Jeannie

I agree with Asheebeans that is totally what it reminded me of as well.

OK, so I broke down and bought a couple slabs from swans. I got the Calwax CB 30 and the CB 10. Been curing a few days now and I'm so disappointed in the cold throw of the CB 30 :undecided Leaves a lot to be desired since the cold throw is generally what sells the candle. I've got 5 testers and I can barely smell but one of them, all at 8%. Grrrr, it's always something! They do look nice, color nicely, very few wetspots. Getting ready to burn one and see how the burn/throw goes. It says on the site it has a really great throw so I'm crossing my fingers. The CB 10 actually smells really nice. I made a few tarts & votives with it, unwrapped and they are still holding a fairly nice cold throw. The wax itself is a lot harder then I expected. I almost didn't get the votives from the wick pin without cracking. I may add a touch of crisco to it and see what I get

Vicki, it really depends on the paraffin you are adding as some are more opaque then others. The really opaque waxes are harder to color, like soy. Generally single pour waxes are fairly opaque, some are more translucent then others. One that comes to mind if I remember correctly is the Comfort blend I think they call it. I tried it many years ago and it was very translucent looking and colored very easy for a single pour. My experience with LX wicks in single pours has always been iffy. The single pours are a more viscous wax. The LX tend to burn hot down instead of out and since they don't have the ridgety as some others they often drown out. I agree going up in size will only increase your melt pool. They generally start off nice or flame to high and again drown themselves. When double wicking with LX, I always seem to get caught in the crossroad. Uneven burn, to small to get to the sides or to hot to stay burning. Of course that all depends on your jars and the type of wax you are using. So many variables :undecided

It is a hurricane wax, way to hard for a container candle. I highly doubt that type of wax would have any benefit to your candle.

I agree, walk away from the votives :tiptoe: I almost always repour the next day and 10 degree's hotter then the first pour so they meld (is that a word?) together

Dipping in wax has been around for a long time. Actually it's generally done with paraffin which has no benefits to the skin. Paraffin dipping is popular in salons. Some are lightly scented and made for this particular application hands & feet. A lotion is applied underneath (treatment), the paraffin is manily used for warming and opening the pours. It is also used in some facial treatments as a warming pack. I'm sure the heat of the wax would be very beneficial to arthiritis/make it feel better. Of course these things are done by licensed professionals and don't require a wick. However, you can get dipping machines at the store and they are heated by a warming element. I totally agree with Bruce, unless you are scent overloading (risk to skin) those candles can't be very good. All hype if you ask me and trouble in the long run. I guess people will do what they want though and laugh all the way to the bank.

Well, nobody said we can't dip our fingers in it I think it's a great idea to market a product for this very reason. As a warming lotion, but not as a candle. That is were the line should be drawn! I think the quality of both would be so much better designed around their intended use. Why would one limit their candles to only skin safe FO's so that they could sell it as a lotion? What happens when they decide they don't want to sell their candles as lotion anymore? Are they going to retrain each and every one of those customers they are no longer safe? Why confuse the public? It affects us all as the rest of us will have to be explaining why we chose not to do it. And that's not to say they still won't do it. Soy is also editible but we don't tell our customers to eat our candles? Or do we? I know they smell good but "Warning...DO NOT EAT CANDLE." LMAO at the Iron warning!!! It's so true! The things people will do is amazing!

Oh, I wasn't doing the show myself. I simply just went to buy and support the crafters. I was hoping to find some soap, but no soapers this year. I totally agree about the fragrance! I think if she would have focused more on that she may have done very well for herself. The presentation was very nice but the smell of the candles was no were near good. I have no clue what I was even smelling it was so weak. She lost my sale first based on that. Then she set herself up when she had candles burning that had NO THROW! Generally when you walk up to a candle booth the first thing you notice is all the wonderful aroma's. It's the scent that draws people in!!!! The lotion gimmick was just the icing on the cake for me. First, she stuck her hands in the "LIT" candle. That is what she is teaching people! Second, if I can barely smell it as a candle, how am I going to smell it on my skin? I buy lotion for the same reason, because it SMELLS GOOD. I didn't see people buying? And if they did, how long before they realise this wasn't so good? A quick buck today may be an empty nest tomorrow! I didn't speak to her about any of it, I took the exit. I wasn't there to destroy her or put her down. Even if I told her what I thought, do you think she would really listen? A lot of people are making false claims about their candles just like the girl who claims those are EO's.....NOT. There is no way to stop people like that, so many are doing it! In the long run people like that will destroy themselves. It's what it does to the rest of us that worries me. What they are teaching the public which is passing on to the children. The general public does not understand one candle from the next. Children do not know what is a soy candle and what is not. Now they start playing with hot candles cause Mommy does it. And when the fad dies because people start getting hurt, how do you stop it then? Do we now have to include on your candles "DO NOT USE ON YOUR SKIN." "DO NOT PUT YOUR FINGERS IN BURNING CANDLE."

Then they better list on their candles the essential oils that are in them. Some people are extremely allergic to certain EO's since they ARE NATURAL. Plus their are special colors made specifically for the skin and are to be listed on the labeling as well (FDA Approved skin safe). I really think people are misunderstanding how this really gives the home candlemakers a bad name. So many people jump in without really doing any research and it affects the rest of us in the long run. I guess we could all do this but I know one thing. For me if I choose to sell somebody a lotion it's going to be a quality lotion firsthand. Certainly not for ease of use or to save them a buck or to make a sale. Certainly I would sell them a quality soy lotion if that is what I am after.

Also, correct me if I am wrong but don't all cosmetics legally have to be labeled? I'm pretty sure if you sell soaps, lotions, etc. you have to list the ingredients? I always lable my soaps & lotions. Anything that is ingested through the skin can or may cause allergic reaction.

Well, it's not so much that it could harm the skin. Of course it could with the wrong ingredients but I would like to assume she did her homework. Asside from the fragrance, I can't help but wonder if the dyes where skin safe as well? What bothers me is what this is teaching the public in general. There really is no need to do this to make a candle sale. Candles are candles, lotion is lotion. For her to claim it is also lotion is obsurd!!!! Many of us make soy candles and don't use this tatic to sell our candles. How do we know somebody will not assume all soy candles are safe to put on the skin. Afterall it's a soy candle. So they assume soy candles can also be used as lotion. That is setting a lot of us up for possible lawsuits because people WILL assume soy candles are also lotion. Not only that children see what the parents are doing. Kids don't know what the difference between one candle and the next. I don't think it's OK to tell people to stick there hands in fire and expect them to not get burned. It's bad enough the crazy things that the public will do....HENCE all the warning labels that are meaningless.

I've heard that wax is good. I would try 75% 50/50 & 25% pillar. Not to much pillar....you don't want to have to repour

Well, I know this has been discussed on here before but I had my first real experience today and I must say it made me a bit angry I went to a small art/craft show in my home town and there was a soy candlemaker there. Right when you walk up there was a big sign "All Natural Soy Candles" and of course all the claims of why soy is better then paraffin. I'm all for supporting candlemakers, soapmakers...crafter's in general and I usually buy because I value homemade products. It wasn't so much the sign that bothered me, but more so that she felt she needed the sign? Almost like a sales gimmick to draw attention. Anyhow, I walked over to take a sniff, everything was displayed very pretty and neat. The candles looked great, most in wine glasses & different types of containers. She had several candles burning and I couldn't smell anything so I leaned over them and still there was not much scent. I picked one of the unlit ones up and to my amazement it had very little cold throw. Now it looked like soy, the tops were somewhat flakey, but the cold throw was so weak, unlike soy? So she immediately comes over and says have you ever burned a soy candle? I mean she was really perky almost to the point of pushy in the way she interacted. I told her Yes I have and it was like it threw her all off. She immediately comes back with well have you tried SOY LOTION? And before I could get a word in she grabbed the lit candle in front of me. All I could think to myself......Oh hell no, she isn't going to do that is she? Yep, down in the candle she went, fingers all swirling about (wick still burning)....Soy makes great lotion too.....With a big ole smile on her face! Well, the smile didn't last long. I didn't need to say anything....I guess the look on my face said it all, totally unimpressed!!! I'm sorry but that has got to be the saddest thing I have ever witnessed.

I would think tin would catch fire before glass but of course I have never seen either catch on fire Best example I can give is a camp fire. Those beer cans actuallly burn, while the beer bottles are untouched Glass can break when not wicked properly and I would think the tin probably gets hotter but it's the FO that actually ignites. Tin is going to heat faster then glass side by side and probably omits more heat when it becomes hot. I think it would take a lot to cause a problem though. Where talking tornado wicking & burning for endless hours.

I have always done my soy uncolored. I can tell you that I have fell in love with uncolored candles. Of course when trying new waxes I always want to color them for some reason? Old habits I guess are hard to break but the color doesn't do anything for me now. I personally prefer the uncolored container candles and think it looks more elegant. I do all the rest in colors, tarts, votives, pillars. Also, I think the containers throw/burn better without the color in them. Good luck in whatever you decide

Oh wait, now what if I try the Calwax Blends and then they get the Accu-Blends? $$$$$$$$$$$$$

Jan, if you click on "New Candlemaking Supply Entrance" it is a lot easier to navigate now Well Carrie, I wish I could find my notes, LOL. But yeah, it's been a long time and I tend to throw things away if I don't feel the need to resurface. I did contact Calwax about a year ago about their soy blends. They were very unwilling to accomodate me (samples) and sent me to swans. However, I have a hard time spending $50 to sample a few waxes. I got more slabs now then I know what to do with, none to write home about. I don't think it's the per case price that is so unreasonable but the lack of interest in the small candlemakers that are striving to find something available as well as quality. Perhaps if we were in higher numbers on the West coast we would hear more about the waxes available. Manufacturers/Suppliers would be more willing to point us in their direction. Many Manuf & suppliers offer 1 lb samples free or for purchase as well as promote (word of mouth). Unfortunately, they are not the ones on the West Coast. So you like the soy huh? I love soy but it scares me, I just have not had good luck with the consistancy (crop changes). I won't go back to all paraffin though. I've been trying to come up with my own formula soy/paraffin. I guess I will have to give Swans a try and put a rest to the mysteries.

How is it possible to test the Accu-Blend waxes? Assuming they are different from calwax? I did test a single pour wax from Calwax about 6-7 years ago and did not care for it. It was tuff to wick colored pastel. I'm thinking it's the same wax and really don't need a slab to find out, LOL.

I too contacted them and they sent me to Swans! I'm a bit confused as Swans is from Calwax? So who is sending who wax? LOL. I was thinking about trying the soy/paraffin blend.....Andybody try it?

Henry, are you using square braid or flat ply? Either way, I twist both types and anchor it to the mold and pour into the mold. I don't use wick tabs with my pillars, When you repour the wick is buried about 1" from the end. If I use LX they are already primed and tabbed so then I just use wick pins. I think the LX burn very similar to the flat ply but the square braid burns totally different.

I have always cured my candles. I generally cure for 3 days when testing for scent throw, sometimes longer depending on the scent. Now if I'm testing a NEW wax I usually let them cure a week to determine wicking. I've tested waxes that burn great after a few days and then discover in a week I litterally have to wick up!

Oh man does it ever end? I'm telling you it's hard enough to find a wax on the West Coast that I even like. I've had to start over so many times now because it stops being available. I'm sick of the soy & constant changes so I decided to go back to my roots, (paraffin) when I actually made money. Does anybody have confirmed information IGI is getting out of wax? I would really hate to go through all the testing again only to have to start over...AGAIN!!!

I thought some of these were supposed to be Missy's old oils? I remember all the rave reviews as I too purchased a bunch of samples. I did find a few throwers (keepers) but the majority did nothing for me in soy/cottonseed. I did email her about one in particular that was raved about.....OOB it was so weak I thought maybe I got the wrong one, LOL. I poured it anyway as I was assured it was strong and it was dead as a door knob. I firmly believe with any company it is trial and error. However, I too doubt these oils are even being tested. They fly in too quick! Having tested from manufactures in the past I know how hard it is to find the keepers. It's like finding a needle in a haystack! That's why some companies take so long to find what they are looking for. It's more times a miss then a hit! With that said, even the tested oils can be a miss for any one of us. We still have to do our own testing. As long as her oils stay consistant, I see no harm in doing your own testing and weeding through her oils. Her prices are cheap and she does offer a lot of great deals if you can find what works for you. A couple I found worth buying are the Hycinath Chula Orchad, Mojitto Coctail & Cinnamon Bun w/vanilla frosting. The Chestnuts & Brown Sugar was drool worthy but did nothing in the wax for me.

Wow, small world. Dedes I'm in Lake Isabella, I drive to Bakersfield almost everyday. Let me know what you decide. I've only tested a small bit of the 464 but would be worth the extra testing I generally use the soy/cottonseed blend.

I would diffently mix the waxes or crisco but I also think it has a lot to do with the heat of the warmers. I've noticed the same problem with my electric warmer. They use to sell them with 25 watt bulb which I felt was a bit low on the throw so I threw a 40 watt in there and now I feel that is actually to hot. The throw starts off like a freight train and then after 30-mins to an hour I can hardly smell it. I think most of them are actually sold with 40 watt now so that may be what you have. When they get too hot they just burn the scent off quickly and don't last as long either.