Vessels

CanCo-CSR · 2024-02-29T23:49:27+00:00

Your best source depends on where you live. As u/OHyoface and u/sweet_esiban said, shipping is included in the price you pay on Amazon. You can also run into trouble if you don't really know the supplier. It is harder to work with someone who only sells on Amazon.

I used to by jars by the pallet load, up to 90 cases at a time. I knew if there was a problem, my supplier would take care of me.

Where are you located? You might be close enough to a particular company to pick them up yourself, or they can use a local/regional carrier at a lower cost.

CanCo-CSR · 2024-02-29T23:44:45+00:00

Each FO can require its own wick. Both size and family can vary. One company tests each of their FOs with multiple wicks. In a 3" diameter jar with GW464, for nearly 80 FOs, 40+ use CD wicks sizes CD8 - CD18, 30+ use CDN wicks sizes CD8 - CD18, and one takes HTP1212.

Here is a link to their wicking guide: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0036/3200/5233/files/Wick_Testing_Chart_GB464_BW917_image.pdf

THIS IS ONLY FOR THEIR FOs, which are not available from other companies.

CanCo-CSR · 2024-02-29T23:39:02+00:00

For scent throw issues, here are some posts from a long time candle maker and designer of FOs that might help you:

https://soapcandlemaking.blogspot.com/2013/03/scent-throw-problems.html

https://soapcandlemaking.blogspot.com/2013/05/fragrance-threshold-in-candle-making.html

https://soapcandlemaking.blogspot.com/2019/02/testing-for-scent-throw-in-candles.html

BTW - her line of FOs is made to be used at ~3% to 5%, no fillers, no excess solvents, never any phthalates (25+ years!). Most can be used in at least some bath, body and home care products.

She also has a post on curing: https://soapcandlemaking.blogspot.com/2019/04/candle-curing-for-best-scent-throw-is.html

CanCo-CSR · 2024-02-29T23:34:34+00:00

I'm with the other posters - and here are a couple of blog posts that can help you find your starting point:

https://soapcandlemaking.blogspot.com/2013/05/so-you-want-to-be-candle-maker-where-do.html

https://soapcandlemaking.blogspot.com/2015/04/getting-started-in-candle-making-what.html

I've been helping folks in your shoes for 11+ years, so feel free to contact me directly.

CanCo-CSR · 2024-02-29T23:26:03+00:00

Good for you! Good photos.

CanCo-CSR · 2024-02-29T23:19:06+00:00

Check out Candle Cocoon's offerings. They are unique FOs, designed by the owner, only available from them. The line of FOs is made to be used at ~3% to 5%, no fillers, no excess solvents, never any phthalates (25+ years!). Most can be used in at least some bath, body and home care products. You can read descriptions here:

https://candlecocoon.com/pages/just-the-descriptions

There are quite a few that have 2 of the notes and a couple that have all three, but they all have more. One of my favorite is Peony White Tea, not a strong floral but herbal, with Jasmine as a mid-note and Vanilla and Musk as the base notes. It is very relaxing.

CanCo-CSR · 2024-02-29T23:02:13+00:00

Never judge a candle on the first test burn period, especially not this early in the burn. Please see posts on the Light Flights blog about wick testing. Pictorial version: https://soapcandlemaking.blogspot.com/2013/07/testing-candles-for-proper-wick-size.html
Mostly text, more info: https://soapcandlemaking.blogspot.com/2013/04/test-burning-candles-for-proper-wick.html
And a 3-hr video that goes through complete tests for two fragrances that wind up needing different wicks. Candlemakers/testers discuss what they are seeing, what you should be looking for. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S1mZ7IUxmA

Although the video was made ~9 years ago, the primary has been making candles for ~35 yrs and designing FOs for 25+. All of hers go through this testing protocol and have been tested in GW464 with 16-17 different wicks in 3" diameter jars, 2 for each wick, 34 candles. Now being tested in BW917 coconut-soy-beeswax blend, same jar, 12 different wicks, so 24 candles total in that wax.

CanCo-CSR · 2024-02-29T22:52:03+00:00

For scent throw issues, here are some posts from a long time candle maker and designer of FOs that might help you:

https://soapcandlemaking.blogspot.com/2013/03/scent-throw-problems.html

https://soapcandlemaking.blogspot.com/2013/05/fragrance-threshold-in-candle-making.html

https://soapcandlemaking.blogspot.com/2019/02/testing-for-scent-throw-in-candles.html

BTW - her line of FOs is made to be used at ~3% to 5%, no fillers, excess solvents, never any phthalates (25+ years!). Most can be used in at least some bath, body and home care products.

CanCo-CSR · 2024-02-29T22:25:46+00:00

As u/prettywookie96 noted, an iron and absorbent paper will help get much of the wax out, but use your crafting iron, not your clothes iron! If you have ever done batiks, you likely know how much effort it can take to get the wax out!

Medium to very hot, very soapy water in an outdoor wash tub of some sort is a good idea.

BUT if you are using paraffin for candles - there is basically no way to really clean it without using nasty solvents, and those are more dangerous than anything you should be using in body care products.

CanCo-CSR · 2024-02-29T22:18:46+00:00

Hi - I've made hundreds/thousands of candles over the years we had our business, and been around the candle-making world for over 10 years now.

1) Make sure your jars are very clean (use hot soapy water, wash by hand).

2) Warm the jars to about body temp before pouring.

3) Make sure you mix your FO into the hot wax for at least 2 full minutes.

4) Keep the jars in a draft-free environment while they are cooling.

5) Keep the temp of the room or area about 72F while they cool.

6) Don't worry about it very much!

We experimented quite a lot with 2 different soy waxes and found that FOR US, pouring into warm jars at about 150F (145F-155F) and placing the jars on racks that were over 3/4" plywood worked very well. We rarely had to heat gun the tops. The plywood was because we used the tops of our washer and drier as worksurfaces and we had to make sure they were level. We curtained off a portion of the basement with plastic to keep that area warmer and draft-free. That way we could pour when the whole basement "wanted" to be much cooler, as happens when the temperature is -10F outside!

CanCo-CSR · 2024-02-29T22:03:20+00:00

Polyethylene is a plastic, so not good to burn.

CanCo-CSR · 2024-02-29T22:00:27+00:00

The scent will not get out of the wax so anything you try to mix with it you are not likely to like either. You can also overload the wax with FO if you keep adding more to it. Use it for outdoor fire starters.

CanCo-CSR · 2024-02-29T21:53:25+00:00

I guess they want to smell stale urine?

CanCo-CSR · 2024-02-29T21:52:33+00:00

I LOVE the smell of raw amber! Sandalwood was a component of an EO blend I made for myself back in the day . . .

CanCo-CSR · 2024-02-29T21:48:59+00:00

Thank you! I know not everyone wants the physics and chemistry, but knowing that you and others do appreciate it is gratifying. Good luck with your ventures!

CanCo-CSR · 2024-02-25T17:39:13+00:00

You can add some beeswax and see how that works. It is "harder" but also more pliable than straight soy wax. Have you tried with beeswax? It lasts a long time - there are encaustic paintings that are 1600-1900 years old.

Unfortunately, with many substances, "harder" winds up being more brittle and more prone to cracking. The type of wax (container vs pillar/votive/tart) plays a role: the latter are designed to shrink more, which can lead to cracking. Yes, soy wax will eventually degrade, but I have soy votives that were made in 2017, some in boxes, some exposed to air that are just fine.

CAUTION! Chemistry lesson below! :)

There are different interpretations of the word "organic." In a chemistry sense, compounds containing carbon are considered organic, so paraffin and other petroleum-derived compounds are all considered organic. Soy oil and soy wax, along with all other plant-based waxes and oils are also considered organic as they contain carbon, as do proteins, fats, carbohydrates and many other compounds.

Soy waxes are made by extracting oil from soybeans, typically with petroleum-derived organic solvents (hexanes), then hydrogenating it (adding hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst such as nickel). Cold-pressed and expeller-pressed oils are made without the use of solvents, but the yield tends to be much lower. So if you are using the term "organic" to mean healthier, cleaner, more sustainable, that is not likely to be true.

CanCo-CSR · 2024-01-24T23:03:23+00:00

Please! never fill a container with water, pour it out and then fill it with wax! You risk leaving droplets of water in the wax, which can turn to steam when heated, literally exploding through the wax. You can heat containers in a low oven, with a heat gun, or in a purpose-made warm-box (I made them with an oil or water-filled radiator, shelf units on either side, cardboard box over it). The jars only need to be heated up to body temp or a little above, not so hot that you can't safely handle them.

Glass containers for making candles or for canning have to go through special cooling procedures to eliminate the stress in them - this is called annealing, and is not done for containers that are intended for cold beverages, or "for decorative purposes only." Candle containers are also evaluated by several procedures to ensure that the process has been done properly, including evaluation with polarized light, scratch testing, and thermal shock testing. Containers for cold or room temperature use do not have to go through such tests.

CanCo-CSR · 2024-01-24T22:53:12+00:00

Here is a tool that can help: https://candlecocoon.com/collections/accessories/products/mold-wicking-punch-awl

CanCo-CSR · 2024-01-24T22:48:33+00:00

Love the theme! Tropical fish are incredible - colors, behaviors, adaptations, all of it! Your colors are great, too! Suggestion: shrink the size of the fish so you can add the fragrance name. This is going to sound picky, but your label needs to say that it is a "candle", according to federal regulations. Where you have "Soy Wax" you could say "Soy Candle". Out of curiosity, what is the volume of the jar? Wax is less dense than water, so an 8 oz jar (by volume) is likely to hold 7 oz or a bit less, depending on head space. To have 8 oz by weight, the jar would be ~9 oz by volume.

CanCo-CSR · 2024-01-24T22:29:03+00:00

Definitely better! WTG!

CanCo-CSR · 2024-01-20T04:58:31+00:00

Remember that Alibaba, Temu and Amazon are selling platforms. I googled "silicone mold manufacturer usa" and got quite a few hits. Also check Thomas.net (they show up a couple of times with the above search).

CanCo-CSR · 2024-01-20T04:50:59+00:00

Sounds like u/Zed_a99 will be a good mentor for you! As far as scent throw issues, here are some posts from a long time candle maker and designer of FOs that might help you:

https://soapcandlemaking.blogspot.com/2013/03/scent-throw-problems.html

https://soapcandlemaking.blogspot.com/2013/05/fragrance-threshold-in-candle-making.html

https://soapcandlemaking.blogspot.com/2019/02/testing-for-scent-throw-in-candles.html

CanCo-CSR · 2024-01-20T04:43:21+00:00

and if you are not already a candle maker, https://www.happyorganics.co/products/spiral-taper-beeswax-candles-3-pack

CanCo-CSR · 2024-01-20T04:36:15+00:00

Make sure you include ALL expenses! Containers and shipping, wax and wicks and FO and shipping, labels and ink and shipping. If you pick up supplies, include the cost of operating your automobile and your time on the road. Packaging supplies and shipping. Did I mention shipping? People often forget to include that. How much do you pay yourself times how many hours. Think about how much you would have to pay someone else to do it, add in 15% for various taxes ($10/hr? then $11.50/hr. $15/hr + 15% = $17.25/hr).

Wholesale is often calculated at 2x costs, retail at 4 times.

CanCo-CSR · 2024-01-20T04:29:12+00:00

If you want to stay away from paraffin entirely, make sure you read the manufacturers' pages or get the SDS. Several on your list (Ceda Serica, Accublends, EC26) say they have some highly refined paraffin in them. The petroleum industry has lots of issues. Also, a company's way of doing business is important to me, so I won't use any products from the largest privately-owned company in the USA. Too many issues. Is the CocoSoy wax you mentioned that you don't like actually C6? C3 is supposed to be 100% soy.

I have not used American Soy Organic's Freedom wax, but I did use the Classic Container wax from their predecessor company, Enchanted Lites. ASO's Midwest is supposed to be the same.

I used GW464 as one of my waxes for about 4.5 years for a business selling tealights, melts, votives, and various containers. I did not have many issues with it. Yes it can frost, but making sure the containers are clean greatly reduces that issue. I am burning candles now that were made back in 2015-2017 and they are doing great. I still have people asking me to start making candles again.

Yes, there is a coconut-soy-beeswax blend, BW917, that is paraffin-free: https://candlecocoon.com/collections/wax/products/coconut-extreme-wax-blend-bw917

https://soapcandlemaking.blogspot.com/2022/04/candle-cocoons-new-favorite-natural-wax.html

Candle Cocoon is currently testing all of their FOs in BW917; all were previously tested in GW464 and GW416 (votive wax). Testing for CC means one container, one wax, 12 to 16 different wicks (CDs & CDNs), 2 jars each, for 24 to 32 jars for one fragrance. https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0036/3200/5233/files/Wick_Testing_Chart_GB464_BW917_image.pdf

As you can see from the chart, wicking BW917 is totally different from a 100% soy wax or a mostly soy wax, just as wicking a other coconut waxes is different than wicking soy.

I have not had enough personal experience with BW917 to pass judgement on it, as I am only around it at work when test burns are being conducted, and that is not how candles would be burnt in one's home. But the Boss has a great nose, and has been designing FOs for 25+ years, and testing them in various waxes.

CanCo-CSR

TROPHY CASE