Jcandleattic

I have heard all this talk of a salt bar........ it sounds really drying to me....coconut oil and table salt.......... Do you still add a lye/water mixture??? I'm not quite understanding it. What is the recipe for it, and what are the benefits of a salt bar? It actually (to me anyway) is not very drying. It is a soap bar, and yes you use a lye solution. You can use other oils besides coconut, it's just that salt will take away the bubble action, and coconut is very good about bubbling in and with salt. It's almost like a salt scrub only in bar form. Although, it's not really "scrubby" it's smooth. They are wonderful for your skin. I love them and use them about once a week for the conditioning affects of the salt. Hope this helps answer some questions. Maybe somebody who can explain it better will jump in here and have a go.

If it's not a clear bar you could add some stearic to it. I add that to mine that I need to harden up a bit, but I don't do much M&P so there may be a better additive that I just haven't used. Maybe somebody who does it more will come in and add to this.

I don't melt my wax on my griddle, but I do keep my pour pots warm on them and sometimes if I know I'm gonna have a repour soon, I'll keep my repour warm on there.. I've been doing this for about a year now and it's great.. Also it helps with the cleanup of the pour pots because wax is always easier to clean when warm than when cold. Oh and I've been using a presto to melt my wax for 5 years now, and would NEVER go back to the double boiler method. In fact when I started the double boiler method lasted about 2 days and I said heck with that and went and bought 4 prestos.. lol

Those look nice. Looks like crushed ice in there!

Not sure if this may be something you are interested in, but it's short and sweet and one of my favorites. IF TEARDROPS FORMED A LADDER, AND MEMORIES A LANE, I'D CLIMB RIGHT UP TO HEAVEN, AND BRING YOU HOME AGAIN!

Very pretty, but hopefully it's not Lead Crystal or a type of glass like that.. If it is, the heat will make it shatter in a heartbeat! But it is very pretty, and I love the glow of it.

The white dye block you have is probably actually a pigment block, and yes too much pigment will clog the wick.. I've never used white dyes to get a white candle.. All I do is add some stearic to get a white candle. It works for me so that's what I do.

Donita is a great help.. I'm sure if anybody can help it will be her!! One suggestion is to make sure your mold is clean clean clean!! I was having a similar problem and all it took was a good deep cleaning of the mold and that solved my problem..

I buy the wick pins in the length I need, not what the base diameter is. Then when I get them, I just snip the base off, put it in the mold sealing the bottom with mold sealer then using a T to make sure it's centered at the top. Hope that makes sense.. Most of the T's I have are the top half of the "Wick Centering Tool" from Steph and Rob. Some are some that my hub has made.. HTH It works great for me.

I like WSP's bases, and I'm clear across the country from them and find their shipping prices to be right on target, so I guess it just depends. I've heard people having trouble with the shipping from them, but I personally have never been overcharged by them. HTH

Rounding really isn't a good idea. yes, it can be done, but you could end up with a highly superfatted bar that could go rancid, or end up with a lye heavy bar.. Neither of which is something you want. lol On the coconut oil question earlier about the high percentage, some people get dry skin from using a high percentage, and that is one of CO's atributes, but some peope, (like myself for instance) it doesn't bother them at all. I can use a Mariner's bar (100% coconut oil) and my skin is still just as silky smooth as if I use a 100% Olive oil bar.. I know it's confusing, but once you get a few batches under your belt, things will start to make sense.. And PS you are not aggravating anybody.. Well, maybe yourself, but that's what we're here for!! lol

You can use your candle scents IF they are bath and body safe, AND since you are starting out, you will probably want to make sure it's not a f/o that will accelerate trace.. That can throw a wrench in the batch even for seasoned soapers. Most soapers use f/o at 1 oz per pound of oils. You can always half the recipe oils and run that through a calc again to get your water/lye solution so you don't have so much soap.. 8 lbs is a LOT of soap for just starting (IMO). That would mean that you would probably end up using about 8 ounces of f/o for this batch. Good luck, and have fun.

Everything everyone has posted are good suggestions, and also, when a computer is not accessible, you may want to look into either buying or going to the library and getting the Soapmaker's Companion book.. It's a great book and by reading that from front to back a couple times, it helped me. Some of the stuff is outdated, but the basics are there and it's a nice book for information. Good luck and above all, HAVE FUN!! It is a very addicting thing to do...

yep, what the others said. The ring on mine easily breaks off. But since votives are meant to be burned in a tight fitting votive holder anyway, I really don't concern myself with getting my votives perfectly level. By breaking off the ring though they do sit flat and don't wobble around..

My first thought is that it's in a draft. Even if it's not in a direct draft (hence the second one not dancing) the flame may be creating it's own draft, thus causing it to dance.. That's just a guess, but the only one I have.

Yes, all the proof that you have done your testing on every scent/wax combo that you are selling, all the msds sheets for the wax, fo and anything else that you would need msds sheets for.. (or quick and easy access to get them) Any thing that would help, should something happen (like a fire) and the consumer decides to sue, you have the proof that if burned properly you have done the proper testing that would show a consistency of a safe product.. It would also help if you tested to the ASTM Standards and had the proof of that also.. That sort of stuff is what I meant by "documentation". I have 4-2" thick binders FULL of all my documentations.. PITA, but I'd rather be on the safe side.. You just never know, ya know?

That's kinda the point she was trying to make.. But if you feel you have a safe product, and have the documentation for proof "just in case" then by all means do what you feel is right..

LOL yep, sure do!! I got a lot of those silicone ice trays (with the dolphins, stars, penguins and such) also at a yard/garage sale.. Love them!!

That is one of the exact same molds I have.. Got mine at a garage sale for .05!! They really are cute aren't they!!

I use jello molds all the time for my embeds and tarts.. I've never had a problem with them melting, and I haven't noticed any change in them from the FO.. Sometimes the scent lingers on the molds, but by the next pouring you can't tell.. The scents don't mix in other words. I love my jello molds.

LOVE IT!! It's probably one of the easiest waxes I've worked with, and the throw on it is really good. I think you will like it once you start playing around with it.

Exactly.. Not that I use straigt paraffin only, but it doesn't give you an option of both, or mixed. Which sometimes I use votive wax 4794, sometimes I use Peaks votive blend, and sometimes I use Peaks pillar blend and sometimes I use a mix of 1-2 or up to 3 different waxes.. Just depends on my mood at the time and what I'm going for as far as looks.. And whether they are for just my reg. retail sales, or if they are a special order from a family member or so on and so on.. And I meant to add, that even if using a pillar wax, votives still need to be burned in a votive container.. No votive should be burned as a freestanding candle.

Thanks everyone.. Kimberly, this isn't my first time carving, just my first time carving a tree.. But this is the first carving that has turned out exactly the way I had imagined it in my head.. lol Total I've probably only done about 15 carved candles.

Oh sorry. I haven't ordered for a while, and I'm not that far from them, so they usually use usps for me and it's not very expensive (at least it used to not be).. I'm actually almost out or I would send you some. Sorry.

I use the beads and recipe from Soapcrafters and now I wont use anything else. My hair has never been more healthy since using my own bars and this conditioner. HTH even just a little.