Candybee

these are very interesting links. Thanks!

I hadn't heard of gelmaker. Aristoflex is also at making cosmetics so maybe its time to get both of them to try out. Where do you get pemulen?

You got me curious about the xanthum gum so I will be doing a simple test of mixing it with water just to see for myself. You can only tell so much from Youtube videos. I don't use Swiftcraftmonkey as she charges fees on her website. Nothing wrong with that I just got out of the habit of relying on her info as it doesn't come free. I checked out the link but i there is limited info as I am not a member and can't sign in to get the full story. Thanks, I appreciate your efforts. Again this is exactly why I don't use her website.

I am waiting on a product from ITDF called UltraPureGel. Listed as a thickener, polymer, rheology modifier. I am also waiting on glyceryl stearate and lecithin liquid which are both listed as an emulsifier/co-emulsifiers. I had originally thought of using the UltraPureGel followed with a co-emulsifier. Then I opted for xanthum as I thought maybe it would be easier to work with and perhaps have more label appeal. I have never worked with either before. I am a little intimidated with working with "gel" thickeners as they can go wrong it you don't mix them right. I will try both. There is one more gelling product I have heard about from Humblebee & Me but haven't purchased. It is called Aristoflex which is listed as a polymer. So there is that. Well I can definitely try out the UltraPureGel as I should be getting that in a few days. Funny how my original instinct is usually the best option. But then I start to overthink. I guess I will try a simple experiment of blending xanthum in water to see for myself how it feels. Anyway the tip about polymers is very helpful. I think I was on the right track and would have stumbled on the right ingredient eventually. Thanks TT.

Any tips? I want a clear gel for my soothing eye gel formulation. Will be working with xanthum gum. I have never made an emulsified gel, just watched a video on youtube which helps. Last thing I want is for it to go opaque on me. I want it clear and jelly like. I'm afraid the oils and liquids won't emulsify with the xanthum gum. Wondering if I need a co-emulsifier or its its enough? I do have polysorbate 20 & 80 on hand.

For one 55 case of palm wax cost me upwards of $175-$200 depending on where I buy it from. The shipping is just as expensive as the case of wax itself. It IS total insanity! For the past few years I have been getting away with selling my 12oz jar candles for $15 but no more. I will have to sell them for a minimum of $18-$22. I had a hard enough time selling them for $15. Don't think my customers will go as high as $20. Will find out next year when I raise the prices.

Love the look. I also prefer the blue one and I also like the black silhouette. When I got my logos made I also had a silhouette made so I could use both as needed. Glad I did as it turned out I use both for different reasons.

Wow Richard! I absolutely love the look! Keeping my fingers crossed that your shows do well.

I lived in Baton Rouge and believe me you don't want a true swamp or bayou scent. Swamps smell awful strong of decay, garbage rot, stale water, and death, all mixed up with an earthy wet mud. Its something you want to run from. Having said that, FB has some very interesting earthy, dirty, rotten, death scents. I always found their descriptions interesting and wondered what kind of sellers they were but never tried them. Check them out. I think they even carry one called death and decay.

I know I've seen pikake, maybe it was Elements and WSP. Anyway, my grandmother used to send me pikake perfume every year while she lived on Maui. I was afraid to tell her I didn't care for it. So for me when I think of hawaiian flowers I think of plumeria. I have mixed a good plain jasmine with plumeria and called it Hawaiian Lei and it was a good seller. Unfortunately the plumeria I used in my soap faded so I quit using it. But the scent blend is beautiful. Just a thought.

I have been underselling my candles for the past 2 yrs even thou I have actually increased the price. I offer a discount for larger purchases which in effect ends up underselling. I swear I am chicken to sell them for the price I really need to sell them at. For cosmetics its been easier. People expect many popular cosmetics like face creams, scrubs, eye serums, lotions, balms, to be pricey so my pricing has been spot on. Also, I keep my COG spreadsheet up to date as best as I can, as I buy supplies I update it. That way when I look up the cost of an item its easy enough to update the price. In a way I guess I am lucky as most of my customers are local. I sell at local farmer's markets and craft shows so even my online customers tend to all be in Virginia or nearby states. I don't sell overseas and don't plan to. After I have read all the grief about the extra costs shipping overseas I don't think I ever will offer overseas shipping. My biggest problems from the past couple years have been FO reformulations and the extra shipping costs that have skyrocketed. That's a good description, its like the price of sending something to the moon and back these days when you have supplies shipped to you. But for me having to look for FO replacements has actually been a bigger headache. I try to see it as an opportunity to try new scents but that way of thinking won't fool you long. LOL

Richard it is so nice to have you back with us again! Congrats on your decision to start your candle biz up again and hope you are very successful! Soy has changed a lot over the last few years so you may be in for a whirlwind of testing on that. But some people here have been having varying success taming the new soys and coconut blend waxes so they may be able to help you out.

Oh I do waterproof my labels, I just don't do it with a printer. Instead, I use Rustoleum Crystal Clear Enamal spray on my labels. I've tried several different types of water proofing sprays and this one I like the best as it leaves a nice glossy, smooth, finish. You do have to wait for it to dry. Also, if you need extra protection, you can go over it with a second layer. But I find one is usually enough. Also, I buy inkjet white photo gloss inkjet labels from Labels by the Sheet. They give me some waterproof protection while still printing clean and crisp. But if I want good waterproofing I follow up with the spray enamal. You can also use a clear lacquer spray. For a crystal clear lacquer spray I love Rustoleum's Gloss Clear lacquer spray. Either one works great. Forgot to add you can still opt to buy waterproof labels and test them out on your printer to see if they work. Some printers require you to lower the print resolution or DPI before printing so it uses less ink. This is a third option if you don't want to buy a laser printer or use lacquer/enamel sprays.

The webstaurantestore has clear or translucent microwaveable PET plastic containers that are cute and cost effective. Would be easy to slap a 2-3" round label on the top. These I found hold 8oz:

My current printer and the one before are both HP Inkjet ALL-in-One color printers from Walmart. Both under $50 and last a long time. My labels are beautiful and I get lots of compliments on them. I do go through a lot of ink thou, mostly color as my labels are in full colors. So I typically buy at least half a dozen or more color ink cartridges a year. For every 2-3 color I use only 1 black ink cartridge. I am happy with my labels and the quality of the print. One thing I don't do is waterproof labels. I think I will need a laserjet for that. You can do them on an inkjet but its problematic as the ink sits on top of the paper and takes time to dry. So I just don't do waterproof labels and I need to because I am doing my bath product labels and really need to start doing waterproof ones. Anyway, for most labels an inkjet is just fine. The printer is low cost, efficient, and turns out clean, crisp, labels. But if you do a lot of color labels you will be buying color ink cartridges a lot over the year. I do buy XL ink cartridges instead of regular cause they print about double the labels for just a few extra bucks more.

Thanks. I will start asking at my markets if anyone would be interested. I really don't need to be adding another test product to my line as I am working on several at the moment. But I just love trying new things. Will check it out next time I am shopping.

I ask because I have a mixed customer base. Lots of country and farm folk who live in the area. But also many tourists during the market and fall season and I get some of these customers that want more upscale or trendy. Then I also get the very informed customers that talk about the various ingredients. I get them all. I was thinking micellar water might be something they would be interested in.

Just curious. Came across a nice recipe for it and of course am interested in trying it. But not sure it is that popular? Do they tend to dry out the face? I read that you don't have to rinse off after and may apply your moisturizer after you clean your face with the micellar water.

I love burning votives to scent a room. I remember sometimes I would do like you and burn more than one different scent at a time to mix notes in the air. Lovely!!! I thought of blackberry and blackberry sage because there is just something about it that seems to fit right in with magic, whimsy, forest fairies, etc. I once received a lovely pillar candle at a Christmas party. It had 3 different berry scents as it burned down the scent would change for each berry; cranberry, black cherry, and lastly blackberry. I just remember how much I loved how the berry scent would melt into another get 'darker' if you will. By the time it got to the blackberry it just smelled so enchanting. I guess its just my experience with the berry candle that made me think of what could be part of your fairy forest blend. Maybe starting out with a lovely everygreen; spruce, pine, balsam, fir, etc. you like, mellowed with a nice fragrant cedar, sandalwood, or other soft wood note, with a lovely berry or berry combo note(s) rounding it out. Maybe just find the votives in the scents you think of when you think of the forest fairies and burn them. Should help you fine tune and select the blend you want. Should be fun too! Now you got me thinking of it!!

For me a forest scent is an evergreen, pine, balsam, fir, or Christmas Tree type scent. I would mix it with a nice strong berry scent like blackberry or blackberry sage. Maybe some cranberry, strawberry too. I don't think of bakery or food type scents for what you are looking for. Just a nice woodsy, forest scent mixed with sweet berries. Keeping it simple will bring out the notes better.

I may get some of these for cosmetic formulations. I use palm wax for candles and unfortunately it wouldn't work. I have to keep my pour pot on a flat griddle to keep the wax constantly heated 200-210 degrees. I know I can't put that plastic on a hot griddle plate. So I have to work with pouring techniques to avoid dripping. After many years of working with pouring wax though I have gotten pretty good at not dripping. Just not all the time. Sigh. I do like the pitchers though and will keep them in mind for other projects where I need an easy pouring vessel.

If you plan on trying this recipe its best not to sub out the kokum butter. Kokum butter absorbs easily into the skin without leaving a greasy feel. It should be in all lotion bars. On the other hand shea butter can and does leave the skin feeling a bit greasy so this is the one I would definitely sub out. Plus shea butter has a nasty habit of turning grainy if exposed to temperature changes. Same with mango. I prefer cocoa butter as it stays smooth and creamy. It feels wonderful on the skin and tends to not go grainy in my products. If you must use shea use a small %. I would go with no more than 5% because just 10% and I start getting graininess at some point. Another butter you might consider is cupuacu. It has the capacity to help the skin retain high levels of moisture through water retention and is the vegan equivalent to the water retention properties of anhydrous lanolin. There is no other butter equal to it. Makes a great emollient butter excellent for skin hydration and moisturizing. One more thing, WSP carries a lotion bar wax additive that helps make them smooth and creamy. The INCI for it is the same as cera bellina which is Polyglycerol-3 beeswax. Other suppliers like Lotion Crafters and ITDF carry it so you don't have to get it at WSP if you shop around. I use it in my lip balm and it really makes a difference in the creamy buttery texture. I use at 10% in my lip balms combined with another wax like candellila for a vegan lip balm.

I have the same problem with the large 4 lb pour pot. I do find that pouring at a lower angle into the jars closest to me works the best. As the wax level lowers I pour into the farther away jars. I guess my "trick" is to manage to angle the pot at a more horizontal angle to avoid wax dripping down the pot.

Surely there must be consequences for a carrier to "lose" a package? Hope you got reimbursed. I remember when I used to order wax that came in slabs and they would often arrive in torn boxes. I would always check the slabs and often found dirt and debris that had to be cleaned off when the boxes were torn. If the wax was bagged, then boxed this tended to help in shipping but not always. Plus not all suppliers bothered to even bag the wax prior to boxing it up. Those slabs were the most often the ones that arrived dirty. Now I order palm and it comes in a thick sealed brown paper bag that is then packaged inside a box for shipping by the supplier. So far have not had any problems with it. The bags look like they must be the original bags the manufacturer packaged them in as they have the Malaysian? Indonesian? company name printed on the bag.

Forgot about this old thread. My shea butter is down to 5% in my formulation. I don't think I ever had it above 10%. It still gets grainy but over a longer period of time. I sell outdoors and craft shows and markets so my product is exposed to weather changes from high 95 degree+ heat in the summer to below freezing temps in the winter. Its during or following freezing weather that I notice the balm has turned grainy. I don't experiment with it much as I only make lip balm maybe 2-3 times a year. I just make enough to last me all season and beyond. What I don't pack for my market I have sitting at home on the shelf in a climate controlled room. I have found though that even small 5% shea in my formulation will at some point turn grainy. The grains don't have to be large. Any size grains even very small ones feel like sandpaper across the lips. Not the feeling I want my customers to experience. I am going to keep experimenting until I come up with the right formula. I am thinking about going an entirely different route and eliminating shea altogether and maybe even all or most butters. I am curious about a blend I read about in another long ago post about using lanolin. Will try to find it if I can.