US Candle Supply

[LanaH]

Anyone heard of this place? I was in search of wax and came across this site. It looks like they have some interesting waxes, but don't want to start with a wax and have it to go away in a year or so. I'm in search of a wax to replace GB 435. The soy coconut blend looks interesting.

 

 

 

 

[Linda P]

I've heard of it the same way you did, searching for a US supplier of Naturewax C6. So far, they're the only supplier of this soy coconut blend I've found. I didn't make a purchase because the shipping cost was outrageous. C6 is somewhat popular in other countries, and I'm glad to see it's maybe starting to show up here. One of these days, I will ask my C3 supplier if they plan to add C6 to their line of Naturewax offerings. 

[moonshine]

I found this also in my search for Naturewax but I didn’t order- not only costly but one supplier available for a certain wax is not a good idea in my book....if they are oos or oob that would just put me right back at ground zero- again 

[TallTayl]

On 6/11/2018 at 10:12 PM, LanaH said:

Anyone heard of this place? I was in search of wax and came across this site. It looks like they have some interesting waxes, but don't want to start with a wax and have it to go away in a year or so. I'm in search of a wax to replace GB 435. The soy coconut blend looks interesting.

 

 

 

 

The good news is nature wax coconut 1 and 2 is becoming available at more suppliers as the popularity of non-soy waxes increases. 🤗

 

Naturewax c6 is the blend noted above. Until it is available more widely, You “could” try blending one of their soy waxes with one of their coconut waxes and get there to c6 yourself. Like c3&coconut 1 blended at equal proportions (50:50)... tweak up or down with the soy or coconut until you have a product you love.  this gives you more sourcing options. 

 

 

[Linda P]

5 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

You “could” try blending one of their soy waxes with one of their coconut waxes and get there to c6 yourself. Like c3&coconut 1 blended at equal proportions (50:50)... tweak up or down with the soy or coconut until you have a product you love.  this gives you more sourcing options. 

This is exactly what I'm going to do starting today, find my own blend. Thanks for the suggestion to start at 50:50. Except I'm going to use Coconut 2, which is the only one Northstar currently carries. I've been wondering about the difference between the two NatureWax coconut waxes, and finally found a press release announcing Fillmore's offerings of the wax along with this description: "NatureWax Coconut 1 wax is 100% hydrogenated coconut oil and can be used as an additive or as a softener for pillar candles. NatureWax Coconut 2 is composed of 98% hydrogenated coconut oil and 2% hydrogenated soy. The primary application is container candle wax or softener for pillar candles." https://news.thomasnet.com/fullstory/cargill-naturewax-from-fillmore-are-now-made-with-coconut-oil-40010854 

 

I'm still searching for similar info about C6, ie the ratio of soy:coconut. 

[TallTayl]

Coconut 1 seems to be 100% hydrogenated coconut oil - which as far as I know is only retail available with a melt point of 92 degrees. I use it for soap and similar products. I’ve asked the product specialists at Columbus foods if a higher melt point hydrogenated product is available and at the time none were... that would be wonderful!

 

If you need or want 100% hydrogenated coconut oil, other places, like Soapers Choice, have it With a steady supply and better price. I stuck a wick in coconut92 once and it melts veerrrrrryyyy easily. Found out it will soot and turn liquid in the container in the blink of an eye if not wicked right. 🤣 Offering that as a candle wax is a little bit of a stretch IMO. Anyone who uses coconut oil knows it goes from solid to liquid Without a slushy stage, unlike soy. 😬 it’s popular as a fryer oil.

 

Coconut 2 melt point is pretty low too at 108. Will not survive a mailbox anywhere in the US in the summer. i have tried coconut oil to improve soy, and had some successes. Soot was the biggest issue, followed by instability of the soy. 😒 will be curious to hear how the coconut 2 works for you. It takes some time and playing around but it’s a great project! I hope you find your perfect blend so you can makes some awesome candles. I have tried 50:50, 60:40, 70:30, etc to find nice blends. 

[Linda P]

17 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

will be curious to hear how the coconut 2 works for you. It takes some time and playing around but it’s a great project! I hope you find your perfect blend so you can makes some awesome candles. I have tried 50:50, 60:40, 70:30, etc to find nice blends.

Today's experiment will be 3 candles in 9 oz straight-sided jars using C3 & Coconut 2 blends of 50:50, 40:60, & 60:40. Plus I plan to use 3% of yellow beeswax as part of the coconut portion. No fragrance or dye until I get the base blend worked out. Not sure yet which wicks I'll try. I've got a few of almost every kind except wood wicks. For this first round, I won't wick them at all and instead, poke a hole in them after curing to test with wick leftovers. 

 

On your recommendation, @TallTayl, I bought some universal soy additive because of issues with C3. What do you think about adding it to the above? I'm thinking I'll do today's batch without usa. 

[TallTayl]

Honestly I think you need to narrow down your variables until you figure out the new wax all by itself. Too many variables leads to an impossible-to-troubleshoot end. 

 

Beeswax creates a unique problem with both soy and coconut waxes. beeswax in blends creates increased likelihood of cracking, it hardens a LOT over time and soots worse than a poorly made paraffin could ever hope to. The wick for beeswax as a stand alone candle changes throughout a year’s time while a candle sits on a shelf. This compounds problems that other variable waxes also have over time. 

 

 With regard to USA and C3, I found the best relationship with just those two alone. C3 from my last shipment with 2% USA is excellent. USA added to Coconut c3 Blends changed the burn and severely diminished the throw.

 

 All that said, the only way to see if you like it or not just to try it. Just give yourself a lot of time. Beeswax burns differently over time,  like soy. A perfect burn on a week old candle is usually too small in a month’s time.  Each batch of beeswax will be different in terms of color, scent,  viscosity, melt point, moisture content, etc.  Give yourself a good month of cure time before you judge your candle’s burn. 

[Linda P]

Point(s) taken. For some reason, I became fixated on coming up with a beeswax "infused" candle and have stubbornly resisted giving up on the idea. But yeah, I know from experience that too many variables means you don't know where to start troubleshooting. After all, that's why I'm foregoing FO and dye until I get my base blend & wick series settled. Best to focus on getting one thing right. So I will back off from the beeswax and go with C3:Coconut 2 blends today of 50:50, 60:40, and 40:60. Tomorrow I'll do a C3 + USA plus C3:Coconut 2 blends of 70:30 & 30:70. Hopefully, one of these six candles will be sufficient to point me in a direction where I can focus my efforts.

 

Thanks for the advice/reminder.

[TallTayl]

I totally understand. One of my brands is beeswax. I have tried for 8 years to make it work well in my container blends. Just when I though I had it nailed something failed.

 

Am close with a coconut concoction, but it took hundreds of fails to get to this point. And it only seems to work in my ceramic jars 🤷🏻‍♀️ Glass ends up black, but ceramic (so far) is decent. 

[Linda P]

OK, I'm going to ignore what you said about your experience with coconut blends and glass jars.  At least for this test.

 

However... Lately I've been entertaining the idea of making my own containers out of concrete. I haven't even begun to go down that road, though.

 

One thing at a time...

[TallTayl]

Hahahaha ignore away. I would too. I’ve gotta figure things out for myself no matter the cost. 

 

But please promise to share your results throughout testing,  as many of us have found similar results while testing the many new coconut and vegetal waxes on the market. It will be nice to compile as much data from separate tests as possible.

 

Shout out to  @pughaus @moonshine @ComfortandJoy @Kerven And many others to compare notes. 

[Linda P]

I promise to share my results, incl bad photography

[TallTayl]

2 minutes ago, Linda P said:

I promise to share my results, incl bad photography

you're awesome. made my day

[LanaH]

10 hours ago, moonshine said:

I found this also in my search for Naturewax but I didn’t order- not only costly but one supplier available for a certain wax is not a good idea in my book....if they are oos or oob that would just put me right back at ground zero- again 

Yes this is what I'm afraid of also. This place is about 3 hours from me, just not sure if tthey will stick around,  once I decide to use them.

[LanaH]

10 hours ago, TallTayl said:

The good news is nature wax coconut 1 and 2 is becoming available at more suppliers as the popularity of non-soy waxes increases. 🤗

 

Naturewax c6 is the blend noted above. Until it is available more widely, You “could” try blending one of their soy waxes with one of their coconut waxes and get there to c6 yourself. Like c3&coconut 1 blended at equal proportions (50:50)... tweak up or down with the soy or coconut until you have a product you love.  this gives you more sourcing options. 

 

 

I might have to think about that. I read good things about the coconut waxes.

[UnionJenn]

Everyone can rest assured US Candle isn't going anywhere. They have been around for quite some time and are the premiere distributor that works in direct partnership with Cargill. When my husband was working with our Cargill rep on some formulations a few months ago, the rep said he was going to send some samples for us to work with - they were shipped by US Candle (Paralogics) on behalf of Cargill. They were all together at the NCA conference as well. Jim and Kiersten Neal are the owners and they are fantastic to partner with.

 

As for C6 - its a wonderful wax. It's Soy + Coconut + Natural additives. Keep in mind if you're looking to create your own blend using C3 and Coconut that you won't get an exact match. C6 and C3 are different soys in that they have different natural additives. Coconut 2 also has additives so you would be mixing at different ratios with C3+Coconut 2 than what C6 is blended at. We have worked closely with Cargill to master these waxes and blending them, it's been a long road but a great company to work with.

 

@Linda P - We have some extra cases of C6 from a pallet we purchased before shifting to a different coconut based blend. Happy to chat about selling some to you if you'd like to get your hands on it. Not looking to profit just recoup what we paid.

[Linda P]

8 hours ago, UnionJenn said:

As for C6 - its a wonderful wax.

Thanks for your comments about C6. Good to hear from someone US-based about their experience with this wax. I hope it won't be too long before other Cargill authorized distributors start offering it. 

 

8 hours ago, UnionJenn said:

We have some extra cases of C6 from a pallet we purchased before shifting to a different coconut based blend. Happy to chat about selling some to you if you'd like to get your hands on it. Not looking to profit just recoup what we paid.

Thank you for your kind offer. Curious to know why you switched to a different coconut blend. I'll PM you if I decide this is something I can't wait to try.

[LanaH]

18 hours ago, UnionJenn said:

Everyone can rest assured US Candle isn't going anywhere. They have been around for quite some time and are the premiere distributor that works in direct partnership with Cargill.

 

 

Thank you, that's good to know.

[LanaH]

Wow, I just put 2 / 5lb samples in my cart and the shipping was $36. I think that's a little over the top, since I'm in the same state. The search continues.

[Linda P]

Yeah, that's why I didn't order it either. Are they close enough to you that you could drive there and save shipping? I wonder if that's even an option.

 

With their pricing structure emphasis, on cases, US Candle Supply's customer base seems to be the big candle manufacturers. I'm hoping Cargill's distribution network for C6 trickles down to their smaller distributors soon.

 

Good luck with your search.

[LanaH]

It's just the thought of paying a crazy shipping charge for a 10 lb box. It may be worth it in the long run, if it turns out to be what I'm looking for. 

It's a little over 3 hours from me so it might be worth it, as I order by the pallet.

[UnionJenn]

On 6/14/2018 at 6:25 AM, Linda P said:

Curious to know why you switched to a different coconut blend. I'll PM you if I decide this is something I can't wait to try.

 

@Linda P - We switched because we were using C-6 while working on our own formulation. We have finalized our own proprietary blend so made the switch. Nothing against C-6, just wanted to create our own.

[aliciaGRACE]

Hello, 

 

Is anyone using the cargill naturewax coconut 1 soley to make candles? I am trying to use only the c1 with organic essential oils. Some of my candles cure and others are slush. any tips?! 

[TallTayl]

3 hours ago, aliciaGRACE said:

Hello, 

 

Is anyone using the cargill naturewax coconut 1 soley to make candles? I am trying to use only the c1 with organic essential oils. Some of my candles cure and others are slush. any tips?! 

Coconut1 is not a “wax” and is not suitable for candles stand alone.  It is basically hydrogenated coconut oil with a melt point of <100*F. You can eat it as-is, use in your pans as a lubricant instead of butter or oil. I even use it to deep fry. 
 

if you dig a little on their site, the tech specs note it is considered an additive only.  
 

ETA- incidentally I buy it by the 50lb package. In summer I have to either pick up from the supplier or order 7 lb jugs as it turns to complete liquid in The heat of typical delivery vehicles.