Once you’ve made the choice to work with soy wax, it’s time to decide which form you want: Beads, flakes, or slabs. While flakes and slabs have their advantages, wax beads are the clear winner for ease of use and better candlemaking.
Let’s break it down:
Beads
Soy beads were created to provide an easier way to measure, melt, store, and use soy wax.
Soy beads have only a small amount of surface area, reducing condensation to improve melting and side wall adhesion. Their shape also helps them to melt easier and more consistently than other forms of soy wax.
Add to that the fact that they’re easier to measure, and without the need for special equipment. When you use a standard 1-cup measuring cup you already have in your kitchen, that cup will hold 5.25 ounces of soy beads every time. Other wax forms can vary dramatically in their weight vs volume when measuring. When you use beads, you spend less time measuring and more time making.
Soy bead packaging makes more sense, too. Beads are packaged in bags rather than boxes, so waste is reduced in the manufacturing process and they don’t require as much space to store.
PRO
+ Easiest to measure
+ Easy to melt
+ More consistent melting
+ Less moisture content
+ Less packaging waste
CON
– Could take slightly longer to melt than flakes
Flakes
The most common method of packing soy candle wax, flakes, as the name implies, are small, irregular flakes of wax. Flakes are easier to measure than slabs since they can be scooped from the box with any common pitcher or scoop. You’ll want to use a scale, though, as the weight of a scoop of wax can vary scoop-to-scoop due to the random sizes of the flakes.
Soy wax flakes are almost always produced in food-production facilities with highly automated packing equipment that is specifically designed for making food products. The flat, wide flakes have a great deal of surface area, which helps them melt faster.
All that surface area, however, has one major disadvantage: condensation. Condensation can be absorbed into the flake while it is being made, and that moisture leads to poor side wall adhesion, undesirable “wet spots,” and an inconsistent burn (imagine building a bonfire that includes a few pieces of damp firewood). In short, condensation can ruin your batch.
Flakes will take a bit more room to store than slabs, and with larger boxes, you’ll generally have more wasted packaging.
PRO
+ Easier to melt than slabs
+ Easy to melt in microwave or melter
CON
– High condensation can ruin your batch
– Harder to measure than beads
– Significant packaging waste
Slab
Slabs are generally 10-12-pound blocks of wax in a rectangular form. This format can be the most difficult to measure, as any measurement less than the slab weight will require the user to cut or beat the slab into smaller, inconsistent chunks for measuring.
Slabs are typically packed 5 or 6 slabs per box, which is lined with a plastic bag. This format can often trap moisture in the box, which can lead to problems like poor side wall adhesion and inconsistent burning.
This format can also be the most difficult to measure, as any measurement less than the slab weight will require the user to cut or beat the slab into smaller, inconsistent chunks for measuring. And those chunks tend to take longer to melt in a melter.
While the slab shape does require less storage space than other options, that benefit is offset by the additional packaging of a bag and box of waste when the wax is consumed.
PRO
+ Easier storage
CON
– Difficult to measure
– Takes longer to melt
– High condensation can ruin your batch
– Significant packaging waste
Easy to melt | Easy to measure | Easy to store | Low packaging waste | Low condensation | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Beads | |||||
Flakes | |||||
Slabs |
If you’re ready to try soy beads for better candlemaking, shop now at SoyBeads.com