TallTayl

I had a similar experience with BW wax 😢 it was “better” than 464 and 444 with fewer cavities and much less frost, but could not coax HT from it.  

2 hours ago, Back said:

Hey Tal

 

For me at this point I deed the oils to last longer. The one I am most intrested in is black ice for air freshiners. In a car it lasts about 1 week. can a lab make it last longer. If so how long? I would be willing to pay double the normal price for that maybe more.

 

Bless

Shawn

That’s not one I’m familiar with…. If you’re willing to branch out a little I have several in my collection that might give you an idea of how other sources can work. 
 

The only component of citrus I’ve ever been taught to worry about is bergaptene. Bergaptene is known to cause photo toxicity. Many places offer bergaptene free bergamot essential oil. While technically a wash off, superfatting leaves behind some residual soap on the skin.

all that said, many citrus oils fade quickly in Cold process (cp) soap.  Along with Bergamot I can never get plain orange or grapefruit to stick.  
 

Lemon can be a fader too. litsea cubeba essential oil is very lemony and can help give a boost to lemon, or be used in place of lemon.

 Orange is available “folded”, or concentrated, 5x and 10x which helps with longevity. sometimes other forms of orange, like blood orange might stick longer.
 

You’ll see lots about “anchors” of base notes like patchouli.  Most ive found are old wives tales, but do try them yourself for the learning experience. 
 

Cold pressed lime is usually sticks ok and doesn’t morph. I like this one a lot!
 

I add all of my fragrances and essential oils to the base oils before the lye so that I can blend thoroughly.

From round 1, the strawberry jam 1 in cp turned beige.  As it cures further has a bit of a pink hue. How appropriate! And it is soft, but can definitely smell it. The usage rate was only 4.48%, but it was enough to scent this well.

 
strawberry jam 2 is all but gone in CP. beige color and just soap. 6.4% max usage rate. I used 5%.

Pinion Wood has a 4.88% usage rate in Cat 9 (soap).  It’s growing on me.  Beige discoloration, but acceptable.

black raspberry vanilla is all tart berry.  Very slight discoloration to the beige. High max limit at 42%. I used 5%.  I’m very happy with this one in coconut/palm wax and CP so far.  Need to get it into soy to complete the tests.  I’m at a small dribble in the sample so taking it easy so I can make sniffies too. 
 

from round 2 I’ve only had time to get strawberry rhubarb jam and down to earth onto coco/palm wax. Both have bloomed quite a bit in wax so far.  Can’t wait to light them! 

On 5/18/2023 at 7:02 PM, Cross-stitch said:

Sorry about the nonsense!!! 🙁  We're thankful to have you around!!!  

I’m thankful for you hanging here too. 😊

the good news is no new spammers today. Woot woot!

40 minutes ago, bfroberts said:

You do a great job!  Thank you!

You are far too kind. Thank you 😘

1 hour ago, Tjwaversano said:

Rereading the post, it seems like it is actually reporting the findings of LEAD STEARATE , but for whatever reason it also lands under the category of stearic acid. it seems like stearic acid is kind of a catch all for anything that might be stearin derived, not matter the source like plant or animal matter

I wish article writers were less lazy.  It’s like saying chlorine is deadly, so don’t eat salt. 

57 minutes ago, Back said:

Hey Tal

 

Thanks for the reply. I have 2 questions. Can a lab make them smells stronger and can they make them last longer? My gut tells me yes for a price. there is probally min order that i cant afford I would be willing to pay double or triple for an ounce of that kind of oil.

 

I love your idea about a rechargeable air freshener but if I can make one that lasts a month the is better than anything on the market for the price.:)

 

We just figured out how to make photographic labels on our product. that opens a huge window for custom work

 

Deed you input please

Bless

Shawn

A lab can make any concentration you choose. You are correct, for a price.  typically the minimum is 25 lbs of each fragrance.  Some labs, like AFI, will make smaller sizes, I just don’t  have personal experience with them. 

Most common retail fragrance smells flat and diluted to me. Some smell strong, but not good. Incense, cologne and floral types will often be more potent smelling than most other classes.

what places have you tried so far?

what types of fragrances do you like?
 

2 hours ago, Brotato said:

Thanks for taking care of them! Sorry you have to deal with that. Make sure you get your coffee though!! 😋

Oh I DID! The morning coffee ritual is sacred. 

Thanks for your patience and for notifying when you see the spammers.  Waking up to the new rash of Invison Community focused bots is a rush.  Without even a sip of life giving coffee those bots needed to be destroyed.  
 

I’ve implemented a couple of changes to the registration process and tightened the spam filters to help slow that down.  Sorry to any real human who got caught up in the net.  I’m trying to backtrack and undo any of those who appear to be real people but know I won’t find them all in that mess. 
 

if the bots get smarter I’ll need to limit the email services used to register. I’d rather not do this as many “real” services will be shut out. 

17 minutes ago, gc78 said:

Thank you all for the suggestions. I just wanted to give an update. I have ordered every wick under the sun haha. If I could start over, I would just order a sample pack of every series! My candle recipe is super simple IMO. I settled on 8% FO which has been giving me perfect scent throw in both 464 and 6006. I prefer a strong candle. The only other two things I am adding is UV Inhibitor and white candle dye chips. Sometimes the 6006 seems a bit yellow and definitely turns more yellow without the UV inhibitor. Throughout all this testing, the one thing I haven't done is remove those two items. I tried the premier 700's. I still got some black soot but it was much less than the ECOs.. The ECOs are just a no go for me. Lots of soot. I'm still favoriting the CDs or the CDNs. Even if they start out wild half way down the jar (let's say someone doesnt trim the wick), they calm down to a small flame and the jar isn't too hot. The CDNs definitely struggle more once the full melt pool hits, but they still stay lit and you can smell the fragrance quite well. Both of them seem to self trim so well. I haven't experimented with the HTPS other than the 52's which were much too small. I've ordered up to the 83 in those. Do you think the UV Inhibitor or the Candle Dye chips really make that much difference? Also, every fragrance oil is different. Not uncommon to move up or down 1-2 wick sizes with different oils and the exact same recipe. 

 

I've attached some pictures to get some feedback 🙂 

Congrats! Isn’t it fun when it begins to click? I’m so happy for you!!!

yes it’s normal to wick up/down several sizes between fragrances. Solvents and aroma chemicals all behave chemically different in waxes. Science is fun.  
 

Yes, dye chips can also change the  wicking. 

YouTube has been listening apparently.  This video was in my feed this morning.

my short list to test in round 1:

1) Strawberry Rhubarb Jam. If this throws In my waxes I will be in heaven. 
2) garden herbs. This is a little minty. Not a sharp peppermint or spearmint, but definitely sweet mint. Blending idea: Garden herbs with strawberry vine smells really interesting.

3) sun ripened BlackBerry. It smells like blackberry jam 

4) down to earth. Smells like soft petrichor. A little sugar beet in it would smell like garden petrichor.

5) tangerine ginger. I’ve never had a successful ginger candle. They either wick weird (die out) or don’t throw at all. 
maybe 6) clementine coriander.  It’s growing on me.  A light citrus. Not quite tang, but not quite orange. 
 

holding blue hyacinth for spring I think. It is STRONG and hyper realistic. Seems like this one used at 5-6% would blow you away.

1 hour ago, Lizzy said:

I just emailed Loren and asked if he'd mind sharing where his oils and wax came from.  He was never very forthcoming about his wax but maybe now that he no longer sells supplies he will share. All we can do is ask...and all he can do is say yes or no. I know I will be crying rivers of tears once I get low on some of his oils.

Maybe he would consider a special buy for you and others who like his fragrances. 

9 minutes ago, Back said:

Hi All

 

It was in the Fall when I was last on I think I finally found out why I cant make a good smelling candle. The area i live has the 3rd worse air pollution in the US. And we are in the top 10% on the pollen count. SOO not many people around here do not have a normal rang of smell.

 

When we got the mac apple we spillled some of the oil. Long story short the rag got thrown in the back seat of my truck. for us the idea was born. Car air freshiners.

 

Now im looking for the strong sents and have been thinking about labs to make stronger oil so this post has me very intrested in what you find out.

 

thanks for starting this thread it made my dat

You rock Tal

 

Bless

Shawn

 

 

You're a pioneer!  That air pollution comment makes SO much sense. It's not unlike a smoker's sense of smell diminishing, is it?

Have you ever tried car clips? SO many styles that clip right on to the vents.

I found just the back clip part and plan to offer ceramic versions that can be changed out or refreshed easily. I'm big on no waste. Your solution is even easier. Love it!

51 minutes ago, Tjwaversano said:

Appreciate it! lol you are a force of nature on this forum. I see you on literally every post🤣

 

This one looks super appealing,  and way less $ than I saw last time I checked…

11 minutes ago, birdcharm said:

 

 

Do you think they would be offended if I asked them where a couple of their scents were from? 

Some are nice and forthcoming.  Did you ever buy from Moonworks? When she closed she shared all of her sources, and PFO ended up carrying the line. 😊

It all depends on your fragrance. The solvents will dictate which fuels will chemically work best. 
 

likewise your source of coconut and bees waxes will be different from source to source and lot to lot. 
 

coconut oil comes in different melt temps. All will burn different. I had a shipment of coconut 76 that was very wet and didn’t burn at all. 
 

I generally start at either 50:50 or 80:20 depending on the container. 

Stearic acid is a major component of soy wax, so a study saying stearic is toxic disproves all the “soy is the best” studies. I’m curious why you ask. 
 

stearic comes from different sources but is often just referred to as stearic acid. your source mentioned above must have that comparative info? 
 

For what it’s worth any fuel incompletely burned (badly wicked or poorly made candle) will soot. A properly wicked, well made candle with stearic and most other common candle fuel fully combusts leaving carbon dioxide and water. 

6 hours ago, Tjwaversano said:

Hey guys just curious if there is anyone that has had experience with using methods such as steam distillation to create their own essential oils? I know yield ratios are pretty abysmal but the process of doing so sounds fascinating

I have not but found small copper pots that do it at a small scale. I don’t grow enough of the plant materials to get a drop 😂

making hydrosol is a little easier. 

Could be frosting. Need pics to be certain. 

Palm needs to be poured very hot to develop the  beautiful crystals. I heat to the 210 (or whatever temp the particular blend needs) and add FO right away. 
 

Good candle FO doesn’t lose potency with typical commercial wax pour temp. If wax needed to be cooled specially then it would not be profitable to make candles commercially. 

20 minutes ago, The Candle Nook said:

Ooohh @TallTayl please count me in!  I have been MIA for 2 months while BF and Aunt have battled cancer (cancer sucks) and have missed my candle time. Think I can start breathing again and come back to my regular life. (Super interested in any myrrh or frankincense! Always on that hunt!)

I’m so sorry for what you’ve been going through. It’s great to see you again. 😊

you and I have very similar preferences. I’m on the same hunt. 

Tins are surprisingly hard to wick. They are too wide for the height proportion.  
 

it ALL depends on your wax, wick and fragrances in the end, though so …

mccalls is close to igi4786 in feel.  It could also be just mottling paraffin. That kind of wax likes to stay in a gel state.  Soy, as you have seen, goes through several stages from liquid to mush to semi solid to solid.  You may need to adjust the expectation of how your candle burns compared to commercial, but I know you’ll figure it out.  

14 minutes ago, birdcharm said:

Well, that's what I get for finding a scent I really like.  I ordered from them about a month or so ago and blended two of their scents, really enjoying the result.  I wonder how wrong it is to ask how to find those scents, if they would answer, or if that's just not right to do. I guess I can look on the bright side that I got an order in before they closed! 

The way I see it, there is no harm in asking.