mrsadler05

I suggest you research the effectiveness of collagen in topical skin care products. The collagen molecule is a rather large molecule and does not actually penetrate down to the dermis where it is needed to be beneficial as an anti-aging ingredient. Do some research on liposome encapsulated collagen. Liposomes help carry ingredients further into the skin.

CandleCrush, I understand your hesitancy being a newbie. I am one myself. I am a licensed esthetician, educator and territory sales manager for a professional skin care line. A few times I have read things in the b&b forum and wanted to contribute but was not sure how the information would be received. I would prefer not to start a huge debate o, for the time being, decided to butt out for the time being. Personally, I would value your opinions on marketing ideas given your expereience. Happy New Year!

Funny how I am so very new to this myself and even I am irritated by the number of people asking for everything to be handed to them on a silver platter- and the number of people willing to enable them. These people think they can just decide one day to make candles and soap, get tired or bored with researching and come in and ask all of you veterans for your tried and true recipes so they don't have to waste money. I just made some modified m&p soap for Christmas presents and I am thinking I better run to the mall tomorrow to find alternative gifts before I start losing friends. My soaps smell and feel great on the skin, but I am concerned about the appearance of it. My colors didn't come out as I had hoped so on to many more hours of researching colorants and techniques. I found a candle combination I am proud of, but you can't start a business with one candle. I have way too much to learn before ever dreaming of selling products. I, too, assumed candle/b& b making would be easy, but I still did tons of research and spent many all-nighters glued to my lap top reading this forum only to learn that if I want to make quality products, I have to commit to taking this on in the utmost professional, consistent and scientific manner possible. I am an esthetician by trade and work as a eucator/territory manager for a professional skin care line. Active ingredients and how they function in the skin are my passion. Reputations are made by offering quality and consistency and ruined by offering crap and not understanding how your products work and who to recommend them for. This is the first hobby I have persued in my life. I have always been interested in creating things, but never took the step until now. But I am years away from even beginning to dream of selling my products. I have a healthy respect for all of you veterans and I am truly greatful for all of your hard work and research you have been willing to share. Thank you all and Merry Christmas!! Leigh P.S. I hope my post makes sense and I didn't ramble too much. I had a really long day, too little to eat and a couple of glasses of wine.

My local Wal-Mart didn't have any.

Great job!! Very creative.

From what I have read, the foil cupcake liners work well. Not sure about the paper liners. I will trying my hand at my first soap batch this afternoon so I wish I could be more helpful. Sorry if this got to you too late.

I am about to place an order through NDA for some essential oils, including lavender. I had no idea there were so many options. After reading through all of the reviews, I am no better off than before reading them. Anyone have a lavender eo preference for b&b usage? Thanks!!:smiley2:

Those are really nice. I hope you sold a bunch!

Thanks for this thread. I just poured some clamshells and the net weight on them is just over 2 oz. I was worried about pouring to the very top so I only filled to just over the dividers. Now I know better.

LOL. I was a dipping virgin until yesterday. I only did it because I had my lighter in my hand and said WTH, so I used the flame end of the lighter to dunk the wick.

IwantItgreen, thank you for the kind words and the hearty welcome. I really appreciate it. Sharon, I was not being picky about the time, simply pointing out that 5 hours of research is not much when it comes to chandling. When I first thought about making candles, I, like many people, wrongly assumed it was a simple process. Once I saw how many waxes were offered, I told myself I better do some research and hit up some forums. Lo and behold, I found this one and the information gathering began. I read through vendors' websites, other forums and information pages. I utilized the information for newbies at the top of the forum. If you re-read my post, I did say that I posted a question after reading so much information and getting confused. I also said that, after I posted my question, I got out my notebook and began researching all over again and taking more notes. Since you have taken the time to search my posting history, perhaps you already ready my comment in another thread about how sometimes a reader can easily misinterpret the tone of an author's post. Let's say, for s & g, that you didn't read my comment. An example of this would be that right now I am feeling a little stressed and extremely exhausted. Due to my current state of mind, I may find hostility in your post directed at me and IwantItgreen. I may also find you to be a bit overly protective, defensive and even enabling to a point of the the original poster. On the other hand, if I would have waited to read your comment until tomorrow morning when I will be in better spirits after (hopefully) a good night's sleep, I may interpret your remarks as a friendly hello there, nice to meet you. Perhaps not. Maggie, Congrats on finishing up your pouring for the year. Now it's time to enjoy the holiday season!

I just started with tarts but feel that as long as your net weight is what you advertise, I wouldn't worry about a little dip. It is such a common thing to see I consider it the "norm."

GREAT idea, Candybee!! I will definitely have to try this. Thanks!

I tried something a little different the other night and my candles came out beautiful. I had my oven heated to 170. After I poured my candles into my pre-warmed jars, I put them back in the oven and then turned the oven off so they would cool down slowly. A few hours later, I looked through the window and saw they were starting to cool just around the edges and the centers were still liquid. I think this uneven cooling is where the bulk of the problems with set-up occurs so I turned my oven back on to heat to 170 for a few minutes then turned the oven back off. All of my candles came out with smooth and creamy tops.

Bumping this. Maybe some of the new people, like myself, will try to learn from it. Thanks, Stella and all of you other ladies (and gents) for all of the personal time you take to post helpful information just to make our lives a little easier. I have read posts from each one of you and I have learned so much from all of you. I know how much time goes into this type of research and I appreciate it. Hope you have the happiest of holidays.

Personally, I searched for days, not just a few hours, and I learned so much more than I ever would have by giving up and asking a question immediately. I did get a little confused with information overload and posted a question. At that point, I got out my handy dandy notebook and hit the search feature AGAIN and made my own chart. It helped me more than you know. If you read through Stella's past posts, you would see that she has a wealth of knowledge she is willing to share, AND HAS SHARED, over the years. Whether or not you like the way she responded to you, she should get some respect for all of the in-depth research she has done and the info she has been willing to share. Since you searched this forum for 5 hours, you have probably seen, like I have, this very same question asked and answered over and over again, like I have. You should have found the redcommendation charts and polls on this very same topic, like I did. I am new to this forum as well and even I am amazed at the number of new people that post the same question that has been answered time and again. Experience and research are our best teachers. You simply can't argue with that.

I have had some that I had to heat gun a couple of times but they eventually came out smooth. I don't know about using a lighter instead of a heat gun. I tried my blow dryer the first time and immediately went on the hunt for a heat gun after me and my cabinets became covered in wax. What is your room temp? Try to make sure sure room is warm- upper 70's and after you heat the tops, cover them with a box or put them in a 170 degree oven and turn the oven off to cool.

If you use a heat gun to heat the tops, they will smooth out. Good luck.

So happy to say that I tested some of the tarts and so far they are amazing. I have no idea when the electric warmers I ordered will be in so I gave in and tested with my tealight warmers. I love, love, love the way they feel- not nearly as hard as I thought they were going to be- and the way they throw. This is so much easier than traditional candles!!! I wish I would have started with tarts first.

I spent close to $400 yesterday and I am a b&b crafting virgin. Man this is going to be expensive. I am an esthetician and I rep/educate for a professional skin care line. I have really learned so much about the benefits of certain ingredients over the years so when I see all of the ingredients available to me I get all "oooh and aaah" and just can't help myself.

Thanks, Ladies. I think the tarts look perfect, surprisingly. I was concerned about the room being so cold and the wax cooling so quickly it set up in mid pour while still in the pot. I thought this would cause some considerable flaws. The only thing I am concerned about at this point is that tarts seem a bit too hard. One even cracked when I opened the package this evening so my husband could smell it. Sharon, I used Berry Creme Brule, Green Bamboo, Christmas Hearth, Cranberry Marmalade and Plumberry Spice. If only there was a way I could test them all at once. Ah, patience. Who am I kidding. I don't even have a warmer yet. I ordered one of the Scentsy warmers from my neighbor but it hasn't come in yet. I felt bad for her because she said noone else had ordered anything from her. (Small wonder. Overpriced and they STINK!) I will loet you all know how they do as soon as I can test them.

I sent a letter to my Senators. I sure hope they listen.

I am just reading up on soap making and haven't made any yet. I checked out the Soaptopia website and she really does have some beautiful products. What type of colorant does she use to make it "all natural?" Good luck with your endeavor! I am sure your soaps will be just as nice. Leigh

I started making candles in October on a whim. I did some research, read this forum- a lot- and bought some supplies. Wow, no one was exaggerating when they said wicking is a beatch! My neighbor came over with a basket of Scentsy one night and I giggled all the way as I escorted her to my kitchen to show her my endeavors. After my husband and I sniffed every single tart from Scentsy, we were really let down. Scentsy tarts STINK!! I started reading up on tart melts and comparing waxes and I was torn between the Ky tart wax and another recommended by Ravens. I decided to give the Ky a try since it is back in stock and many people here are happy with it. So here are a couple of pics of my first tester batches. My house was really cold so I plugged in a small room heater on my counter, but it wasn't much help. Before I could finish pouring, the wax would start to set up so I had to keep putting the mixing pot in the oven. I knew better, but tried to heat gun some of the hills created on some of the tarts as the wax set up to quickly. Thank goodness they are testers. [ATTACH]21025[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]21026[/ATTACH] All the Best, Leigh

:laugh2::laugh2::laugh2::laugh2: Okay, I was getting so sleepy before reading your post, Stella, and it is way past my bedtime. Now you have me laughing so hard I am wide awake again.