Kerven

I really like the top on this design . With the texturing it looks like whitecaps or foamy waves breaking.

Ophelia's Soapery Ophelia's Soapery ToNature Sogeum Soap Tree Marie Soapworks Tree Marie Soapworks Soy and Shea Royalty Soaps Royalty Soaps Bramble Berry Ariane Arsenault

By the way, I found the box. Same artwork. Doesn't have "Ceda Serica" anywhere on it. I did find a Candlewic SDS for Ceda Serica. Link Of the Ceda Serica pictures I found, the majority show the wax in slab form with the same pattern on the bottoms. Every case I received from Candlewic was in shrink wrapped rectangular blocks. I know Candlewic has the equipment and facility to melt and pour their own slabs/blocks (there's an old video somewhere on the net showing them doing it), so I wonder if they repackage it and pass it off as theirs, which is pretty common these days. This post, claiming to have contacted Calwax, supports that thought. Incidentally, for those who don't think Ceda Serica has paraffin in it, that Candlewic SDS lists "paraffin fume" as a decomposition product. Noticed that the SDS is published on the new coconut apricot product page. It clearly states "revision" and replaces "paraffin fume" with "wax fumes". The inclusion of "saturated mineral hydrocarbons" makes me wonder if they're MOSH, which would mean it could contain mineral oil.

Using archive.org I was able to find snapshots of their pages from before the makeover. Unfortunately, I didn't find the SDS sheets and I only have one saved for their coconut oil blend. Since the snapshots of the product pages were taken in 2017, and I saved the SDS in 1/2019, I think they must have been published on the site sometime during late 2018. Anyway, the blend that contained the palm was their "coconut oil wax blend", a different product than the coconut apricot wax. Here's the snapshot of the "coconut apricot candle wax" page. This was thought to be Ceda Serica, and I could swear that the SDS I found (but don't seem to have saved) sometime back included the name. The artwork on the product page isn't displaying, however, it can be seen here albeit very small. It's the same - the apricots behind the split coconut - as the new coconut apricot wax. Recycled artwork? Lazy branding? Who knows.

Candlewic had their own coconut blend (per the SDS: hydrogenated palm oil, coconut oil, stearic acid) a while back. I think it was discontinued or removed from the site around the same time as the site's makeover. The "new" coconut-apricot wax (CBL-131) might be a repackaging of Ceda Serica or a modified blend. It's included among Candlewic's custom blends (see the address of that product's page). According to the description of Ceda Serica at Swans Candles, they only know of one apricot-coconut wax that goes by many descriptions... so IDK. I'm almost certain that Candlewic's artwork for CBL-131 is the same as what they used for Ceda Serica. That is, assuming the previous product was Ceda Serica. I might have one of the pre-change boxes the wax was packaged in... Isn't Candlewic part of the WSP network now? Does Calwax have ties to WSP?

I'm not certain. I don't get any greasy, tallowy, lard-y notes, unlike with coco83, that would make me question whether or not it contains any animal fats or beeswax. AFAIK, Calwax doesn't describe or advertise it as being vegan, so it might be best to ask them.

Does it contain any starches, dextrose, or maltodextrin? I've read that some people have trouble getting them to dissolve properly in room temp or cooler water. Try making a slurry with warm/hot water and then thinning to desired consistency.

That's a relief. Thanks! Is there a benefit to using chilled water or ice cubes?

Here's an interesting video I found while following another YT rabbit hole. Could someone explain to me what is going on here ? I'm all sorts of baffled by this. Couldn't even finish the vid before I had to run here to ask. I was, due to the many, many warnings in just about every guide and book about soapmaking, under the impression that lye granules could cause severe burns. A lye solution was much more dangerous. That's why I've been reluctant to try soaping. If that's not the case, and a little splash on the hand or arm isn't an omg-skin-is-going-to-melt-off-or-be-horribly-scarred moment, I might be more willing to give it a go. Is his solution weaker than what most soapers use?

What is the dark stuff in the bonfire tins? It looks familiar and not knowing is bothering me. Are those briquettes? Kind of defeats the purpose of the "cleaner" soy fuel, if so. How are they extinguished? Not with water, I hope. Edit: At least, some people appear to be using them in secondary containers and with rocks. I suppose that's safer... until it gets bumped into, the molten wax coats and absorbs into porous rock (looking at you, lava rocks), and the entire thing becomes a flaming ball of insurance claims.

Coconut waxes on their own - I do not like them. Have not met one that I could get close to an ideal burn with. Blended - yes. I have used coconut waxes in a variety of blends and found that other waxes add qualities that coconut waxes lack. It's a shame coco83 is hard to find these days. I just started FO testing with a very promising coco83 blend I stumbled upon a while back. My issue with coconut waxes is the lack of transparency and rampant rebranding. Some coconut waxes contain petroleum products, and some retailers fail (intentionally) to mention it. Then, there are several retailers using something (that used to be) as common as coco83 and coconut-apricot and rebranding it with all sorts of flashy words, "luxe" and "creme" being very popular.

Polyester glitter, maybe? They come in every color imaginable including holo, metallic, color shift, etc.

@TallTayl They have coconut wax too. 🤨 Wait... Michaels sells or makes candles from Candlewic stuff? Is that what those super cheap private label candles, that they sell this time of year, are made of?

If using the over the counter Vaseline, make sure it only contains white petrolatum. Some of the others - Deep Moisture, for example - contain inactive ingredients such as: stearic acid, glycerin, water, cetyl alcohol, caprylic/capric triglycerides, titanium dioxide, etc.

CD 6 looks the best, IMO. I would definitely go in that direction. The slight bit of translucent wax at the rim of the melt pool makes it appear as though it's not burning too hot even that far down the container. Resembles some of the homemade coconut blends I've been playing with. I don't know if it's from the extra 2 hours, but the ROC appears as though it's higher than the others. I can't tell from the first picture if that's the case or if the melt pool is deeper. Looks good either way. Does the glass get too hot to handle? The HTP 83 looks interesting too. Have you tried the next size up? That might take care of the hang up on the glass. Incomplete combustion, which produces soot, mushrooms, etc., can be caused by wicks that are too small or too large. Might be worth testing a size up just to see. The CSN... is it doing something weird to the melt pool or is that what the melt pool looks like when it cools?