PurpleHippie

I think the 6006 is too sticky, it is a container wax I believe. You would probably have problems getting it out of the clamshell.

Your right about that! It depends on your market area. Charging more might work in your area. If there are a ton of candlemakers selling in your area that aren't charging the prices you have in mind then it might be a turn off to customers. I also use to be very critical concerning candles other than my own. Then I heard another candlemaker being very rude and cruel in her comments to someone that was just starting out. She actually laughed at the person products. I realized that we all might have a bit of prejudice regarding our candles and forget that we once were new to this. JMO but there is no such thing as a perfect wax or candle. I always find something that I wish I could improve. I do check out the competition and I do purchase many of the name brand candles from time to time. You know what? Some of them are really good! I burned a very small votive from one of those designer candle guys that scented my entire first floor. Not one of mine has ever done that! Now I would never spend 120.00 on any candle but considering all of the time and effort I put into testing I wish I could charge $120.00 for a candle and actually sell it!

I have to agree. It does change based on your location but in my area the market is over saturated. For example, at a local craft show there were only 12 booths and 5 were candles! Just about everyone here has a co-worker or a neighbor or relative that makes and sells candles. It is true that alot are not quality candles and many of these people do not stick with this for a very long time but there are sooooo many in my market area. It's almost as common as a stop light here, one on every corner. Having to compete with the cheap prices is a constant problem. Yes, I know many of you are thinking but once a customer understands the difference in the quality of candle they are getting they will stick with you. Many times that is true but when you are working in a truly over saturated market they have so many choices that sometimes they can constantly candle hop because there are so many choices. I have spent far more on this than I have gained in profit. I do have to be pratical and honest with myself. I do love doing this but if I am also at a crossroads with my decision to continue as a business.

You said the space is in a mall. Have you walked around and looked at the other stores to see what they are offering and what the price range is? Also, have you checked with the companies you mentioned to see what their minimum purchase amounts are? I can't remember the name of the candle company but several years ago one of the local owners here told me that when she got permission to sell that brand they would only allow their candles to be sold within so many miles of another business that was also selling their candles. It could work either way. First, if those candles aren't common in your location then you might be offering something different that customers would be interested in. If they are pretty common then you will have to compete with the prices offered at locations near your space. Good luck with your new venture!

Thank you. That one is a bit different than the one I was using so maybe it will produce better results. Thanks for your help, I hadn't searched the archives.

Yes, I have used the search here and located several recipes. I am not sure which would produce the rock hard results discussed here. I thought maybe someone could suggest a specific recipe.

I have to purchase lye by a soap supplier and follow the restrictions they have for selling the product. Even locally if it is not sold on the shelf. The same restrictions should apply for this kit. My point was that not all children that would have access to this product have responsible parents involved in what they are doing that would monitor this project. Many of you have wonderful, responsible children, nieces and nephews...but there are far too many young children out there left to their own devices. Someone purchases the kit for them as a gift and they are left alone to do as they please. Just because the instructions state Adult Supervision Required doesn't mean that it will be followed. We all know what happens if you accidentally pour water into lye! Even an adult could easily make that mistake. That is a very easy mistake to make. Some adults let alone children just skim over directions and never really realize the importance of the information given. Now imagine a child without adult supervision doing this then just reaching for the first thing around to clean up the mess, or not cleaning it up properly and leaving it where others could touch or walk on. Most of us are lucky enough to have responsible children and it is easy to forget that there are many children that aren't. There are stories every day of some of the most cruel and violent acts that are now being performed by children and teenagers. The child that I mentioned in my previous post that was attacked and had lye thrown on her is an adult today. She is permanently scared from the top of her head down one side of her face. She was lucky not to get any of it into her eyes! If this stuff is made available that easy this could be very dangerous if it ends up in the wrong hands by a child that isn't lucky enough to have responsible caring parents or guardians such as those of us here involved in their lives and projects.

I agree! Something should be done and quick! This could be very dangerous in the wrong hands. Just because it states under adult supervision doesn't mean that will actually be followed. I remember a case that happened when I was very young and it was common to find lye. Some kids purposly used it to throw on another child. It was horrible!!! I don't think it is safe to have a product like that available and marketed for use by young children. Some may very well be responsible but others aren't and many more don't have adults that will provide supervision. Alot of adults assume if a product is sold to children then it's safe for them to use. So many people don't read the warning label and others will assume it is like M&P soap and not realize the danger. If anyone knows who the correct party is or has an address to write to with our concerns please post. Maybe if enough of us write we could help prevent someone from getting hurt.

I see that it has been mentioned trying a different recipe or one that produces a rock hard bomb. Could someone post one of the recipes that you find produces this result? I've located several on-line but not having that much experience with them I would like to use one that you bath bomb Queens really like.

The cracks are on the sides not in the center where the two sides meet. I didn't use water, I spritz with which hazel or alcohol. I actually made this batch to be like scented bath tablets and I only used FO.

I have made bath bombs in the past and was completly fustrated by the whole experience. For some reason I decided to try it again. I made a batch and everything seemed to be fine. After a few days I noticed that several had cracks, after a few more days more cracks. Today it is official, every single one of these little devils have cracks. :undecided Now the battle is on, I am determined to make bath bombs without cracks! What is causing this to happen and how can I stop it?

If you have already tested a soy that you like and feel comfortable with then I think it's great if you want to stick with it. The main problem I had with soy was that I would test one(and I have tested many brands)that worked well for my needs. I would get a good decent throw, test and get all of my wick sizes for the products I sell, order more wax. The next batch would be different resulting in a change in either scent throw or wick sizes. Which meant I had to start test all over! You can't run a business if you are constantly testing. At least I can't! I still make a few "soy" candles but very few. Top said it the best and I couldn't agree more but whatever works for you and your customers is the bottom line!

Please forgive me if I am out of line because I certainly do not mean to offend you. Are you upset that the people here have not chosen to e-mal Oprah about our candle products? This is just my opinion but since you asked...You have a good point about big business and celebrity endorsements such as Oprah. Most of those type of TV shows promote numerous products the average person can not afford. I saw one that really pushed a anti-aging product that is very exclusive and the name of the celebrities that swear by it. I believe it cost near 1,000 an ounce. So Oprah isn't doing anything that most of those shows aren't already doing. My opinion is it's Oprah's money and Oprah's show and if she likes and wants to promote a $120.00 candle, good for her. That isn't going to hurt me because most of my customers wouldn’t or couldn't spend that type of money on a candle in the first place. So I won't be losing any sales based on anything Oprah promotes. The type of customer that would normally purchase such an extravagant product such as that candle is not normally the type of customer that shops for handcrafted products. Sometimes(not always)it's about the designer label or the exclusive store or name brand. They want a product from Nordstroms, Sax, Neiman Marcus...it might not be any better than one from Sears but it came from an expensive store. I could argue forever that my candles are better quality and it wouldn't matter to that customer. I do however think I see your point about letting Oprah know that quality products are available by women who are handcrafting equally if not better candle products. It doesn't have to cost 120.00 to be a great quality product. I applaud your effort!

For the most part I agree with Top! I've made both soy and paraffin and I have never thought any wax was perfect but soy can be a major PIA! I just couldn't devote the extra time for constant re-testing that I discovered was necessary for soy. I do still offer some soy candles for those customers that are really interested in having a "soy candle" but I have really cut back on the scents I offer in the soy line. I vote for sticking with the product you have already tested and works for you. Maybe you can order a small test size of the other to see how it compares if you just want to experiment. Good luck!

The process sounds very interesting and I would like to see how it is done just out of curiosity. JMO but if I were to make incense using that method I know I would want to sell them at a price that would be worth all that effort. I just don't think the average person that buys incense(at least not in my market area)would be willing to pay the extra cost.

Bruce, That's how mine burn too. I make small batches and I let them air for usually a week before I use them, they are nice and dry. Your explanation makes sense because I couldn't figure out how it was possible to not have a bit of black smoke from charcoal when you first light it. I could understand there being a problem if the black smoke continued after the flame was blown out. Now I can relax, I thought I had been doing something wrong! I would think you are correct, hadn't thought about that. I can't recall ever burning one of those to know how they compare in scent with the homemade type. Sounds like an interesting process but a bit too messy for me! Thanks for the help!

I read an article that stated good incense sticks will never produce a black smoke when it is initially lit at the very begining. Well I guess I've never used good incense because every single one that I have ever used has a bit of black smoke when it is first lit, then when you blow out the flame there is very light smoke as the incense burns. The black smoke will be worse if the incense hasn't completly dried but there is always a bit of blk. smoke. I've made 3-1 DPG ration, 2-1 and 1-1 and never had one that didn't produce some black smoke when first lit. Am I doing something wrong?

Thanks for sharing the information. This use to be my favorite wax but after having so many problems with it over the last 6 months - year I've decided to move on to another wax. I still have 20 lbs. left so I can experiment with the suggestions. Very nice of you to share that with everyone!

Well, it probably was ligitimate for her, she seems to run a very reputable company with good quality. I just meant that there have been several consumer report articles mentioning that surfuel charges being used as an excuse to raise the cost of products. I guess the bigger issue is if the cost of the products in general are worth the added expense if you are selling the products that you make with them. For me the cost is too high for the market area I am in. This is just an example: there was an FO that I was interested in and it averaged out to about 5.00 an ounce. That means if I used 1oz of FO per lb a 16oz container candle would start off costing me 5.00 just in the FO alone, add in the cost of the container, the wick, the wax, the labels plus factor in shipping charges for the supplies, my time...I am not saying that the quality may not be excellent, like someone mentioned above it just isn't cost effective. I wouldn't be able to offer products in the price range of the competiors in my market

I know you take a chance when posting on a forum where the owner is a member but since this forum isn't directly associated with DS I hope it is ok to state my opinion. I have used several of the FO's from DS in the past. At the time I was testing soy wax and as with any FO's in soy some were great others didn't test that well. I really liked DS FO's in B&B. They have some unique scents that I would be interested in but once I calculated how much I would have to sell my products for to make up for the high cost, it wasn't worth it. If you check DS site there are some VERY expensive oils. I believe one that I was interested in was 56.95 for an 8oz bottle and that was before the latest price increase. Plus I have to figure in shipping cost for my expenses. If I were making a product just for myself maybe(and that is a big maybe)I might spend that much for something that was my favorite and would last a very long time but I couldn't sell my products at a competitive price using oils that expensive. DS seems to be a good company but this is just my opinion. Last summer I believe there was an email sent stating there would be a price increase due to a Surfuel charge increase. Within a few days after that email was sent there was a headline story right on the front page of MSN concerning companies disguising product increases and claiming it is a surfuel charge. Several days after the article DS sent an email stating they weren't going to raise their prices. I figured that was just temporary! I wish her good luck because she does have some good products and seems to be a very nice person but the FO's are too expensive for me.

I've noticed this in the past but I just thought I would check and see if others have had this happen as well. I make my candles in the shop but I test them in my home. When I wipe down the counter tops and walls in the shop my towels are black. No candles have ever been burned in the shop. I use both soy and paraffin waxes. So is it common to get soot strickly from the melting of the wax in the presto pot?

It was mainly those two that I wasn't pleased with. However, that may have just been the specific FO's I used. I always give out some testers to others just to make sure it isn't my nose only that had the problem with the candle. Everyone reported the same results. This was with testing the FO's at various percentages and different wicks. However, your testing may prove differently. What one person doesn't consider a strong scent throw might be perfectly fine with another person. I think most people will agree that soy in general is picky about FO's and it needs longer cure time than paraffin. It just takes time and being willing to test. Different brands of soy can produce different results. One FO that worked great in one brand of soy may only be so-so in another. That is one of the reasons after testing that I always stuck with one brand and the same supplier. I really liked the EL wax and in my testing it proved to be the most consistent wax from batch to batch. When I used another brand of soy I can't tell you how many times I would get all of my testing completed with each FO in every container that I sell with just the right wick, order more wax and do a couple of test only to find out that something was different with the currant batch of wax that caused me to have to change wick sizes and start testing all over again. That just proved to be too time consuming for me. If I only sold a few scents it might not be a big issue but I was spending too much time and money constantly testing the same wax. When I switched to EL I did find the batches to be constant and I didn't have to constantly make changes. Especially once the millennium formula was introduced which doesn't require additives. I do feel that I achieved the best scent throw with longer curing time. I would suggest purchasing sample sizes of FO's to test first. They have great customer service at Enchanted Lites so feel free to email them if you need help. Good luck!

Oh good, I have alot of LX wicks on hand.

I had the same results as others here, no or low throw when I test the FO's in EL wax. Had the same problem with Nature's Garden FO's. It has been several years since I used soy but EL was one I really liked. I did find that my FO's needed to cure a bit longer in the wax for a really good throw. I find that to be true with just about all soy brands that I have tried. Not such an issue with paraffin.

Thanks for your help. I think I can get both from a supplier near by. If one isn't very different from the other, especially in scent throw I may just try the J223 since it is softer. What type of wicks do/did you prefer with these two waxes?