Soy Starter Kits

[iluvsoy]

Hello all. I have a friend who makes soy candles. I didn't dare ask for her "recipe" so to speak. I came across this board through a Google Search. I have been doing a lot of reading on this board but thought that I would officially "join".

 

I ordered a soy starter kit from the following companies:

 

Millcreek Soy Wax - I chose: Watermelon, Strawberry Jam and MacApple

                                I loved all of the scents but those candles were really strong...the wick seemed like it was really hot for that jar and had a huge black ball...on it.   In this kit, it was

                                recommended to use 1.5 oz of fragrance oil per pound of wax. The wick was 62 cotton and the jar was a 16 oz dodecogon jar. The jar was really nice.  This kit came with

                                415 wax.

 

Then I tried...

 

The Flaming Candle - I chose Black Raspberry Vanilla and Tropical Fruit

                               This kit came with EcoSoya Xcel wax which was ok I guess....I think I liked the 415 better. It came with 8 oz jelly jars and eco 10 wicks. I liked how the wicks burned but got no

                                scent from my candles at all. I was a little disappointed. I liked the melt pool that I got with this wicking and I got no soot at all.

 

Then....

Bittercreek -          I got this kit with EZSoy which was nice with 8 oz jelly jars again. It came with the cd wicks....I think I like those best out of all of them. The scents were creme brulee and

                                verbena berry. They burned great for a while with no black ball on them and seemed to burn to one side when burning for a while but eventually cleaned up the entire jar

                                 about 1/2 way down. This was probably my favorite kit of all. However towards the bottom of the jar, the flame got really big even though I cut it short and sooted a little bit

                                 on the top of the jar...

 

There are a few more kits that I would like to try....candlescience has one and so does aztec.. I am very new to this but I am excited to learn....I would appreciate any help that you can offer. I have been reading and I notice a lot of people on here use the 464 wax. Is it a nice wax and how does it compare to the bittercreek one? I really like that wax and kit that I got from them. I like those wicks if they didn't soot my jar.

[Guest OldGlory]

Sounds like you are off to a good start. Testing different waxes, fragrances, and wicks can help you find exactly what you want... process of elimination. It's what we all do.

I don't know what any of those waxes are like. I started with a soy wax that is no longer on the market (15 yrs ago). I bought 6 fifty lb cases at a time for $33 a case. Man, do I miss those days!

I currently use 464. There are dozens of threads about this wax, which wicks are preferred, and which fragrance work well. Wax and wick info will be in this same category. Fragrance info will be in the Fragrance discussion category. 464 will frost if you add dye, so either don't use dye or learn to embrace the frosting. Many suppliers carry this wax so it's easy to get.

I use Premier wicks in 464 and love them so much. There are dozens of sizes so you can find the right one for just about any jar under 4" in diameter.

My candle business is strictly wholesale, and I sell thousands of 464 candles a year. My client(s) loves them. If it wasn't a good wax they would have asked me to find a different wax long ago.

[Guest OldGlory]

After losing a few friends because they thought they would pump me for candle information and then start their own business behind my back, intentionally not telling me they had started their own candle business, I would encourage you to be up front with your friend and tell him/her that you are now making candles. I won't get any easier if you wait. And you might be able to help each other.

[iluvsoy]

Old Glory - thank you for your kind words of encouragement. I am so sorry that you have lost friends over candlemaking. I will tell you this. Candle making is not easy as I am learning...plus it is expensive...but I enjoy it very much.

 

I want to try the 464 wax...I guess I'll get around to it here soon. I am also interested in testing the c-3 just to see what I like best. 

 

I broke down and told my friend about me being interested in candlemaking. She uses the EZSoy from Bittercreek and Eco wicks. She said she uses Millcreek oils, Bittercreek and CandleScience oils. She said she has had good luck with those. So she did share that. She thought it was great that I was giving it a go. :-) She said that she tried the CD wicks and didn't like them at all.