wax beginner dilemma

[lovelyscents]

Hey y'all,

 

Have been researching here for weeks and I give much appreciation to all of you for helping!!  You all are very considerate and helpful.  I have yet to come across this question even after searching, so I figured I would ask for your opinions.  I am looking to make my wax items unique to me, trying to find my niche as they call it.  I am not sure if I want to do clams or molds yet, but want to put my twist on things and I will be blending my own custom FO's.  My first idea is "grubby / primitive / rustic" looking melts.  If you semi-melt wax, I understand it can harden to look nice and rustic like I want.  However, will this be a problem with scent throw and possibly color?  I understand you have to melt the wax to a certain temp and add your FO for it to bind for optimal results.  I would just buy primitive molds, but they only hold about 4-6 melts at a time.  I feel this would get very time consuming if I was to ever get a good amount of orders.  Any tips for this?

 

I have also thought about making wax sprinkles / beads / drops.  My issue with this is curing time as the FO and color have to cure much longer than just melt and pouring your wax.  Not to mention, I am considering my own custom parasoy blend, so it would not work in this case since soy is the only wax to offer in a premade sprinkles / drops form.  I also was not sure if I could ever make candles out of the sprinkles?  Such as having a wick in the center of the sprinkles say in a glass jar or tin?  I understand that it would melt the sprinkles once the flame hit it, but is it more of a waste?  Definitely would need a lid if going that route.  

 

As far as FO's go, I understand every supplier has weak and strong throwers and some have better suited in soy than others as well.  I have done a salt test (recommended by this forum) with a couple to test strength.  Is this a legitimate way to truly test them?  I ask because I know salt and wax are two different things when it comes to FO throw correct?  If salt worked the best for scent throw, wouldn't everyone skip the trouble of wax and use salt?  What are your opinions on Indigo Fragrance or Fragrance Buddy?  Funnel cake from Indigo even with just the salt test lasted up to 16 hours and reached about 1000 sqft of my home.  Therefore, I would like to try more from them.  I tried Pumpkin Pecan Waffles from JS, but seemed to have gotten different results each time I did a salt test.  That is why I was asking if the salt test is true for judging.  If so, it makes me wonder if I should order anymore from JS or not.  I know this is where the testing different oils from each supplier since they all act differently comes in.  Do we have a better chance of good throw when blending several FO's like I am planning?  I figured even if a FO isnt that strong of a thrower, maybe the others mixed in will be and make a nice throw overall.  Ahh what we do for our passion.  I have a love hate relationship already! haha

 

Thank you all for taking time to read and respond

[katmeltswax]

I can tell you in my opinion some of my best throwers come from Fragrance buddy ,Flaming, The Candlemakers Store, Candlesource ,Peak & Aztec. I have never tried the salt test ,so cannot help with this. I make wax melts, chunks & brittle. I cannot leave out Wholesale Supply & Maple street .I have never tried Indigo ,maybe I will place a order from them. Indiana has many great scents as well. There are so many suppliers & most run specials thru out the year.  The shipping can get very pricey when using so many suppliers .I personally need to narrow my suppliers down to just 3 or 4.. It s so hard to do when you find a great scent from a certain company...I use paraffin wax & just now trying my luck with soy. I purchased Aztecs soy tart blend ,loving this stuff so far. I have no patience for cure time ,but willing to use this wax if I continue to get good results. I know someone on this board can certainly give you some good advice. This is my two cents worth ,as far as the oil suppliers I use . I can only say that there are many & we have to just find what works for us individually. True oils will perform differently in salt verses wax IMO. Good luck with your wax journey & I hope more board members will post for you .I am a newbie to the board & have enjoyed talking to such a awesome group of crafters . I welcome you & wish you all the best ,Kat

[lovelyscents]

On 10/17/2016 at 9:12 PM, lovelyscents said:

 

 

[Scented]

On 10/17/2016 at 8:12 PM, lovelyscents said:

Hey y'all,

 

Have been researching here for weeks and I give much appreciation to all of you for helping!!  You all are very considerate and helpful.  I have yet to come across this question even after searching, so I figured I would ask for your opinions.  I am looking to make my wax items unique to me, trying to find my niche as they call it.  I am not sure if I want to do clams or molds yet, but want to put my twist on things and I will be blending my own custom FO's.  My first idea is "grubby / primitive / rustic" looking melts.  If you semi-melt wax, I understand it can harden to look nice and rustic like I want.  However, will this be a problem with scent throw and possibly color?  I understand you have to melt the wax to a certain temp and add your FO for it to bind for optimal results.  I would just buy primitive molds, but they only hold about 4-6 melts at a time.  I feel this would get very time consuming if I was to ever get a good amount of orders.  Any tips for this?

 

Thank you all for taking time to read and respond

 

How rustic do you want to get? How grubby/primitive do you want to be? What kind of packaging are you looking at for both should you  try to sell, because it seems to me to be easier to find the packaging and work that way than to make and realize there's no packaging available ... not that someone couldn't make something but you were looking for ease. 

 

No. 1 about wax and FO ... it needs a certain temperature to incorporate period. You don't semi-melt it and incorporate. You can try it if you want, but my bet is that too much FO will be left in the pot and it will be slimy. Once incorporated you bring the wax temp down and pour. It will take a little bit of experimentation to get the rustic look you want. 

My thoughts on the grubby/primitive ... it depends on the shapes, I think, that you go for. Molds might fastest, but you could pour out wax on baking sheets, cut with a cookie cutter and when hard dredge them through wax too. If you want to stick with molds, find a mold maker who can make a mold bigger than 4 or 6 and buy several of them. 

 

That's what I'm thinking off the top of my head. 

 

[lovelyscents]

I have definitely learned a lot about wax, FO and even myself since this post.  I am going to do molds for sure.  I don't know what I was thinking asking about semi-melting, I think I meant when whipping wax.  I know it has to be melted to a certain temperature prior to adding fragrance and so on.  Thank you for responding though

[Candybee]

The only way to be certain if a FO will work in your wax is to test it in your wax. IMO testing it out on salt is a waste of time and FO. And FOs get pricey especially if you want to go into business you don't want to be wasting your money.

 

Scented is right you don't semi-melt wax. It needs to be heated to a specific heating temp before you add in your FO or other additives. So you need to follow the manufacturers instructions for melting your wax. adding FO and other additives. Then you continue to follow instructions for the proper pouring temp. Each wax is made with specific characteristics and properties so one wax may resemble another but behave entirely different. Always follow manufacturer's instructions before you make any adjustments.

 

Grubby melts and candles would be very nice. You will just have to buy in bulk or piece meal until you have all the molds you need for your business. Since you are starting out and don't know yet what your best selling product will be you may want to buy a few molds before you start buying in bulk quantities. When it comes time to buy in larger quantities shop around, look for sales, check out the shipping charges, etc. to get the best deals. You can check out the classifieds here on this forum, or auction sites like Ebay or Amazon too.

 

Re curing time, this is something you learn about your particular wax through testing. Not all FOs are the same and some need longer cure times while others throw right away. Working with soy can be particularly challenging with its wide range of curing times. Also, don't be surprised if some FOs don't work in your wax. It happens. That's why we buy sample FOs to test out to find the right ones.

 

There is a supplier's list by state you can check out. Its a sticky thread at the top of this forum. It has the names of lots of suppliers by state you can check out. You can also check out the fragrance forum for suggestions of FOs that work in different waxes or what is currently trending. Its a good place to start to identify the best suppliers and FOs you may want to try out.

[lovelyscents]

14 hours ago, Candybee said:

The only way to be certain if a FO will work in your wax is to test it in your wax. IMO testing it out on salt is a waste of time and FO. And FOs get pricey especially if you want to go into business you don't want to be wasting your money.

 

Scented is right you don't semi-melt wax. It needs to be heated to a specific heating temp before you add in your FO or other additives. So you need to follow the manufacturers instructions for melting your wax. adding FO and other additives. Then you continue to follow instructions for the proper pouring temp. Each wax is made with specific characteristics and properties so one wax may resemble another but behave entirely different. Always follow manufacturer's instructions before you make any adjustments.

 

Grubby melts and candles would be very nice. You will just have to buy in bulk or piece meal until you have all the molds you need for your business. Since you are starting out and don't know yet what your best selling product will be you may want to buy a few molds before you start buying in bulk quantities. When it comes time to buy in larger quantities shop around, look for sales, check out the shipping charges, etc. to get the best deals. You can check out the classifieds here on this forum, or auction sites like Ebay or Amazon too.

 

Re curing time, this is something you learn about your particular wax through testing. Not all FOs are the same and some need longer cure times while others throw right away. Working with soy can be particularly challenging with its wide range of curing times. Also, don't be surprised if some FOs don't work in your wax. It happens. That's why we buy sample FOs to test out to find the right ones.

 

There is a supplier's list by state you can check out. Its a sticky thread at the top of this forum. It has the names of lots of suppliers by state you can check out. You can also check out the fragrance forum for suggestions of FOs that work in different waxes or what is currently trending. Its a good place to start to identify the best suppliers and FOs you may want to try out.

Thank you as well.  All I've been doing since this initial post has been research so I do know all of this plus more now.  I thank this forum for everything, you are all such pros!!!

Edited December 21, 2016 by lovelyscents

[TallTayl]

To get a rough/rustic look my prim maker-friends heat the wax like usual then cool to temps that pour to the texture they want. 

 

For the overall look, I would focus more on packaging and branding. That is what people identify with first. 

[lovelyscents]

6 hours ago, TallTayl said:

To get a rough/rustic look my prim maker-friends heat the wax like usual then cool to temps that pour to the texture they want. 

 

For the overall look, I would focus more on packaging and branding. That is what people identify with first. 

Thank you!!