WateryMountain

I'm planning for my very first candle making after a lot of research. My candles will be 12 oz in a 3" diameter tin and I'll be testing 464, C-3 and C-6. Any thoughts on temperatures, fragrance load, wick types and sizes to start with, etc. will be most appreciated and put me on the right path!

Also, any must-have fragrances for spring from The Flaming Candle?

I'll post this to a few lists to gather the most opinions, so apologies in advance if you see this more than once 🙂

I haven't signed up yet, so I don't know much. It sounded to me like the whole course is free, though.

Just want to make sure everyone is aware of the free online course being offered by Susan Barclay-Nichols, Perry Rowmanowski and Jane Barber. The link is https://learncosmeticformulation.com/aboutus/ 

If your bottles don't have a fill line, fill one with 8 oz by weight of water and mark it as your template bottle. There's a 1:1 relationship between the volume and weight of water, so anything that reaches that line (you can eyeball it using the template bottle for comparison) will have a volume of 8 fluid ounces. 

If you decide to label by weight - easier and more accurate imho - an 8 oz bottle will hold more than 8 oz of anything with a higher specific gravity than water, which is pretty much everything we make. For example, I need to put 6.75 oz of lotion in a 6 oz cylinder bottle or it just doesn't look full enough.

I don't pre-fill pump tubes. Life is too short!  But, if you open the pump before inserting the tube it will allow air to escape. Once pump top is screwed down, just lock down the pump.

Hope this helps!

I'm planning to formulate a line of shampoo, lotion and conditioner bars.  I'll make small sizes for travel, but for everyday use what are your thoughts on the ideal sizes and shapes?

I'm following this because I'm interested in the idea of using sand (or something else) as a base. Has anyone tried this or have any ideas about whether it would work to keep the bottom of a tin cooler?

1 hour ago, kandlekrazy said:

Hi & Welcome Doris!  Love your age answer, I too was sad.

😉

1 hour ago, Belinda said:

Hello @WateryMountain! Welcome! 

I am a teacher's aide so we have something else in common besides a love for scents and wax! I work with special needs kids. What do you teach?

 

I have to say I am jealous of anyone that gets to live in Virginia LOL! I've been there once and just loved the countryside. I am a colonial/early american decorating fiend and just love looking at all of the period things in that area. I'm in Texas so you know how everyone here (except me LOL!) decorates their houses! Boots and stars and horses!!!

 

It's good to have you on here! Looking forward to learning more about you and swapping ideas and learning from each other.

Northern Virginia is especially rich in history. One of our regular markets is in Washington, Va, known as Little Washington. The site for the town was surveyed by George Washington when he was just 17 years old.  Of course, we also have a lot of civil war sites here, too.  You'd love it!

What's your name? Doris - my business is Watery Mountain Essentials

How old are you? I was sad when the dinosaurs died

Where do you live? Warrenton, VA

How long have you been making candles/soap/whatever? I've been making soaps, lotions, etc, for several years and I'm just getting into candle making

How did you get started making candles/soap/whatever? I'm an old hippie and it just seemed like a natural thing to do, along with jewelry making and other crafts

Are you married? Any kids? Widowed with 9 dogs, 7 cats, 18 chickens, a rabbit and a finch

If candle/Soap making isn't your primary job, what do you do? Teach

Anything else we should know? I'm excited to join this community because I always have loads of questions (and sometimes an answer or two)!