Jcandleattic

So here are my soy candles and the parasoy candle. They are not completely set up yet, but were hard enough to move around to take the pic. The 5oz and flowerpot are scented with Peaks Casaba Mist (throws like crazy in my paraffin so thought it would be a good test) The 5oz has a CD7 and the flowerpot has a CD3. I'm thinking I should have started with a 4, but will change out as necessary. The light blue 16oz is the parasoy. It's 75% J50, 25% 464, scented with my custom blend of Peaks Moonlight Path and Peaks Ocean and I call it "A Walk on the Beach" - it is double wicked with 2 44z's. (that is my typical wick for that jar in my straight J50) I will wait until tomorrow to look at the soy candles to see if there is any dipping of if it needs a repour/top-off and to see if any frosting will occur (when does that typically happen? Right away, or gradually over time, or is one of those "it depends" type of answer?) I didn't wait until "slushy" to pour but it was very cool and set up within about 2.5 minutes after pouring, so I think that's a good temp to pour at. (I know I should have taken actual temps, but honestly forgot. I haven't taken a temp of wax in over 15+ years, so it's just habit to feel the pour pot as my temp guide - I'll try to remember next time) Anyway, so far, let me know what you think. I know the true test will be the burn, which I will probably do over Memorial weekend. (can't believe that is coming up so fast!)

Well, had it all ready, weighed out, in the pot. Melted to 100% soy and then let it resolidify to temper it. Once it was completely cooled I turned it back on, and boom. No electric on ONLY the two outlets I use for soaping and candle making. I went to the fuse box, everything is good. I pushed the reset button on the GFI outlet, still nothing. All the other outlets in the basement work, everything else in the house works, so I'm clueless... My hub is at work and won't be home for a couple hours, so I am at a standstill until then. SIGH

I saw this and bookmarked it. At the time it was $88 and some change. Decided I would wait until my Bday weekend (this weekend since my bday is Monday) and low and behold- out of stock and discontinued.... I looked on Amazon, because at the time it was I believe $125 so was going to order instead from the bakery site because shipping was like $12 on it, so cheaper in the long run even with prime. I look it up on Amazon today - over $500!! Apparently because it's discontinued. UGH I wish I would have just gotten it when I saw it. I was going to use it as a display at my craft fairs, and have my banner up top instead of the Fresh Bread sign... *BIG SIGH* http://www.displays2go.com/Archive/Product/21624?utm_source=bing.pla&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=BingPLA

Oh yes, I love flakes. Sooo easy to weigh out and none of the cutting it up into chuncks, or smacking it with a hammer, etc., I have a flake pillar paraffin wax and I LOVE IT. It makes such nice creamy pillars, I always get asked if it's a parasoy blend by other candlemakers or how I get a pillar so "creamy' looking. Nope, it's a paraffin blend, with nothing added by me other than fragrance and dye, and I love it. It's what I make my candy corn pillars with. OldGlory, I actually LOVE LOVE LOVE the R&D portion of creating and making soaps, candles, and lotions. It's the waiting to test them to make sure the development of my research turned out, that is the hard part. LOL

Gonna play today! For some reason I thought it was solid and not flake form... ? I mean, I know a lot of the natural waxes are flake form, and the ecosoya wax I've used in the past was flake so I have no idea why I thought this would come in solid, but I did. LOL Anyway, I'm going to make 2-3 100% testers in scents I know throw very well in my paraffin, and HOPE I get a good wick to start (atm I only have zincs, CD's, and very few HTP's) I will start with the recommended CD size for the container I'm working on and go from there. I'm also going to pour a few parasoy' candles at a 75p -25s blend and see how that goes. It will be tough waiting for the test burn, but I'm used to CP soap making, so I can probably handle it. Maybe ... LOL

You're welcome. I just like almond oil. I like the way it feels on my skin and the added - oomph - it gives my soaps. I only use it at a 5-10% margin though. Take a look at this thread and it will show you why people like 1 particular oil or another in their soaps. http://www.craftserver.com/topic/106955-whats-your-favorite-soaping-oil/ I'm not saying the FCO won't make a good soap, it very well could, and probably would, but it's an expensive oil, and is better served in a leave on product, IMO.

I would change the coconut from fractionated to either 76° or 92° but otherwise looks good. Fractionated is very good in scrubs or lotions and leave on products, but loses a lot of it's properties in soap due to the lye. You don't list your lye or water amounts which is fine, but you also don't say what your superfat will be? I always do at least an 8% SF - but I have a decent % of coconut oil in my recipe which can be drying in high amounts. It can bother sensitive skin, but I have never ever had one complaint about my soap being drying, and I've been soaping for over 12 years now. Most people use Castor between 5-10% so you are good with the 7%. You will get more people answering who will run your numbers through soapcalc and give you the sidebar numbers such as the cleansing, moisturizing, oleoic acid levels, Iodine levels, etc., which is a good knowledge base to have for sure, but I put zero stock into those numbers, and after my first year or 2 of soaping, stopped looking at them altogether. But that's just me. They DO help with formulating once you understand what they mean. As for the colors, you can add to your oils if you are going to make a 1 color soap, or you can split your batch and add at trace/emulsification. You don't necessarily have to use your soaping oils to mix, however once you are comfortable with the process and in about a year or so want to start selling, whatever you mix it with (be it your oils your soap is made with, an oil not in your recipe, glycerin, or other) it must be listed with your ingredients. I always mix my colors with a little almond oil, but all of my colors are premixed, so I don't take any out of my soaping oils. However, almond oil is one of my oils in 95% of my recipes, so I very rarely have to add it to my labels because it's already there. Good luck, welcome to the forum and addiction! Hope this helped some.

I was thinking that if I do go the 100% soy route, I wouldn't color them, to distinguish to my customers which were straight soy vs which were paraffin or a parasoy blend. When I perfect them enough to sell that is.

You do? Maybe I should hire you to make mine!! LOL I really lack the creative ingenuity to make them "POP" but I like mine well enough...

I knew I could count on you for help, OldGlory! I knew this was the soy you used. I don't use the 6006 (in fact just GAVE a whole case of it away a couple of months ago because I didn't like it) so I'll be first starting my tests out with the J50 I use, and proceed from there. I have a feeling if this is something I want to persue, I may have to change my paraffin. But we'll see...

I KNOW!! This is the 3rd or 4th building they've been in and I've always been able to go in and pick up. I loved going in there and talking with Alan and Nachelle, and seeing their boys when they were little. Today however, I'm a little under the weather but wanted to play this weekend, so my wonderful husband is going to pick up my 10lb sample today.

I didn't realize this wasn't the FAQ link. This is just the book link. On this link you can go over to the side bar and there is a link called "Quick Labeling FAQ" That has a LOT more helpful information without having to buy the book. The book however, does go into more depth and detail. Or you can use this link: http://www.mariegale.com/soap-and-cosmetic-labeling/labeling-faq.html

After 17 years of candlemaking and not really liking or having anything to do with soy wax (other than buying/burning other soy chandlers candles) I think I'm going to take the plunge and make a parasoy blend. Possibly even a few 100% soy candles. Peak is about 2-3 minutes from my new job, driving distance, maybe 10 minutes walking) so I think next week I will walk over there on my lunch hour and pick up a 10lb sample of the GB464. JSYK - I will probably be asking a lot of questions, that I just don't know the answers too, having never worked with soy other than a few times here and there over the years, but never enough to really get to know the wax.

Anybody doing anything fun? I made some lotion a couple weeks ago, and was going to bottle it up this weekend, but I'm not feeling very well, so I think I better skip it. Depending on how I feel I'll probably make a watermelon soap, sparingly using poppy seeds as the seeds to make it look like watermelon. I also want to make a whipped soap to do some piping, but have to figure out the scent. And I need to make some candles up for my hairdresser. Thats about it for me, if it even all gets done.

This will probably help - I know this Marie has helped me on several occasions, and I do have her book on labeling, I just haven't had a chance to read it thoroughly yet... http://www.mariegale.com/soap-and-cosmetic-labeling/

Candy, my main recipe uses up to 30% sunflower. (it's the high oleic though) I love that oil also!

My only suggestion would be try lowering your scent load. 12% is a lot of scent and in a quality candle, that much should not be needed, not to mention that it could be the very reason you are not having a good throw. Sometimes too much scent will overload, clog or any number of reasons not to throw. In soy, (which I don't use so this is just a guess until the soy users come around) I would start with either 6-8% fragrance load and work from there. Also, let your candle cure after pouring for at least a week before test burning. This will help with the throw as well. The look of your candle after burning for a while is indicitive of soy. Every soy candle I've burned (gotten from other soy makers) have had that bumpy weird look after blowing the candle out. It's just aesthetic and nothing wrong with the candle itself.

Man, I want one of those! I just don't do the production that I used to, so wouldn't be able to justify it, but I would still love to have one!

Almond oil. I know this isn't a "luxury" oil, but my soaps are so much more "luxurious" feeling with the addition of 5-10% in my recipe, I rarely soap without it unless I'm making a salt bar or a (b)castille soap. Avocado is another one I don't like soaping without, again, for the same reasons as almond, but I think I like Almond oil better.

It is. It's from Aztec and it's a B&BW dupe. It's my mom's favorite lotion/spray scent, so I was excited when I saw Aztec had it. I think they have since discontinued it.

Here is my latest in my TSM. I made it taller, with 44oz. Next time I will go full blown with 3lb 48oz oil recipe so I have have fancier tops, but I love the way the swirls turned out. (again, bad pics, but the best *I* can do. )

I just used tape this time, but yea, binder clips aren't a bad idea. I'll grab some from work tomorrow.

I have a template for my freezer paper liners. I did not even remotely think to use something like that to make this mold. LOL I did it the hard way (even though it wasn't hard at all)

I used black oxide mixed with activated charcoal, purple vibrance mixed with unltramarine violet and a tiny bit of uncolored to make the other colors pop. I'm looking forward to cutting this one.

Oh derr, I did post that pic. When I unmold my Amethyst soap I'll take one from the side.