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Soy wax melts help


Jay

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I'm wondering how vendors who use pure soy wax can get their tarts looking and staying as nice as parasoy / paraffin. I've been testing for nearly one year using all soy blends (GB 444, Eco Soya PB, and Eco Soya CB in different ratios depending on what I'm making), and they always end up losing their smooth texture and creaminess and become crumbly.

I've seen some people on various forums stating that this is just the nature of soy, but if that's the case, how do these all soy vendors end up having such beautiful looking wax?

Any tips would be highly appreciated!

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I use all soy C3 and I can't say that any of my clamshells have gotten crumbly.  I'm not sure how long it takes to get to that stage but I know I have melts that are over 2 years old and are still good.  Some get yellowed, frosted or discolored from fluorescent lights but not dried out to where they crumble.

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3 hours ago, justajesuschick said:

I do not know many online Vendors who use all soy wax. Are you certain those you see are all soy? 

 

Yup, a few do explicitly state "soy wax melts" rather than parasoy or even say 100% soy wax

 

1 hour ago, kandlekrazy said:

I use all soy C3 and I can't say that any of my clamshells have gotten crumbly.  I'm not sure how long it takes to get to that stage but I know I have melts that are over 2 years old and are still good.  Some get yellowed, frosted or discolored from fluorescent lights but not dried out to where they crumble.

 

Yes it's really bizarre and nothing is coming up in searches about this problem. I have no idea what I'm doing that could be making this happen. Heat to 185, add fragrance and color, cool to 115 and pour. They do hold their shape just fine and don't just crumble apart, but when I cut into one it crumbles rather than slice or shave.

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I use all soy for my melts and have not had any crumble on me.....same as kandlekrazy some discolor to a yellow or even a solid bright white after a couple years but never crumble 

like talltayl suggests I would cool faster 

your heat temp sounds good, what type of molds are you using?

I usually pour around 130-125 into clamshells and they set fast for me 

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12 hours ago, Jay said:

 

Yup, a few do explicitly state "soy wax melts" rather than parasoy or even say 100% soy wax

 

 

Yes it's really bizarre and nothing is coming up in searches about this problem. I have no idea what I'm doing that could be making this happen. Heat to 185, add fragrance and color, cool to 115 and pour. They do hold their shape just fine and don't just crumble apart, but when I cut into one it crumbles rather than slice or shave.

I honestly don't know why they would do that.  I pour into clams at approx same temp 115-120, only difference is the wax I use but others use your wax??  Mine take approx 2 hours to be at the stage where I can close the clamshell safely knowing they are cooled enough.

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10 hours ago, moonshine said:

I use all soy for my melts and have not had any crumble on me.....same as kandlekrazy some discolor to a yellow or even a solid bright white after a couple years but never crumble 

like talltayl suggests I would cool faster 

your heat temp sounds good, what type of molds are you using?

I usually pour around 130-125 into clamshells and they set fast for me 

 

I just use either PP cups or silicone molds and pop them out after 24 hours or so. I'll try pouring at the higher temp and see how that works. I know what does work for some won't necessarily work for others so I'll keep playing around with it. Thanks for the input

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I just caught the part where you say they hold their shape ok but when you cut into them they crumble.....why are you cutting them?  I guess I never have done this to know if they crumble or not....I just break off a couple cubes of the clam and thrown them in the melter 

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3 minutes ago, moonshine said:

I just caught the part where you say they hold their shape ok but when you cut into them they crumble.....why are you cutting them?  I guess I never have done this to know if they crumble or not....I just break off a couple cubes of the clam and thrown them in the melter 

 

I haven't been using clams so when I throw a chunk into my smaller plug in warmer even a cup is too big so I'll halve or quarter it. I will look into clams next since it would probably just fix the problem and make the texture not really matter

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59 minutes ago, Jay said:

 

I haven't been using clams so when I throw a chunk into my smaller plug in warmer even a cup is too big so I'll halve or quarter it. I will look into clams next since it would probably just fix the problem and make the texture not really matter

 

I think you just missed a sale on clams at Maple Street, but they usually have good prices even at the regular price. I'd check theirs out if you're going to try clamshells. Or, you can buy silicone molds that are on the smaller size and don't need to be cut into pieces. There's always good deals on Amazon and eBay. 

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I do know what he means by crumble. Even burts bees in the cute clams crumble. You break one off and they make a mess. Soy gets "dry" feeling when the grains grow large. When quick cooled, small grains form and they look like paraffin.

 

when making palm candles (where the frosting is desired) slow cool. When making soy products where grains and frost are not desirable, quick cool. 

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23 hours ago, TallTayl said:

I do know what he means by crumble. Even burts bees in the cute clams crumble. You break one off and they make a mess. Soy gets "dry" feeling when the grains grow large. When quick cooled, small grains form and they look like paraffin.

 

when making palm candles (where the frosting is desired) slow cool. When making soy products where grains and frost are not desirable, quick cool. 

 

Thank you so much. Knowing a big company brand does the same thing is very comforting to know. Soy wax is so finicky but I like the challenge. By quick cool, do you mean I should be pouring into the molds at a higher temperature so the wax is separated and cools quicker than in the pouring pot all together? Or am I completely off here?

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5 hours ago, Moonstar said:

Are you possibly adding too much FO maybe ? Does this happen with a certain FO or all ? 

 

I always use the correct fragrance load at around 8%, it happens with every melt eventually. They'll start out waxy feeling and then turn crumbly after a few weeks even when I store them inside boxes so the light doesn't get to them

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1 hour ago, Moonstar said:

Im wondering if theres water in wax ? 

I thought that might be it too but I'm not sure how that would happen every single time. I'm very careful when putting the pouring pot into the double boiler and always heat it at a low enough temperature to not cause bubbles and potentially get water inside..

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14 minutes ago, Jay said:

I thought that might be it too but I'm not sure how that would happen every single time. I'm very careful when putting the pouring pot into the double boiler and always heat it at a low enough temperature to not cause bubbles and potentially get water inside..

 

Ok, this rings a bell.  I was getting water in my wax when I used a double boiler.  Found a hole the size of a pin in the bottom of my pour pot.  If you dry out your pour pot completely inside and out, then fill with water and place on a paper towel, you should be able to see if there is a leak.

Goldie

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I cool my pour pots in front of a big box fan, stirring every few minutes to help move the heat out quicky and keep the mix homogenous. I pour as it gets cloudy and leave the containers in the fan breeze until cool, then shut the lids. you should see an almost immediate difference in your finished melts.

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1 hour ago, Jay said:

I thought that might be it too but I'm not sure how that would happen every single time. I'm very careful when putting the pouring pot into the double boiler and always heat it at a low enough temperature to not cause bubbles and potentially get water inside..

I've had wax once where I actually saw ice in the wax. Turns out it was the way it was stored by the supplier. I'm not saying that's what's wrong with your wax though. Does it happen from other suppliers or just this one box ? 

Do you hear popping type sounds 

when your heating the wax , if you are that's what it might be. IDK ? 

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