Jcandleattic

I know these should have been done +4 months ago, but I just got around to doing them today. Lol inside is supposed to be a reverse feather swirl that I’m hoping will resemble a Christmas tree. We’ll see. Lol cut tomorrow. Scented with a mix of 3 love spells because I needed it to stay fluid. It did for the most part.

I'm anxious to see what the inside looks like. I know it's not going to look exactly like I wanted it, but I want to know how differently from what I imagine it will be than what it actually is. I'll cut and post tomorrow or the next day.

I agree with others in the fact it depends on your target market. Most of the craft fairs I sell at are in a rural farm setting so lard would not be a problem at all. However, I don't like working with lard or the way it feels in soaps so I don't use it.

Try it out and see how you like it. If you are worried about sales, make both lard and vegan friendly bars.

On ‎12‎/‎18‎/‎2018 at 8:22 AM, GailC said:

I really shouldn't give my 2 cents worth because I didn't like 3 out of the 4 I ordered so that put me off JS. 

I'm glad I'm not the only one. I know others love her oils but out of the 20 or so scents I've gotten from her in the past, they are just not good. To my nose, they do not smell that great, and are weak in my products.

haha sorry - should have read the entire post. I thought you were asking how to make them, not what ingredients to use. In my recipe I only use the coco-b you mentioned, and none of the other ingredients. 

Sorry... 

If it matters though, mine are not drying at all, and keep the skin nice and supple due to glycerin. 

On 12/16/2018 at 9:37 AM, beckemmons said:

Seen a YouTube video of a Bubble Bomb by secret treasures. Love the idea of dropping a bomb in the tub and having a bubble bath from it. You of course have to drop it in under the running water which is fine. Has anyone else tried to make these? One of the ingredients is olive oil glycereth-8 esters. I cant find it anywhere in the u.s. but love the idea of also having the moisturizing benefit of it without killing the bubbles. I tried crushing up a dried batch of bubble bars and mixing it into a bathbomb mixture. I got bubbles but not as many as I wanted. Next I'm going to try mixing coco-b And sci powder with baking soda and letting it dry before mixing into a bomb. 

 This will be my first time using sci and I've looked high and low on how much to use compared to slsa but havent nailed down a percentage yet. Does anyone have a idea of how much to use?

In this thread it shows how I make mine with a recipe added in the thread. 

16 minutes ago, jerry said:

Thanks @TallTayl, @Jcandleattic, and @Sponiebr - that sounds completely plausible as I reflect on the making - trace was accelerating - yup, didn't get mixed all the way. Can I be super lazy and just let it cure and then use it personally or is there a negative consequence I'm not thinking of right this minute?

Only negative would be if the fo is concentrated enough to irritate the skin. Otherwise, I don't think it's a problem for personal use.

For those that saw my earlier post - my apologies - I have since deleted it. 

Onto the topic at hand - I love the wick holders, and agree with everyone else, they would be great sellers if you could make it worth it.  

Do you have a picture of your soap? Are you sure it's DOS and not just unincorporated FO? 

As Shari said, it's hard to say what causes DOS - besides rancid oils which we all know can be a cause. 

It could be the environment they are in, the rack they are sitting on, if they have come into contact with any type of metal, if it's humid, not getting enough airflow - or just simply the FO. One just never knows if everything else is the same with other batches. 

I have no patchouli, and only peppermint FO that I really don't like. It's got a weird smell to it. 

I think I'm just going to use the love spell so I can work with the design I want. It's too late for Christmas anyway, but I'm going to make them anyway, so by next year they will probably be gone. LOL 

Those spots look to me as TT said, the FO didn't get fully incorporated so there are "pockets" of unmixed FO throughout the soap. You can do 2 things - let it continue, or you can rebatch your soap. 

4 hours ago, Sponiebr said:

You DID say though your soap always comes out yellow looking and that IS odd because coconut, palm, and olive oils should give you a nearly white bar of soap...  

Unless the olive oil used is more on the green side, and the FO is not a clear FO. 

FO can do some wonky things to soap batter! 

9 minutes ago, jerry said:

Uh, could TD have contributed to/caused DOS? I understand DOS are typically caused by rancid oils, but I have had no DOS with 2 loaves I made on Saturday and now the loaf I poured on Sunday has them. They are not as big or uniformly shaped as I have seen pics of, which is why I'm asking if TD could have contributed to them. Sorry for the mild thread-jack.

That's very fast to develop DOS - are you sure it's DOS? Do you have a pic?

DOS doesn't typically occur until after weeks of curing, not days, unless the oils used were rancid to begin with, but you would have smelled that while soaping. 

I've never heard of TD causing DOS but have heard of the oil it was used to dissolve/disperse in causing DOS. 

ETA: I should have added it sounds more like FO spots, than DOS. 

My lime is one of the only EO's I've used that lasts as long as 3+ years in my soaps. All others I've tried have faded within a year to 18 months. I only have the orange left because I don't use it. I'm hoarding my last ounce of lime from SMR, but have tried a different source that I find to be just as good, but can't think of them off the top of my head. Camden Grey maybe? 

Lavender gives me an instant migraine in both EO and FO so I don't use that scent at all. 

I have peppermint FO but don't think I have the EO. (I'd have to look but seriously doubt I have any)

I think I have Rosemary EO, but I don't really like the smell so haven't used it. 

19 minutes ago, Candybee said:

Do you use any EOs?

Lime and 15x Orange are the only EO's I have on hand as I typically don't use EO's because most fade so quickly in my soaps. 

A Lime scent might work for this actually. I'll have to think about it some more. 

In my experience my palm wax throws better with a lower % of fragrance than my other waxes. I use 4% in my melts, and only 3-4% in my candles. 

If you are specifically asking about paraffin, I use a blend of 4794 with 4625, and get great results. Probably just as good as my palm, but I use 6% instead, of the 4% I use in Palm - the longevity is about the same in both applications. 

I don't use soy at all for any application, so can't help you there. 

5 minutes ago, Shari said:

just rename it to something holiday?  

Very tempted to do just that, as it's more the design I want than the scent anyway. 

I have it completely designed in my head and exactly how I'm going to do it. Provided everything goes smoothly.

But... We all know how that goes once it comes to execution...  

So I'm going to be trying to make a very specific type of soap this weekend, but it needs to be with a scent that will not accelerate at all, that will not discolor, and is for a Christmas themed soap. 

Does anyone have any suggestions? I normally would just mix something up, however, when I mix it generally makes the scent accelerate, and the design I am going for is going to take a bit of time, so I need something that is fairly fluid all the way to the end.  

I first want to try it before I say what it is, so if it turns out y'all will be as surprised as I am! HA

I could always use love spell, as that slows trace down, however, I'd rather it be a more 'christmas-y' type of scent. 

10 hours ago, kfintoni said:

should I just ignore the people that do the walk by saying they can only use an essential oil candle.

If they are not willing to listen, they are not willing to be educated, so I don't not waste my time, and just let them walk on by. 

People who genuinely want to know, will listen and understand. You will learn which ones these are by the questions they ask. These are the people I take the time with and let them know how, why I scent my products as I do. 

Since we are wishing: 

I would love a pallet each of my types of wax.

A pallet of each size of containers I use. Enough wicks for each type of jar/pillar I would make with that wax, and any FO I desired to "poof" just show up when I wanted it. LOL 

Enough soaping oils to make 500-1000lbs of masterbatch with the exact amount of lye to also masterbatch. 

And as TT said, time to make it all happen - because having all that does nothing if I don't have time to do anything with it!! HAHA 

I remember Stuff Julie Likes - got a few molds from that place and I can't remember what else, but only bought once, many many years ago. Sorry I can't help you with your product. 

Are they jar candles or pillars? 

The candles themselves will be fine, but if they are container candles, they could shrink some and pull away from the sides of the jars. Once they warm up they will expand again. They will be fine, but will pulling away from the jars, they could cause larger wet spots than would normally form. Just an aesthetic issue and nothing to really worry about. 

Frangrance Buddy is a reputable company. Why not go to them and order direct instead of from Amazon? 

16 hours ago, Candybee said:

I've always used nail clippers. I hate using scissors.

Me too. My jars get sort of deep so scissors are awkward and don't cut well at the angle I have to hold my hand to get them in the jar. The large toenail clippers work great, and I have 2 dedicated pair just for my candle wick trimming. 

1 hour ago, birdcharm said:

I remember reading on a candle forum years ago that sellers of gel candles who were making Coke candles in the vintage style Coca-Cola glasses were approached at a craft fair by a representative from Coke who told them they were infringing upon their trademark.  I think the main risk is if a company approaches a seller who may be sitting on a lot of stock, then they could get stuck with candles they aren't permitted to sell. 

I was at a craft show along with a lady selling Disney stuff. A Disney rep came in and asked for her resale/copyright license, and when she couldn't produce it they made her tear down her booth and stop selling. 

Copyright infringement is a very real thing. Just because all people do not get caught does not make it okay to do. 

What's the saying? Ignorance of the law is no excuse it's still a law? Something like that? Same thing applies. 

Does the bottle indicate where the fill line is? you would fill to the fill line (if it doesn't indicate on the bottle, maybe the place of purchase can help) The fill line just be a bit below the neck so you can add a pump if need be. 8 fl oz of lotion will not necessarily (and most likely not) weigh 8 oz. Fl oz is volume where as oz is weight. 

20 minutes ago, Candybee said:

Kitchen string? Crochet thread? Why aren't you using wicking made for candlemaking? I wouldn't trust or use anything else in my candles. 

Exactly this

On 11/27/2018 at 11:44 PM, Ramr said:

the last 1/2 inch of candle was wasted because the wick dropped over

The last 1/4-1/2 inch of any candle is not meant to be consumed 100%. A candle will stop burning once the wick hits the neck of the wick tab anyway, and it's purposely designed this way for safety measures. 

On 11/27/2018 at 11:44 PM, Ramr said:

Setting a wick holder on there is like balancing a dinner plate on your elbow, it wants to slide off to one side. I have had them do this while burning!

Are you not securing the wick tabs with a silicone glue, wick stickers, or some other type of wick tab securement? Using those is what will secure them in place. Not just setting them in the jar, whether the bottom is flat, concave, or humped. 

I don't mean this to sound harsh, but it sounds like you need to go back to the basics, and start from scratch using proper candlemaking supplies, techniques, and testing.