What is the difference between paraffin and soy wax?
Paraffin wax is a byproduct of petroleum, whereas soy wax is a natural wax that is created from the soybean. Paraffin wax has been around for decades, while soy wax was just created within the last few years. Soy wax is softer wax that burns cleaner, is environmentally friendly, and is virtually soot-free. Paraffin wax is generally more rigid; allows for vast creative flexibility and has various innovative uses.
Paraffin is a white wax that comes from the refining of petroleum. R&F used to recommend paraffin for cleaning brushes for no other reason than that it was the cheapest wax available. But paraffin is derived from petroleum, and we needn’t tell you that the cost of petroleum has been skyrocketing. In addition, we all know that petroleum is one of the biggest environmental contributors of carbon dioxide. So this combination of increased price and environmental impact has caused use to search for potential alternatives. We at R&F as well as a number of our customers have been experimenting with partially-hydrogenated soy wax as a replacement for paraffin. The results have been encouraging. Soy wax is non-toxic and burns cleaner than paraffin. Soybeans are a renewable source, unlike paraffin. Soy Wax is naturally biodegradable. Soy wax is also easier to remove than paraffin wax, so after the color has been cleaned out of the brush, the brush can be washed with soap and water and is reusabl
