Soy wax prices expected to rise

[TallTayl]

I’ve been expecting this notice... EAP Innovations has been the first supplier I have read to notify customers of impending soy wax price increases and potential shortages. Stock up if you plan to keep with soy for the coming year. 

 

If the recent soy wax product was half way way decent I would buy up as much as I could fit, but this jankiness just adds a bold insult to the needless injury caused to soy chandlers. 

 

From a business owners perspective, soy prices have been what kept me trying to make it work. If it rises to become on par with other, more elegant waxes the choice to dump it forever and ever is simple. If I have to raise prices anyway, I might as well use a nicer wax.

[olives]

I find this UNbelieveable. Ugh!!

[GoldieMN]

I wondered how soy wax would be affected by the tariffs.

GoldieMN

[Tokoo]

2 hours ago, TallTayl said:

I’ve been expecting this notice... EAP Innovations has been the first supplier I have read to notify customers of impending soy wax price increases and potential shortages. Stock up if you plan to keep with soy for the coming year. 

The real question isn't how much is it going up by, but is the quality going to go up with the price or down lol. 

[TallTayl]

5 minutes ago, Tokoo said:

The real question isn't how much is it going up by, but is the quality going to go up with the price or down lol. 

lololol. You're soooooo funny.

1 hour ago, GoldieMN said:

I wondered how soy wax would be affected by the tariffs.

GoldieMN

I'm a farm bureau member, and occasionally listen to their market discussions. Living in the heart of soy bean country I wonder how my neighbor farmers will do this year. At first the discussion was that the prices didn't fluctuate at all. Nor did demand. We produce a crap ton of soy beans that no other country has caught up to yet. Brazil began buying our beans to forward to China. As the middle man they can name their price. In the end our farmers are going to be OK. End consumers, such as us , will pay the increase  in price.

[WaxDaddy]

@TallTayl I'm curious what wax would you switch to and why?

[TallTayl]

1 hour ago, WaxDaddy said:

@TallTayl I'm curious what wax would you switch to and why?

What: I am working on coconut and other custom vegetal blends for my ceramic containers to accompany the beeswax I already love as stand alone candles. All waxes have their challenges.

 

Why? Let me count the ways. Soy has been too inconsistent and underperforming for what is now going on 18 months for me. I should not have to guess at wicks from case to case, sometimes within the same lot number. 

We’ve been misled and flat out lied to by soy manufacturers and resellers about the problems. 

It is not manufacturing friendly. Some of the problems create really unsafe candles. 

It is polymorphic leading to mystery candles over the course of time with frosting, graining, etc. 

 

The only reason I toughed it out this long is relative cost. Soy is cheap compared to other waxes. The soy lobby has spent enough $ on marketing that people believe it is worth buying. Once the prices creep up to rival better waxes the game will change. 

 

Personally, I really dislike how soy wax burns and how it smells. I always detect old fryolator undertones in soy. Something about soy wax eats fragrances over time too. 

[WaxDaddy]

3 hours ago, TallTayl said:

What: I am working on coconut and other custom vegetal blends for my ceramic containers to accompany the beeswax I already love as stand alone candles. All waxes have their challenges.

 

Why? Let me count the ways. Soy has been too inconsistent and underperforming for what is now going on 18 months for me. I should not have to guess at wicks from case to case, sometimes within the same lot number. 

We’ve been misled and flat out lied to by soy manufacturers and resellers about the problems. 

It is not manufacturing friendly. Some of the problems create really unsafe candles. 

It is polymorphic leading to mystery candles over the course of time with frosting, graining, etc. 

 

The only reason I toughed it out this long is relative cost. Soy is cheap compared to other waxes. The soy lobby has spent enough $ on marketing that people believe it is worth buying. Once the prices creep up to rival better waxes the game will change. 

 

Personally, I really dislike how soy wax burns and how it smells. I always detect old fryolator undertones in soy. Something about soy wax eats fragrances over time too. 

got ya. So because I'm starting out and more than likely going to try other waxes, what do I need to know. What makes each type of wax hard to work with? Is it simply FO % and wick testing, or is it what to blend with each type of wax? I'd like to experiment with beeswax and/or coconut wax, but I have no clue what I should be adding, mixing with it, or much about it. You have any tips/guidelines for these things?

[olives]

6 minutes ago, WaxDaddy said:

got ya. So because I'm starting out and more than likely going to try other waxes, what do I need to know. What makes each type of wax hard to work with? Is it simply FO % and wick testing, or is it what to blend with each type of wax? I'd like to experiment with beeswax and/or coconut wax, but I have no clue what I should be adding, mixing with it, or much about it. You have any tips/guidelines for these things?

 

Just jumping in because your question is a weighty one, and I think you might find this thread very helpful:

 

 

[WaxDaddy]

thanks @olives ! Do you currently go with coconut? How is the HT compared to others you may have personally used? Any advice you would give?

[TallTayl]

I start off adding nothing to learn the base wax. I make a pro/con list as I go. Things that bother me most go right to the top of the list. 

 

Example:

coconut slab wax rom candles and supplies. 

Texture like shortening.

sooted with eco wick sizes x,y,z in status jar.

poor cold throw after 1 week.

no detectable hot throw after 1 week cure

 

I try every wick series I have from eco to paper core to cd to RRD and note things like flame height

 

RRD too tall and thin. Must trim wick every hour.

Carbon balls at x hours. 

Melt pool too wide at 2 hrs

Melt pool 1/2” deep and growing at 2 hours. 

 

I pick what wick i think performs the best and go on to fragrance and color testing. 

Sometimes changing the jar fixes the big problems. 

 

I have tried additives like beeswax at 1%, 2%, 5%, etc. and note the changes.

 

there are no real secrets I can reveal, except to call the retailers, call the manufacturers, google patents and tuck in for a series of tests to figure out what you really like in a candle. It takes time and lots of pictures, videos and notes to find your path. What I love in a candle you may hate. 

 

I buy candles from popular Instagram shops, other etsy shops shops and some based on friend recommendations all the time to see what people consider to be a good candle. 

[olives]

8 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

I start off adding nothing to learn the base wax. I make a pro/con list as I go. Things that bother me most go right to the top of the list. 

 

Example:

coconut slab wax rom candles and supplies. 

Texture like shortening.

sooted with eco wick sizes x,y,z in status jar.

poor cold throw after 1 week.

no detectable hot throw after 1 week cure

 

I try every wick series I have from eco to paper core to cd to RRD and note things like flame height

 

RRD too tall and thin. Must trim wick every hour.

Carbon balls at x hours. 

Melt pool too wide at 2 hrs

Melt pool 1/2” deep and growing at 2 hours. 

 

I pick what wick i think performs the best and go on to fragrance and color testing. 

Sometimes changing the jar fixes the big problems. 

 

I have tried additives like beeswax at 1%, 2%, 5%, etc. and note the changes.

 

there are no real secrets I can reveal, except to call the retailers, call the manufacturers, google patents and tuck in for a series of tests to figure out what you really like in a candle. It takes time and lots of pictures, videos and notes to find your path. What I love in a candle you may hate. 

 

I buy candles from popular Instagram shops, other etsy shops shops and some based on friend recommendations all the time to see what people consider to be a good candle. 

 

@TallTayl...is that what you've noticed with the coconut slabs?? That is NOT good news...

[olives]

9 minutes ago, WaxDaddy said:

thanks @olives ! Do you currently go with coconut? How is the HT compared to others you may have personally used? Any advice you would give?

 

I'm still using 464 soy wax, and I blend in a bit of the coconut slab wax from Candles & Supplies. I have found that the addition of coconut wax has given me maybe a slightly better hot throw, and a nicer, creamier look to the candle. (It has not, however, solved my wet spot issues...)

 

Soy has given me huge, huge problems lately, so I'm about to start testing with various coconut waxes, and maybe blending a just bit of soy in with them. It's going to be a long process, I think, given that there are so many factors that are going to affect what wick type/size work best for whatever blend I decide to go with: jar size, fragrance oil, % of soy wax used, type of coconut wax used, etc. Honestly - it's daunting! But that thread link I sent you has been my bible. I would suggest reading every single post and you'll get a good sense of what's worked for people and what hasn't, and it should give you a bit of a starting point. Ultimately, there are so many variables, that you will end up having to do quite a bit of testing to see what wax blends and what wicks work for you. This board is a GREAT resource!

[TallTayl]

Coconut slab from candles and supplies did not perform for me. I could have chosen the totally wrong wick series and fragrances. It could be that it needs a really, really long cure time. @moonshinemade some last fall that after this amount of time have begun to perform. 

[olives]

47 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

Coconut slab from candles and supplies did not perform for me. I could have chosen the totally wrong wick series and fragrances. It could be that it needs a really, really long cure time. @moonshinemade some last fall that after this amount of time have begun to perform. 

 That is so disappointing. At one point I did email C&S with some general questions on this wax, one of them being cure time....they told me 24 hrs was all it needed!

[olives]

@TallTayl did you have better results with the easy beads? I’m planning on testing their paracoco blend this weekend. Yep, going to the “dark side” (paraffin)...

[TallTayl]

I found easy beads easier to work with. It can be tricky finding the right wick to not soot stack or mushroom though. 

 

There is absolutely anything wrong with paraffin. A few of my paraffin only candles burn cleaner and throw better than soy or coconut could ever hope to. You just gotta work toward wicking them right. Too many people over scent and over wick, leading to sooty messes in all waxes. 

 

Let me know now how you like paracoco. 4786 did well with my easybeads in some trials. 

[olives]

9 hours ago, TallTayl said:

I found easy beads easier to work with. It can be tricky finding the right wick to not soot stack or mushroom though. 

 

There is absolutely anything wrong with paraffin. A few of my paraffin only candles burn cleaner and throw better than soy or coconut could ever hope to. You just gotta work toward wicking them right. Too many people over scent and over wick, leading to sooty messes in all waxes. 

 

Let me know now how you like paracoco. 4786 did well with my easybeads in some trials. 

 

I'm really intrigued by the paracoco. I'm going to test it solo, and then blended with a little soy. I currently use ECO wicks so I have thousands of them, so will start there. I've also got samples of CD and LX wicks that I'll try. I keep hearing mixed things about RRD wicks, so I think I'll hold off on testing with those for now. (I'm exhausted just typing all that...)

[kandlekrazy]

UGH!  Soy wax problems and a price increase, they are killing us slowly.

[moonshine]

13 hours ago, TallTayl said:

Coconut slab from candles and supplies did not perform for me. I could have chosen the totally wrong wick series and fragrances. It could be that it needs a really, really long cure time. @moonshinemade some last fall that after this amount of time have begun to perform. 

Yes - they were very weak after a weeks cure so I put them aside and moved on

now they are throwing like crazy and I made 5 jars with 5 different wick series....but who has that kind of time for cure 

I did light them a month ago and they still were weak and yesterday they were not filling the offices like mad - made them last fall before the holidays 🤷‍♀️

Edited April 20, 2018 by moonshine

[olives]

Wow @moonshine...that's crazy and not good to hear.

[moonshine]

1 hour ago, moonshine said:

Yes - they were very weak after a weeks cure so I put them aside and moved on

now they are throwing like crazy and I made 5 jars with 5 different wick series....but who has that kind of time for cure 

I did light them a month ago and they still were weak and yesterday they were not filling the offices like mad - made them last fall before the holidays 🤷‍♀️

That was supposed to be they WERE filling the offices like mad after months of making them 

Edited April 20, 2018 by moonshine

[moonshine]

15 hours ago, olives said:

 

I'm still using 464 soy wax, and I blend in a bit of the coconut slab wax from Candles & Supplies. I have found that the addition of coconut wax has given me maybe a slightly better hot throw, and a nicer, creamier look to the candle. (It has not, however, solved my wet spot issues...)

 

Soy has given me huge, huge problems lately, so I'm about to start testing with various coconut waxes, and maybe blending a just bit of soy in with them. It's going to be a long process, I think, given that there are so many factors that are going to affect what wick type/size work best for whatever blend I decide to go with: jar size, fragrance oil, % of soy wax used, type of coconut wax used, etc. Honestly - it's daunting! But that thread link I sent you has been my bible. I would suggest reading every single post and you'll get a good sense of what's worked for people and what hasn't, and it should give you a bit of a starting point. Ultimately, there are so many variables, that you will end up having to do quite a bit of testing to see what wax blends and what wicks work for you. This board is a GREAT resource!

Coconut is notorious for wet spots in glass you won’t be able to get away from that at all 

I have not tried the paracoco one but being it has paraffin I would guess it will also produce wet spots - I have come to embrace them and not have a care in the world so long as I get a good clean burn and throw 

Edited April 20, 2018 by moonshine

[olives]

18 minutes ago, moonshine said:

That was supposed to be they WERE filling the offices like mad after months of making them 

 

Ah, got it...but still, months to cure is not going to work for any of us! It's funny...C&S told me 24 hrs cure time...I have no idea how they are coming up with that as a recommendation!

[olives]

12 minutes ago, moonshine said:

Coconut is notorious for wet spots in glass you won’t be able to get away from that at all 

I have not tried the paracoco one but being it has paraffin I would guess it will also produce wet spots - I have come to embrace them and not have a care in the world so long as I get a good clean burn and throw 

 

I agree, wet spots at this point are the least of my worries. I am going for the same things you are - a good burn & throw. And I want to use a wax that is easy to work with - the amount of rework I'm doing to fix my soy candles (relief holes, second pours) is unsustainable for me.