Orchid Lake

:laugh2::laugh2:

I agree that it appears the addition of another butter to stiffen the shea, be it kokum or cocoa would make sense as would a small amount of beeswax. I would only caution that the use of mineral oil be minimized. It seems that it can have a tendency to clog pores and most of the references I've read don't usually recommend it for massage use.

LOL! My goodness! We had the same experiences and ended up formulating our own. We make a light lotion and then a thick cream; both with ample aloe and we control the ingredients.

First... the followng did make me LOL!!!! I am tempted to return a letter making such an offer... We just got the letter today (2/7/11) almost identical wording so I will be filling our a Post Office form also. I am not an atty, but it seems he may be trying to skirt regs by not actually demanding a refund or replacement product. bvk

very cool

Very nice -- I love making this type ....

Appreciate the input - sometimes it is good to get out of one's own microcosm :wave:

would be interested in your results w/coconut wax... & I hate it when I forget the main stuff, too.:embarasse

Initially we chose 464 because it touted the ability to accept more fragrance and it was cheaper than most other soy waxes. We didn't like the really curdled tops in our finished product. Sometimes heat gun would help but not enough. AND there was the expansion issue which drowned in the tea lights and would destroy our little plastic tart cups. We also tried C3 which for us produced a nice finish but burning was cratered and pitted, even seemed to be a little "foamy" - not what we were looking for. It is quite acceptable for our tea lights and we use it now in tea lights. We found our best results came from Ecosoya Advanced. Nice appearance, predictable performance and very good throw. It does still relate to technique and, as has been mentioned before, your experience may not be the same as mine; offered only in the spirit of assistance to a fellow chandler. :smiley2:

you're good Tru

Does the following statement qualifying the use of a special sale code seem ambiguous: More than once lately we've had customers trying to use two coupon codes (which isn't permitted thru our store platform) so they ask for both in the special instructions section. Am I being a little dense? Or is that just an opportunistic try?

We used 464 early on but found it didn't perform well after it cooled/cured, i.e., we didn't care for the way the tops finished (rough and just kinda "fuzzy" looking) and we found it got worse as product aged. We even experienced some expansion which affected the burn of our tea lights. Our issues were addressed by changing waxes and we found Ecosoya performed as we liked. Again, maybe a personal preference here.

We found the 464 wax frequently developed a gnarly (sp?) top and were so disappointed we changed wax.

That does sound interesting ... we haven't searched scents for a while, but don't recall ever seeing the name in a search result. I'll take a look as well - not sure if I'll order yet, and would appreciate any other actual use experiences as available.

They are a good supplier, while we don't stock a lot of their fragrances, they are generally a good source. We also use Peak, Candle Science and Wholesale Supplies Plus. Nature's Garden is also good. We frequently will purchase a selection of smaller bottles (even though the per ounce cost is more) just to be able to test them in various products. It is a short term expense for potentially long term benefits.