LittleMissSunshine

@evie well I am remelting them right now to try them with CD-8 and CD-7, but I think the 7 will be too small, and you said you've already tried the 8 so that doesn't give me much hope, but I still have to try! I know that even if the melt pool isn't fully to the edge the first few burns it can sometimes catch up in subsequent burns as the jar conducts more heat. If I can't manage that with the 7 or 8 I'm going to try zincs next.

I can't wait to see pictures!! 😁

@evie I think my wicks are too big. My jar is about 2.9" wide, straight sided, and I tried CD-10 and CD-12. The first test burn it was obvious the 12 was too big, but the 10 was perfect! No flickering, good sized flame. The melt pool seemed fine too, not too big, but full pool by 3hrs. I lit them both again last night and both flames got so big with smoke and everything. It smelled like burning and actually gave me a horrible headache. I had to put them out after just half an hour. Sigh. I'm not even sure where to go from here. Maybe melt them down and re-pour into a jar with a CD-8. What types of wicks are you using?

I guess that would depend on what you find most important. My experience has been very similar to yours. I decided to start with 464 because I assumed soy was what people wanted. I played with 464 for several months, was displeased with many appearance issues and inconsistent and inadequate hot throw. So I tested out cb-advanced. Gorgeous appearance! So smooth and creamy with no work. Was not happy with the hot throw again. Then I had to really sit down and figure out what I wanted out of my candles and what I want my brand to be when I finally get there. I prefer strong smelling candles over renewable soy, and my brand is going to be more about the theme than being natural. So I decided to try out 6006. I am still in very early testing stages so I can't really say how I feel about it yet. But those are just my personal experiences. A good ol' pro's and con's list is great and all, but you have to figure out what is worth more to you personally.

I was actually curious about this. I just started testing 6006 and was unsure how long to let them cure. I've heard everything from 24hrs to two weeks.

@TallTayl thank you so much for posting that!!! I had seen it like a month or so ago and I've been trying to find it again for a few days now but hadn't been able to. Thank you!!

This recipe is my mom's favorite so far. It's VERY oily, probably too oily. like it leaves a but if a slick on the tub. After 3 weeks of drying in a dry climate I can push my finger into the bomb and leave an indent. It also sinks like a rock. 1.5C BS 0.5C Cornstarch 0.25C Kaolin Clay 0.75C Citric Acid 1oz Shea Butter 0.8oz Sweet Almond Oil 1.5Tbs F.O. 0.05oz Distilled Water 0.3oz Polysorbate 80 This recipe comes out pretty firm. If I leave it in the mold for like an hour or two it comes out pretty solid. I did one batch packed pretty tightly and I could probably play baseball with them, but they sink like a rock so I did another batch packed almost too lightly and they sort of bob. They start out floating and then they sink. There's also no noticeable silky feeling in the water so my mom didn't like them at all. They also don't fizz much. 500g Baking Soda 15g Kaolin 20g SLSA 250g Citric Acid (added at the end after liquid ingredients) 20g FO 20g Sweet Almond Oil 10g Distilled Water 4g Polysorbate 80

I found one recipe that gets pretty solid within just a couple hours, which I'm very happy with, but I have a few problems with it so I am trying to tweak it. If I post the recipe do you think you guys could give me some advice?

Wow do you make real swords? That is so awesome! Unless I completely misunderstood lol.

I am still testing out recipes (probably on my 15th recipe...) but I need a way to let them sit and dry and harden without the bottoms flattening out. Letting them dry in the molds usually works, but then I run out of molds and sometimes they stick to the mold as they set. I have also tried some bubble packaging stuff but they still come out a little uneven. What do you all find works well for you?

I thought they didn't do candles at all?

I was thinking of 4625 or 4630 for clamshells. Is a blend of the two better? Why?

Yes yes yes yes yes! You get it Haha! We will both definitely get there. Keep at it! A written plan sounds like an excellent idea.

That is a fantastic analogy @TallTayl thank you! ☺ I've been looking at btms-50 since it sounds like that helps get rid of the gross greasy feeling I hate. I'm also realizing I could use a few more additives in my recipe.

The baby is sleeping soundly, my husband is hanging out with some of our friends in the other room. But I am too exhausted, so I decided to try to curl up on the couch and read this article lol including the pdf with a lot of math and numbers representing fatty acids and whatnot, but I am so exhausted I think I'm only retaining like 3% of what I've read lol. Hmm. Maybe I will pick it back up tomorrow.

Haha for sure!

I've heard cetyl alcohol can be really nice. I also planning on getting cocoa butter, which is harder than Shea if I'm not mistaken. As far as the waxy feeling on your skin, there's no way around that right? Unless you used a different emulsifier?

I made an emulsified sugar scrub with a recipe I made up using just percentages and it came out really dry so I'm a little wary of making my own recipes for now. I usually end up tweaking recipes I find anyway to suit my needs and adjusting and whatnot haha. 😝 And I definitely hear you about hoarding lotions/creams. I have eczema so especially during the winter I end up using lotion/cream like 10x a day sometimes haha. Being able to make my own is a blessing that I am heartily looking forward to!

Oh @Candybee thank you so much for saying this. It made me almost tear up a little bit haha. I do think most of it has just been the winter blues in conjunction with everything else. We are starting to have sunnier, warmer spring days and on those days I feel so much better. Today I tried a new bath bomb recipe and made two batches!! I would've made more but I ran out of cornstarch. I really appreciate you saying all of this though. I definitely am always open to advice. I know I still have a lot to learn. And honestly I'm sure a lot of veterans are tired of newbies jumping into the game and expecting to have their product made, perfected, labeled, and on shelves within a month. While I am definitely excited to get my products selling, I am such a perfectionist I want to make sure they are absolutely perfect first hahaha.

What will you use instead do you think? A different soy? Or something else entirely?

Thanks for your input @TallTayl. I'm really sorry that everyone is having to go through all of this. I really can't imagine how difficult it must be! I wonder why there is such a big push to sell handmade recently...especially B&B.

I had no idea about HLB, but you mentioned it and swiftcraftymonkey mentioned it in her blog that @Sarah S shared, so I am just researching all about it! So crazy. This is so interesting. So much to learn.

Ooooh! Can't wait to check this out! Thank you. 353 grams of Distilled Water 48 grams Sweet Almond oil 24 grams Traditional Emulsifying wax 10 grams Cocoa Butter 8 grams Stearic Acid 5 grams Vitamin E Oil 7 grams Optiphen Preservative 6 grams Natures Garden Butter Brickle Fragrance Oil This is the recipe I used, but I used Shea Butter instead of Cocoa Butter since it was all I had on hand. We Sara/h's must just think alike! I have never ordered from RE, though I will definitely have to check it out!!

I made a cream this weekend with the same fragrance as my first CP soap. Seriously people...Candle Science's Amber Noir...check it out!! I used Nature's Garden's recipe for a pretty basic cream. I really love it. I just kind of wish it was just a liiittle bit thicker. It seems like a slightly thicker lotion in the consistency it's in. I looked up emulsified body butters and they seem to follow the exact same pattern just changing the ratio of water and butters. So, to make it just a teeny bit thicker could I subtract just a small amount of water and add that much in butters? I will probably also mix it a little bit longer next time as well.

I'm in that group and I have purchased from them as well. They are not blow your socks off amazing or anything, but they are decent. I do not like the owner at all. He created that group on Facebook to help new candle makers, but that group is actually the exact reason I made this post. All he does is try to sell his fragrances to everyone in the group and tell all these new candle makers to use 12% so they all use a ton of his fragrances and he's raking in the money from all these newbies. He also tells everyone that letting soy cool to 100° before pouring is his method that he made up. I don't like the guy at all. I find his practices to be very deceiving.