Becky, I've only used palm wax, so don't know if it's harder to clean up than with soy. I think they are all a pain to clean up! I don't ever have to repour, and I don't poke relief holes. I add a small amt of soy to the batch, which pretty much eliminates the need to repour, poke, etc. With palm you need to pour at a much higher temp, and your container, mold, whatever...need to be zapped with a heat gun 1st to make it hot, then after pouring, I just cool at room temperature. It turns out so beautiful. With palm, it's harder to smooth out the tops with the heat gun. It just messes up the beautiful pattern. Don't know if that helps or not (and I'm certainly not an expert by any means)! Keep playing with it, and you will find what works for you, and you will not be disappointed!