chuck_35550

I use pasteurized goats milk from wally world in my gm soaps and they don't gel either. They turn different colors depending on the fo (pumpkin spice colors a tan and creme brulee turns chocolate because of the vanilla). I cure those suckers and have never thought about putting them in the freezer. I never sell them until they have had at least two weeks of cure time and usually never have them long enough to be more than several months old until they are sold. Why do you freeze? Sorry I took over the thread.

I have to disagree on this one. I have a 9 bar Kelsei and it goes in the oven at 170 degrees and the soap (salt bars) slide right out and are fully gelled. My milk and shampoo bars don't gel and they slide off the kelsei the next morning. You just have to be careful to not dent the soap on its way to the curing area. The Kelsei is versatile and practically indestructable; I wouldn't take anything for it. I do prefer to gel in a wooden log mold that is well insulated, but I haven't made a hunters soap or similar bar that requires full gel.

This is just a guess, but look to see if these fragrances are now phthalate free. This ingredient is a common binder that is used in perfumes and a whole host of plastic products in different combinations. Here's an article on the subject: According to the NRDC, phthalates pose the greatest risk over long-term repeated exposure. This doesn’t seem too difficult to accomplish with the advent of plug-in fragrance-infused gel cartridges, candles and even flameless candles that according to manufacturer Glade “continuously fragrances, all day, every day.” You can’t even visit a public bathroom without an automatic air freshener “cleansing” the air every fifteen minutes. Could be the difference.

If you use terra cotta, you have to paint the inside with this craft stuff that seals the pottery (can't think of the name of that stuff). I have to agree with Sara about being careful with containers that aren't intended for candle use. I bought a ceramic shell from Dollar Tree that was supposed to be used for a planter. The interior was coated and I covered the drainage hole with heat resistant sealer. They sold real well for people with lake houses and they were perfectly safe but those are the only ones I have found to be safe enough for candles.

The metal lids worked just fine until Libbey bought out the Crisa company in Mexico. Suddenly the wall thickness changed by a fraction and made the Mexican made metal lids unuseable. I can get the plastic lids on and have found that if you twist them..they will come off sorta. I plan to drop Crisa and go to a Salsa jar with the regular screw top lid but I really hate losing the Crisa. The only other way to do it is to cut a round piece of Glad sealable wrap but its a hassle and doesn't look so hot.

Well I don't gel any of my soaps, except salt bars. My milk and shampoo bars are poured and left in the Kelsei over night and then turned out the next day for drying. If you feel the side of the mold; it is warm but not hot and there is no noticeable gelling taking place. I know this is a big argument about "to gel or not to gel" but not having to go through any elaborate maneuvers for good soap seems most sensible.

I'm using a 16 cd wick on this 12 oz salsa jar and have tried LX and zinc but not entirely happy with the result. Anybody use the GL 70/30 in this container? Chuck

Yes Supply Company makes a Madison jar with a silver or gold fitment lid.

Try YES Supply Company

I rarely use containers not intended for candles. I wouldn't use any kind of material that might have lead in its makeup but there shouldn't be a problem with the candle putting out a toxic fume. Pick containers that are heat resistant with thick enough walls to withstand the heat of an open flame. Go for straight walled containers with few differences in diameter. You can spend an awful lot of time trying to wick a container that has wide and narrow diameters. I use to go to the dollar store and buy juice jars that I thought were really thick and would make great candle containers. I made up quite a few before testing and then discovered that the glass was flawed and broke when over heated. I didn't lose a lot of money but wasted a lot of time. Stick with the thicker glassware offered by candle distributors and you can't go wrong (IMHO). Chuck

You need to double wick that baby. I prefer the cd wicks over the eco wicks and I used to like the LX wicks but have stayed with the cds. A large enough single wick to give you a full melt pool is gonna have to be big and is gonna be a fairly scary flame which equals more observable soot. Chuck

One other thing to consider is the thickness of your container glass. I use the Crisa tumbler just for that very reason. The thin glass containers tend to cool much more rapidly and the wax contracts in very uneven temperatures. Containers that are thin glass and have wavy sections or different widths are especially prone to blemishes in the finished product. Research glassware on the different boards and find out which ones are easiest to wick, have fewer problems with wet spots or other blemishes and then look at the cost and availability; before you decide to buy cases of glassware. Chuck

If the fill line bothers you that much (but not the customer); I take a small strip of baby wipe and go over the ring a couple of times and everything is fine. I cool my candles in a large cardboard box and make sure they are far enough apart to not effect the cooling rate of each candle. I pour really hot (180 degrees) into a warmed jar and leave in the box overnight. Its not a gimmick or a hassle if produces a candle that works. You just do what personally feels right and makes your product something you are proud to offer for sale. Chuck

I use the 70/30 wax with cd wicks but used to use the LX wicks. I agree with the LX 20 just be careful if the jar is narrow at the bottom it may get too hot. Anywhere from a 16 to a 20 depending on the fo. Chuck

I started with a kit too. Votives. Worked great and encouraged me it could be done. The next step was buying different types of wax in 10 lb slabs and testing fragrance oils, wicks and jars from different companies. I went from jelly jars to all kinds of containers and am always looking for something different. I used to spend a lot of time hunting through dollar stores and outlets for containers and molds and other stuff. Look for your closest candle supply house and learn their products and read posts on all the forums. Never expect the exact same results that somebody else gets with a wax, wick or fo combination. Get your pocket book out and get ready to dump some funds. Good luck...have fun, Chuck

I use a 2"X4" clear mailing label from wally world and with a cheap print master software. I get two labels out of each one by using text boxes to half the size of the label (makes 2 2x2 labels) just copy and paste onto the other text box, save and your good to go. I use an ink jet and rarely have smudge problems. I use a Crisa tumbler and the labels look very upscale IMHO. Chuck

I have a beveler from roo too, but I never bevel anymore. I just hate to waste soap (I used the scraps in melt and pour guest soaps) so I give it to the customer. I bevel my shampoo bars and salt bars but not my milk bars....but thats just me. Chuck

I really like my 9 bar Kelsei mold. I don't sell a whole lot of soap and its just the right size. If I line it with saran wrap its a piece of cake to unmold, but I'm lazy and just slide the bars off of the slab. I have wooden box lined with the silicone from wally world and it works real good but I hate to cut soap ( I really hate to wrap soap too) gosh I sound lazy. ho-hum Chuck

I make a shampoo bar that uses a high amount of castor and makes a relatively soft bar. If you have formulated the recipe correctly and all the lye has been used up in the saponification process; you shouldn't get a zap. I use the soap in my own shower before selling it to others. Curing is basically a drying out of moisture still contained in the soap (IMHO). I make mostly milk soaps and they do not go through a gel stage. Other soaps I bake in the oven to encourage and complete the gel (salt bars mostly) and those soaps are hard as bricks. I had a customer complain that her soap melted away after several months. She thought lye soap lasted 6 months. Some customers complain that their shampoo bars don't last very long but they come back for more. I mean they shampoo and then clean their bodies for pete's sake (his wife was using the bar too) what do some people expect? whew, Chuck

Tennessee Candle Supply carries the 70/30 wax by Clarus. I use the cd wicks and never really worry about curing the candles. I use between a 6% to 7% fo load and usually get a strong ht and ct. I have tried every other pre-blend mentioned in this thread and didn't fine any of them that could come up to the ease of this wax. Its not to say that the wax never has issues...I mean we are talking soy here, but on average this wax is tops (IMHO). Chuck

I still love the 70/30 from Clarus (GL 70/30) which allows me to pour the night before and have both ct and ht the next day. It can be finicky due to the quality of soy but it adheres well and has a nice creamy texture. Chuck

I just have to jump in here and say that my customers only seem to be interested in the cold throw of my candles. They never pay attention to the labels or the fact that they are cosmetically nice; they don't even care about color....pick it up smell it and decide to buy on whether it smells good or not. Then they want to know how much are they and thats the end of the deal. Occasionally, someone requests a special order for a color/fragrance, but rarely. It all seems to be about the fragrance, except no one wants jelly jars for any reason...tumblers are real big and "cute jars" are helpful in selling the candle. Chuck

I use the 70/30 wax from Clarus. True, there are batch issues but overall this wax performs right out of the chute. I can pour on one day and sell the next without waiting for a cure. I know this wax like the back of my hand and can always predict wick sized with most any fo I use. You just can't get that with any other blend IMHO. Chuck

You may have to be heavy handed if the fo is light out of the bottle, but if it is heavy you may have to lighten up. It depends on how strong you want your soap to smell and what type of smell it happens to be. I like heavy fo when using creme brulee or pumpkin spice but light on the florals, like tea leaf and jasmine. The fragrance lasts on the skin for a good part of the day but not so heavy that you gag. Chuck

Just run it through soap calc and see what the quality results turn out to be. You can plug any type of fat or oil and look at the results for yourself. All kinds of recipes are possible. Chuck