jackbenimble

2 new pre buys at moonworks! Just got an email from Rhonda yahoo group. Also a few new FO under what's cookin. The only thing is I wish I knew if they did well in soy. I don't like that the pre buys are 16oz min.

Oh great! So glad you liked it. It does smell good OOB. Hope my peeps like it this year. :-)

Hey Candybee- I got the Olive extract from The Herbarie. It was a tab pricey though. It actually smells rather nice. Has great antioxidant properties as well.

This is an old thread but has anyone tried CS Spiced plum in soy? I actually have a sample and it smells good but the description says it has a clove note in it and I can't smell it OOB. Maybe when I put it into wax it will smell different.

I just got some Olive leaf extract. Sould I refrigerate that or can I keep on a shelf? You had mentioned the extracts in your recent post Candybee.

Not at very low temps. No. I would advise to continue to do what you are doing if the CT and HT are good. It's always good to try a few different variables but I wouldn't put FO in wax under 160 degrees. I have read a lot of candle makers on here add their FO at 180 degrees. I am making some testers today and am going to add FO at 180 and pour at 160. Ignite I think only thing you could try is heating your jars in the oven before you pour. That's what I do. You may get different results. Also let them sit on the counter for a couple of days with the tops off. JMO. HTH. :-)

I have put mine in at 180 as well and it was fine. I may try pouring some testers at 160 but I always get very good candles at lower temps. Glad you got lucky. Besides it's the final product that matters and if it's good. :-)

Just went to the website. They are open but I wasn't impressed with there selection. Just ordinary IMO. But I hope they do well. It would be good to have a supplier closer. I'm going to wait to hear how their FO do before I go and get any.

Hi Jackie- 170-160 is when I put FO in. I tend to pour closer to 120-110. I did try pouring at higher temps but I got more rough tops than frosting. I know a lot of folks cannot wait that long to pour but I've just gotten use to it. HTH.

I was talking about both. Wet spots and frosting. I was just saying what my experience was when I did not let them "rest" properly after pouring. Thanks for asking Faerywren :-)

What temp do you pour at jaxx?

I use 464 also and if I don't leave them open on the counter for a couple of days they start to pull away from the glass and frost on the sides. Sometimes I have a little frosting anyway but if it's not to much I dont mind. I think it makes them look handmade. :-)

Thanks Candybee!!!

I've read in a few places on the Internet that candles, all types, will last a very long time if kept with the lid on and stored in cool dark place. So go ahead and test or start making your Christmas candles now. They will be really nice and soy candles only get better the longer they cure IMO. HTH! :-)

I just found this blog that posted a question that was similar to mine. Any thoughts? Question: Do You Have to Refrigerate Soap Making Oils? "Javablues" - a poster in the Candle & Soap Making Forum wrote a two part question. The first part was, "Just wondering if oils like castor, jojoba, and sweet almond need to be refrigerated." Answer: I answered, "Jojoba will last nearly indefinitely on the shelf - no need to refrigerate it. Castor is pretty stable too. If you weren't going to use the almond up in a year or so, I might refrigerate it - or refrigerate the portion that you're not going to use within a year. Many common soap making oils will last a long time on the shelf. Coconut, palm and olive all should last a year or two on the shelf, as will cocoa and shea butter. Lard and beef tallow are generally good for a year or so, tallow lasts longer if refrigerated. Liquid oils have shorter shelf lives. The more "saturated" an oil, the longer it will last. The more "unsaturated" or"polyunsaturated" the oil, the shorter its shelf life." But then Javablues posted a follow up question: This question may seem silly, but when you say shelf life do you mean its good for that length of time regardless if it is on the shelf or in a product? Just wondering once a product is made with that oil, should the product be used within that shelf life time frame?" Not a silly question at all...in fact, it's something really important to consider! The shelf life of an oil is more than just the life it has on the shelf before it goes into your soap. It has a life before it gets to you...and then it has a life once it gets made into soap. So the answer is yes to both considerations...sort of... Definitely "shelf life" applies to the time it spends on your shelf - and there are things you can do to lengthen the effective shelf life: Make sure you buy your oils from a quality vendor - you want to make sure that the oils that you're buying are fresh...that they haven't used up part of their shelf life on the vendor's shelf! Once you get them, store them in a cool, dark place As you use them, put them in the smallest bottle possible. It's contact with the air (the oxygen) that oxidizes the oils and makes them go rancid. If there's no contact with air, the oxidation is much slower. So as you use it, either pour the oil into a smaller bottle, or what I often do is squeeze the bottle so that all of the air is squeezed out, and then put the cap on. You can also add an antioxidant like rosemary oleoresin (ROE) (my preference) or vitamin E. I add it to the whole bottle of oil when I first get it. It greatly extends the shelf life of the oil. SO...that was the first part of your question...now to the second part... All of that applies to the raw oil...does it apply to soap? Sort of...it doesn't really apply to the "soap" part of the soap - that will last for a long, long time. But it does apply to the "superfat" part of the soap...the free oils that have been leftover in the soap by superfatting. It's those oils that will go rancid and make the soap go bad. Most soap makers believe that it's those free oils that contribute to DOS (dreaded orange spots) too. Now let's say that you've used 10% grape seed oil (a short shelf-life oil) in your soap recipe...and superfatted at 5%. That would mean that the soap would have .5% grape seed oil leftover in it as part of the superfat. (10% X 5%) That's not a lot...and shouldn't cause much problem...at least for a year or so...and would be even less of an issue if you added some ROE to the oil when you first got it from the vendor. But if you were using the oil in a lotion or balm...you have a much much higher % of the oil left intact, so the freshness of the oil, and its shelf life is much more important to consider.

Can you (or should) you refrigerate your soap oils and additives?

Can you use oil from the grocery store or do you need to purchase from a soap supplier?

Thanks Envy! I am going to test CS pumpkin pie.

I am doing a show in November and waiting to hear back from another about October. deb464 mentioned having lots of pumpkin candles. I only make 12 scents and pumpkin is not one of them. Do you think I should add that for the fall? Good luck with your show tinalee!

I've seen them at Lone Star

I like the idea of grinding them up first like your doing. How much in advance should I make mp soap that has ground lavender buds in them? And how long does it last before possibly turning brown? It's not my main product that draws people in, candles are, but I'd like to get more people to buy them even though it is mp and not cp.

I would like to do that too but how many do you make so you are able to test first before selling?

They look amazing but now I'm really confused because I've read threads and looked at the soap-queen vids on YouTube and she talks about and shows the lavender buds turning a nasty brown. I'm using mp soap so maybe in CP soap it does not do that.

How do you keep your lavender buds from turning brown?

This question has been asked and answered before but I have a new spin on it. Do dried lemon/ orange peels turn brown in M&P Soap? Also I know dried rose petals and lavender petals turn brown when put in mp soap but if you just sprinkle them on the top of the soap so that it just sticks to the top. Is that possible? Thanks for any suggestions or advice! :smiley2: