Converting to Soy, after 18 months with paraffin

[lisajo]

Hi all!

 

I probably haven't met most of you before because I've been posting in the General Candle section.  I've been working with paraffin, and playing with blends, for 18 months and I've decided it's time to take the plunge over to straight Soy. I have 3 main reasons for this

 

1 - I use tall jars, and this causes a lot of sooting by the time the candle gets to the end.  I'm hoping with Soy I will reduce or eliminate this

2 - With paraffin I find that the wax gets a little dirty looking over time (from the carbon), and discolors, giving a cheaper look to the end product

3 - I find using a wick big enough to get a decent melt pool, in paraffin, results in more mushrooming than it does for an equivalent melt pool in soy.

 

I realize this could come at a cost to the hot throw. Though I read here that this isn't necessarily the case.

 

The reason for my post is I'm struggling to determine the right soy wax to start with and I really need some help because my head is in a spin going through this whole process again after 18 months!  The main things for me to consider are (and was hoping people could comment on each);

 

1 - Hot throw is by far the most important aspect of the product for me

2 - Cold throw is a close second

3 - I do not want glass adhesion.  I'm happy that it does not stick at all, but not at the cost of the hot/cold throw

4 - I don't want frosting.  All clients we've spoken to don't like soy candles because of frosting, and for that reason alone they do not buy soy.

5 - I would like to use CDN or premier wicks if possible as I have thousands of them

6 - I'm not adverse to adding %20 paraffin if it means eliminating frosting or other issues, though would be good to avoid if possible

7 - I have no access to USA where I am, so addition of that is not possible.  I can get other basic vegetable oils.

8 - I start with %6 FO normally.  Should we start with %6 or do you typically need more with soy

 

I know there is a lot of questions there.  It's a scary change since we've spent 18 months developing a product with paraffin

 

I read all the time that people give up on soy and move to paraffin, so this scares me, a lot.  I don't have much time to perfect this as we've got to have product out by the end of June (7 weeks) and we'd like it to be the new soy based product.  I'm hoping our knowledge is transferable from paraffin to soy(?) 8-)

 

Sry for the brain fluff!  had to get it all out 8-)

I wish you lots of luck! You will most certainly have your hands full with testing to meet all of your parameters by your deadline. When I saw the title, I initially thought you had already found your "perfect" wax. Again, good luck!