Why Most "Beeswax" Candles Aren't What You Think

Beeswax Pat  ·  February 2026  ·  4 min read

If you've bought a "beeswax" candle from a big-box store or even some specialty shops, there's a reasonable chance it wasn't what you thought it was. Not because anyone technically lied — but because the labeling rules for candles leave a lot of room for misleading marketing.

The Loophole: No Legal Purity Standard

In the United States, there is no federal regulation that defines what percentage of beeswax a candle must contain to be called a "beeswax candle." A product that is 90% paraffin and 10% beeswax can — and often does — carry a label that says "beeswax candle" without violating any law.

This is not a fringe practice. Blending beeswax with paraffin or soy is extremely common in the candle industry because pure beeswax is expensive. By using a small amount of beeswax in a paraffin blend, manufacturers get the marketing benefit of the word "beeswax" without the cost of using it fully.

A $10 "beeswax" candle is almost certainly a blend. The raw material alone costs more than that in pure form.

Common Blend Types (and Their Labels)

You'll see these in stores regularly:

• ✗ "Beeswax & Coconut Blend" — marketed as natural, often still contains paraffin. The ratio is rarely disclosed.
• ✗ "Natural Beeswax Candle" — "natural" has no legal definition. Could be any blend ratio.
• ✗ "Made With Beeswax" — honest phrasing that still tells you nothing about percentage.
• ✗ No ingredient list at all — candles are not legally required to list ingredients in the U.S. If there's no list, you have no way to verify anything.

How to Spot a Real One

It's not complicated, but it requires reading the small print. A genuinely pure beeswax candle should have:

• ✓ A clear ingredient list — and that list should say one thing: beeswax. Nothing else.
• ✓ A price that makes sense — pure beeswax costs significantly more per pound than paraffin or soy. An 8 oz "pure beeswax" candle for $8 is almost mathematically impossible to be genuine.
• ✓ American sourcing noted, or verifiable — imported Chinese beeswax has documented quality and adulteration issues (see our post on that). American-sourced is more verifiable.
• ✓ A maker who answers questions — a small-batch producer who hand-pours their candles should be able to tell you exactly where their wax comes from.

Why We List Our Ingredient

Our label says: Ingredients: 100% Organic American Beeswax. That's it. We list it because we have nothing to hide, and because we think you deserve to know exactly what you're burning in your home.

We don't blend. We don't use paraffin as a cost-cutter. Every candle we pour starts and ends with the same material: pure American beeswax that we source ourselves and can account for.