candles |
| Soy pillar wax | White beads | 45–65 °C | Pillars, votives, silicone moulds |
| Natural beeswax | White to off-white pastilles | 62–66 °C | Rolled, dipped and moulded candles; blending |
| Fully refined paraffin | White mineral wax | 58–60 °C | Pillars, moulded candles, tarts and melts |
| Palm wax | Fine powder | 80–86 °C | Crystal-finish pillars, hot-climate blends |
| Coconut wax | Soft white solid | 38–42 °C | Blending into soy, massage candles, melts |
| Microcrystalline wax | Yellow to white solid | 75–80 °C | Additive at 2–10%, carved candles |
| Gel wax | Clear soft gel | Not listed; work at 90–100 °C | Clear candles with embeds |
| Sand wax | Fine white granules | 55 °C and above | No-melt candles, events, workshops |
With the wax chosen, the wick comes next, and it depends on the wax as much as on the container: see how to choose a candle wick and our candle wicks. For a first pour from start to finish, read how to make your first scented candle. Every wax here is in our candle wax collection, and orders ship across the UAE in 1 to 3 working days.