chris77

I think, that if you really, really have to ask that question, you already know the answer.

wow....sometimes people just need a little encouragement or support....there are times that I've wanted to throw in the towel and I'm just in the R & D phase....thankfully God has blessed me with a wife who does encourage me and support me and keeps me going. Sometimes a little reassurance to keep going and not give up is what we need!

Forgive me if I read your post with the wrong tone...sounded a but grumpy!

Okay, so what about using natural waxes with a meltpoint higher than that of soy like Carnauba (82.5º C) or Candelilla (68.5 - 72.5º C)? Sorry I am not sure what that is in Farenheit, but I am sure it is equal or higher than the meltpoint of beeswax. Just a thought.

hopefully someone else will chime in because I know nothing of those 2 waxes

Thanks Chris. So many allergies these days, isn't it? I know folks allergic to soy, you have family members allergic to paraffin. Let's hope there aren't too many allergic to both, or we would have to stop making candles altogether.

yeah no doubt....ooorrrrr....make the 50/50 blend and maybe the one would cancel out the other! muahaha

Chris, how does this present? I'd like to be able to recognize the symptoms.

well, my sister gets an immediate headache when she is exposed to a burning paraffin candle....and it's not the FO, because the unscented candles give her just as bad a headache. Another friend can burn soy or beeswax like her and be fine, however paraffin makes his asthma act up, and other family get similar symptoms as well. They are all fine burning beeswax and soy however.

There is some comments in the recent Beanpod post by Geek that might be of interest to you - about the 100% soy issue. Have a look - it was quite interesting. Some people felt that there it is all about marketing - that there is really no such thing as a pure soy candle, and maybe:grin2: that it does not really matter all that much either...

HTH

Katinka

I participated in the BeanPod thread a couple of times....I understand the marketing aspect....I also recognize the deceitfulness of marketing and how people buy things that maybe they wouldn't if they knew the truth...such as how bad MSG is for you and not knowing that they put it in food but are able to label it as something other than MSG because it was added to something else before putting into the product. I want to be honest with my customers...I want to have integrity in what I do, and I want my product to have integrity. I know that I can't label the candle as 100% natural or 100% soy if it has color or fragrance...which one of my lines contain neither....but if I say that the wax used is only so, or that the candle contains no paraffin, then I want to do so honestly and have a clear conscience. It's like putting beeswax in a candle and calling it a soy candle....some vegans would not have bought the candle if they knew it had beeswax in it. I will be honest in what I do and I will be blessed because of it as longs as I'm following the calling that the Good Lord has placed in front of me.

I started this thread because I was curious as to how the chandlers here that are only trying to make a paraffin free candle feel about the paraffin primed wax....

I apologize if this post came across harsh as it it not my intention...too tired to be responding tonight.... :undecided

I just put "soy candle"

doesn't "soy candle" lead people to believe that it is a "soy candle" and that it contains no paraffin at all?

I'm not picking fights with people...just playing the devil's advocate....for me, I want to make a completely paraffin free candle since many friends and family of mine have paraffin allergies....so with my conscience, I would feel dishonest using a wick knowing that it was primed in paraffin....

instead of blowing the candle out, dip the wick into the soy wax and then lift it back out. The coating of wax will extinguish the wick with little to no smoke!

For those of you who make "100%" soy candles with no paraffin...I was wondering about your wicking. I know a lot of people are using CD wicks and HTP wicks.....do you buy the primed wicks? Do you special order them with soy priming? Or do you just order them from your supplier? In which case, aren't they primed with paraffin? So are our candles truly paraffin free???

Just curious since so many of are trying to perfect the all soy candles. I had a tea light burn perfectly yesterday...had to blow it out at 7 hours cause I had to leave....was so excited...then I thought, "gee, my wick is primed in paraffin, there goes the all soy paraffin free candle!"

Just my random thoughts.....would like some of your thoughts here!

Thanks...C :lipsrseal

I have also melted my wax in the larger pot, poured the wax into a recycled veggie can with a pour spout bent into it with pliers. That's where I mix FO & color for small amounts, ex. 1 candle. After I pour into the prewicked container, I put the can upside down to let the rest of the wax come out. Not too bad to clean after that.

This sounds too time consuming....when I make 1 candle, I still use my 2 lb pouring pitcher....mix color and FO in there and pour directly into jar....use a couple of paper towels like Pam suggested to wipe it clean and then your good to go.

I've always thought Beanpod was a Parasoy. I have a 4 ounce jar sitting right next to me now. FO is Cucumber Melon and the color is perfect red. Anyone who colors 100% soy knows that is a hard color to pull off let alone minimal frosting. Second of all they use Zinc cored wicks. Amazingly so does Root which is a Parasoy blend. Now it is honest phrasing in marketing when they say made from 100% stabilized soy wax. They still use 100% soy wax its the stabilization that gets them the finished product. I imagine their is no perfect machinary that can pour 100% soy wax without imperfections as opposed to hand pouring. I do get irritated when candle companies can't come right out and say Parasoy blend. Like they have a big secret to hide.

I did post earlier some quotes from their website...they say that they do not use any paraffin at all in their candles....

ok, so I'm going to sound like a total newb now.....so what is the difference in Stearic Acid, and Palm Stearic? :embarasse

I have to agree with everyone else....I charge $1.00 for a 1 oz melt....one lady would rather pay a buck to me than a buck to the store for 2 reasons...she knows me, and the key reason is that she likes the smell of mine more than the other brands.

I think $1 for a 1 oz tart is very reasonable. If you want to charge less, sell 1 for a buck, and then sell a package deal of 4-6 at a special rate that would be less than a buck and ounce.

I don't want to come down on you, but you do need to maximize your profits if you want to be a successful business.

That being said, on the flipside...if you are just doing it for fun and really don't care about making a huge profit....then sell them for whatever you want if you are happy with it and don't pay attention to what any of us say....(no sarcasm intented). You have to be happy with what you are doing and if this is strictly for fun and as a hobby, then knock yourself out!

Have a good one....

I received a tip that is working for mine.....it still frosts at the burn line, but mine are setting up after pouring with decent tops and no frost. Let the wax cool down to a tomato sauce consistency...stirring slowly....the entire pot should be this tomato sauce look....no clear looking wax left...all blending....if it starts to set up on the sides of the pour pot, heat gun the pot just enough to loosen the sides and stir so the whole pot is tomato sauce like...then pour slowly.....

I have been trying this and it's working great! Put a box over the jars as well to slow the cooling. I also cover my votives with a plastic tub and put a towel over the tub....my apt is 70-72 degrees....the temp in the tub was 81...takes longer to cool, but well worth it to not have sink holes, frosting, or cracking in my votives.

Good luck!

funny this thread should start....was in Halmark yesterday looking at beanpod candles myself. The literature I read there said that it was made with 100% soy wax.....it also said that they did not use any paraffin in the candles. They have to be adding something...or many somethings....but they could not use paraffin without getting into legal troubles since they claim that they don't use it.

http://www.beanpodcandle.com/beanpodstory.asp

You’ve experienced many different candles. But when you light Beanpod Candles™, you’ll discover a distinct difference. 100% stabilized soy wax. Not the so-called ‘soy’ candle that is actually a soy and paraffin blend. Just real soy wax. That’s simply wonderful.

Earth friendly. Beanpod Candles are made from 100% stabilized soy wax so you can be sure there won’t ever be any petroleum-paraffin by-products in our wax

Those quotes are from the website....would like to know how they make them though!

Chris

Here's another twist.....what if you have tried one of the waxes already and did not like it, then you see the this wax "Simply Soy" on their website and you order it......now you've bought the same bad wax twice!

Don't get me wrong, I love the wax, it just comes across maybe as misleading?

Thank you all for your responses!

So this has been bugging me....I ordered Enchanted Lites Soy Container wax and Votive wax from a supplier and drove to pick it up. He weighed it out and put his own labels on the bags. I love the wax so far, however I found that instead of Enchanted Lites name appearing, it said "Premium Wax Soy Votive" and "Simply Soy Container Wax"

I checked the website and they offer Enchanted Lites and a line called Simply Soy, both at the exact same price points. I called for clarification as to whether I got the right product...He said that Simply Soy and Enchanted Lites were the same wax.

Does this bother anyone else? Is it right for a supplier to sell the exact same wax under 2 different product names? Is it ethical?

Just curious as to how you feel about it.....he's within driving distance so that is nice, it's just not settling well with me right now....

Thanks for you 2 cents!

Chris

I usually steer clear when threads get out of hand....but I have to step in. I read Jenny's previous thread, and this isn't it! So this thread should be addressed. But since the last one keeps being brought up, here goes....her entire first post on the other thread was taken completely out of context. She questioned her CS skills, recognized a problem with her CS, and asked for help. She was not bragging that she got more sales off of the woman's unhappiness, but rather responded sort of in suprise that the customer's attacks would bring her more business. I'm sure anyone of us would be suprised if that happened to us.

Whether she is sincere or not is not the issue...she started this thread asking for good examples of CS so she can learn. Take it at face value and help out or stay out! I know plenty of businesses that have bad customer service. So she started a business and has been in for awhile, doesn't mean that she should know what good CS is. In my work I get shopped 1-2 a month by secret shoppers. My last 2 have been 100%, but not all of them in my store have been. We all have our bad days or our challenging customers and admit that we maybe didn't handle it the best way. I've been doing retail for years and still learn each week with different customers.

Let me put a different twist on this. How many of you go to Church? How many of you have gone to Church long enough to know how to act and how to treat people and what is acceptable and not acceptable in God's sight? And how many of you that answered yes to that practice it daily? How many have shown grace to Jenny, been merciful, and treated her the way that you should?

Just because we know something, or should know something, such as Good Customer Service, or how to treat another individual, does not mean that we know how to put it into practice, or maybe we just choose not to.

Chris

WOW 150 different mouth watering scents (Votive candles) for 50 cents each.

hmmm....I read that too....however I only counted 46 scents listed....hmmmm:grin2:

well the CD8 produced a full melt pool but the glass got waaaayyy to hot. So, 5 too small, and 8 too hot....guess I'll try the CD6.....guess if that doesn't work I'll have to try something else....

Try a CD-10.

Hey there....I'm on a CD 8 right now....it's almost burning good....not quite a full melt pool, but the glass is really hot, especially where the wick is bending....almost afraid that the cd10 will be way too hot. I know they say that you should be able to cup your hands around the glass without burning them, however I've never been able to wick a votive or a jar to my content without the jar being hot. My 8oz JJ right now has a CD14 testing in it....waiting to see how hot that puppy gets.

Does your glass get really hot with the CD10?

Thanks again

Yes that could be luck. If the weather temp. changes or the humidity then you may have problems. I know I have to pour differently from summer temps verses winter temps.

Good luck and let us know if you see a difference.

Hey Candleman...I pour EL at 170 and put a plastic bin over the top and then a towel over that...keeps it between 75-82 inside...cools it slowly. If I pour anywhere from 130-170 and don't slow the cool, they sink and crack like nobody's business. I'm hoping that I can fool the weather by using the plastic bin trick.

I'll post some later....working on the wicking now...I at least know that a cd5 is waaayyyyy too small!

Hello Chris:

I always top off my votives. I pour up to where the votive mold starts to curve out; let it set up till you see cracking around the wick pin (cool/warm) , and then when topping it off, I pour until some of the votive wax spills over the side of the votive mold. I always have a nice looking votive when done this way. I pour my votives on a large aluminum tray, so I can scrap up the spilled over votive wax; remelt it, and pour into a tart mold. I usually end up with 1 - 2 tarts per 12 votive batch. I then sell the tarts, which is 100% profit, since the votive wax has already been paid for by the person buying the votives. HTH

Thanks realmarcha! out of all the votives I poured today I do like the topped off better. I must be lucky because my votives do not crack around the wick pin...and they don't sink much at all.

thanks again!

Hi and welcome to the board. I believe you are looking for the "water candle"....I believe Donita on the board here has a tutorial for it, however I haven't seen her in a long time. I did a google search and came up with a bunch of links.

Chris

Depends on your jar size and how much wax is remaining. I would melt and repour if it's halfway or more consumed, otherwise pull the wick, heat gun the top, poke a new wick hole and rewick.

geekster

thanks geek....only had burned 4 hours in 8oz jelly jar....I ended up heatgunning the hangup and topped it off.

catch ya later

I use a para-soy votive wax and I don't repour. Sorry, but I don't know what you mean about "thin top edges". I don't pour to the very top ... I usually stop just a little short.

Thank you...I've been trying that as well....by thin top edges I mean if I don't repour, the part that flares out is a very thin edge, compared to a repour that gives a nice thick top. Did that make better sense? wasn't sure how to word it....