Now that it’s winter time, there’s nothing better than cozying up in your favorite chair with a good book, a hot cup of tea and a richly scented candle with a softly flickering flame (and for me, that only happen during the kiddo’s nap time and I love that quiet time!). Bramble Berry offers a number of excellent waxes so you can make your own candles, and lately our favorite has been the EcoSoya Advanced Wax. It’s 100% vegetable based and sourced from soy beans grown exclusively by domestic farmers. Best of all, it has multiple uses: this wax is lip and skin safe, making it an potential replacement for beeswax in lip balm recipes.
This particular wax is specially designed for containers, and could be paired with our 14 oz. Round Glass Candle Jar, Flower Pot Candle Container or the 10 oz. Tapered Neck Candle Jar.
When deciding how much candle wax you’ll need for a given container, remember that it’s important to measure your wax by weight and not volume. Wax takes up much more space by volume, so if you measure that way you’ll find that you’ll cut yourself quite short when you go to melt and pour! You can read more about why we always recommend measuring by weight instead of volume here and here.
We measured out 16 oz. of Palm Stearic Acid by volume (left) and then melted it down (right). You can see that this would not be nearly enough wax to fill a 16 oz. container!
There are many options for scenting candles. We have an entire category of fragrances formulated specifically for candle use, but the reality is you can use any of our fragrance or essential oils for candle making. We highly recommend doing a test candle/burn test when experimenting with fragrance or essential oils because the scent can drastically change when burned, or effect how the candle burns.
We recommend a starting point of .5 oz. per pound of wax if you’re using essential oils or 1 oz. per pound if you’re using fragrance oils. Keep in mind, that’s just a starting point and you may prefer a stronger or weaker scent. Test batches for throw (scent strength) are your friend. 
As far as colorants, there are a wide range of wax dye blocks that make candle coloring super easy. They work the same as our color blocks for melt and pour in that they are highly concentrated colorants dispersed in sold wax. To use them, simply shave off chunks of the dye block into your melt wax, stir, and then pour! We colored the candles above using the dye blocks.
Choosing a candle wick can be quite a complicated process (who would have thought?) but here is a chart that breaks down the most common wicks and what size candles they’re best fo:
| Wick Model# and Characteristics | RRD 29 | CD-12 | CD-16 | CD-20 |
| Use: Small Containers and Pillars | X | |||
| Use: Medium Containers and Pillars | X | X | X | |
| For candle diameter: | 1-2″ | 2.5-3″ | 2.75-3.25″ | 3.5-4″ |
| Wax Pool (diameter): | 1.8″ | 1.93″ | 2.01″ | 2.06″ |
| Flame Height: | 1.1″ | 2.39″ | 2.54″ | 3.28″ |
| Wick Model# and Characteristics | WU-150 | WU-250 | WU-350 | WU-450 |
| Use: Small Containers and Pillars | ||||
| Use: Medium Containers and Pillars | X | X | X | X |
| For candle diameter: | 4-5″ | 4-4.5″ | 4″ | 3.5-4″ |
| Wax Pool (diameter): | 3.5″ | 3.32″ | 3.28″ | 3.09″ |
| Flame Height: | 2.40″ | 2.24″ | 1.78″ | 1.41″ |
Click here to see our entire selection of wicks or learn more about each.
Below are a variety of projects to get you inspired. We’ve done tutorials on super cute wax tarts made for oil burners, ombre candles and even candles with whipped wax!
Top: Simple Wax Tarts, Homspa Ombre Candle
Bottom: Chai Tea Latte Candle, Whipped Frosting Candle
What are some of your favorite wintertime candle scents? Got any questions about Soy Wax? Ask them below.
I used this soy wax with your white beeswax (3 parts soy/1 part beeswax) with 1 ounce of the Cream Cheese Frosting oil and another batch with lavender for melts. Neither batch has a very good scent throw. What can I be doing wrong?
Hi Kim!
If you’re finding your candles and wax melts have lighter scent throw, you can add more fragrance! You can use 4-6% fragrance in the candle. It can also help to let the candle sit for 48 hours before burning, or adding the fragrances when the wax is above 135F. Read more in the Orange Blossom Candle Tutorial + Candle Tips post: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/home-crafts/candles-q/
You may also like our candle and soap scents. They’re specifically formulated for candles and have great scent throw. 🙂
Candle and soap scents: https://www.brambleberry.com/Skin-Safe-Candle-Fragrances-C341.aspx
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Sorry this was for Wax melt tarts. Try the same thing?
This is for melts not for candles so try the same thing? Add fragrance at 135 degrees and wait 48 hours to use?
I an starting to make wax tarts. What would you recommend as the best wax?
Hi Kim!
For making wax tarts, EcoSoya Advanced Wax Tarts work great! We have made them before using this wax and had really nice results.
Wax Tarts Melts 3 Ways Tutorial: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/home-crafts/wax-tart-melts-3-ways-tutorial/
I hope this helps!
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
Is the Ecosoy Advanced Soy Wax really GMO free? When I look this up online under EcoSoya Wax this comes up under frequently asked questions. I’m just trying to figure out if it’s really GMO free. :
Are your beans organic or Non-GMO?
We would like to use soybeans that are strictly organic or non-GMO but due to supply issues we can’t guarantee it. We do guarantee that our waxes themselves do not contain any pesticides, herbicides, or genetically modified material. During manufacturing, the waxes are cleaned of any of these items if present, resulting in a very clean and green product.
Hi Fuchia!
I have done a little research on this topic, and from what I have read, about 98% of the soybean harvest has been either genetically modified (GMO) or non-GMO mixed in with GMO soybeans. We can only go with what our suppliers say, and the information on this product came directly from them. They do their best to keep their product GMO free, but it sounds like you have done your research and see that the potential is there.
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
What is the difference between the EcoSoya Advanced wax and the EcoSoya 135 wax?
Hi Michele!
EcoSoya Advanced Soy Wax and the EcoSoya 135 Wax have a lot in common, and a few slight differences. Both are made specifically for container candles, and both wax is 100% vegetable, made with soybean and botanical oils.
EcoSoya Advanced Soy Wax contracts slightly, producing a beautiful consistent appearance and is extremely frost resistant. EcoSoya 135 Wax has great adhesion with out preheating but may produce frosting. We recommend this wax for massage candle making.
I hope this helps!
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
Thanks!