Forrest Posted July 10, 2019 Share Posted July 10, 2019 I sometimes think back to when I started and all my misconceptions and mistakes. I often see newbies come here and usually they are asking questions that have been ask before; mostly it is some variation of “why doesn’t my soy candle have any HT?” I have often thought about writing a couple of paragraphs of dos and don’ts for newbies, but I’m certainly not the most qualified person for that task. So I’m asking all of y’all for one or two bits of advice you would give to someone just starting out that would help them avoid the mistakes many newbies make. Maybe one day I’ll put them all together in a coherent narrative. I’ll start off with use a 7% FO load, using more will only cause you problems. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah S Posted July 11, 2019 Share Posted July 11, 2019 Stick with one wax, one container size, and one wick series for at least three months while you are learning the process. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxxAlpha71xxx Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 7 hours ago, Sarah S said: Stick with one wax, one container size, and one wick series for at least three months while you are learning the process. I'm a newbie but this is 100% the best advice ever, in my opinion. I jumped into this not realizing how involved it was and how much testing went into everything. I started testing different scents, different containers, different wicks, and different waxes. In the end I really had no data for a ready for production candle.. I did, however, learn a lot about how waxes react to different variables and now have a pretty good idea on a wick starting point for testing. However, If I had applied the KISS principle (Keep It Simple Stupid) and put together a testing plan from day 1 using realistic goals and expectations I could probably have learned the same thing in half the time using half the material and with half the frustration. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerry Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 I completely agree with @xxxAlpha71xxx and @Sarah S - save yourself some pain and keep it simple. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleMissSunshine Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 On 7/11/2019 at 2:29 PM, Sarah S said: Stick with one wax, one container size, and one wick series for at least three months while you are learning the process. This this this this 🙂 this 🙃 this 🙂 this 🙃 Then I would agree with @Forrest about using closer to recommended fragrance loads. If that isn't working you're probably wicked incorrectly. Higher loads are just going to cause wicking problems. Also. Cure. Do it. Stick it on a shelf. Put a cover on it. And don't touch it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxxAlpha71xxx Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 On 7/10/2019 at 11:36 AM, Forrest said: I sometimes think back to when I started and all my misconceptions and mistakes. I often see newbies come here and usually they are asking questions that have been ask before; mostly it is some variation of “why doesn’t my soy candle have any HT?” I have often thought about writing a couple of paragraphs of dos and don’ts for newbies, but I’m certainly not the most qualified person for that task. So I’m asking all of y’all for one or two bits of advice you would give to someone just starting out that would help them avoid the mistakes many newbies make. Maybe one day I’ll put them all together in a coherent narrative. I’ll start off with use a 7% FO load, using more will only cause you problems. This 1000%. Some sort of stickied/best practices/newbie guide would have probably had me posting a quarter of the questions I've posted. Yes, there's a search button but search doesn't always give you what you're looking for and even when. It does it might be buried 500 posts back. Thanks for volunteering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxxAlpha71xxx Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 Start off with a nice and simple container. A jelly jar, a smooth sided tumbler, something along those lines. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darbla Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 Don't do it. Put the wax down and back away. Run while you can still afford running shoes. 2 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forrest Posted July 18, 2019 Author Share Posted July 18, 2019 58 minutes ago, Darbla said: Don't do it. Put the wax down and back away. Run while you can still afford running shoes. I was thinking about the people who had already ignored that most excellent advice 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfroberts Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 (edited) People tend to ignore advice that isn't what they want to hear. Seems like they generally waste a couple hundred before they start listening to the good stuff. My actual advice: Don't get your advice from youtube or FB. Edited July 18, 2019 by bfroberts 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Candle Nook Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 I agree with all advice so far. And I worry about giving them (newbies) too much advice (of course, maybe then they would invest in the running shoes! LOL)....I might add choose a FO from a reputable company and start with one or 2 of their best sellers. HT is likely to be good with top sellers. Mistake I made was having too many FO at the beginning. (I still have too many FO 😂😂😂) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forrest Posted July 18, 2019 Author Share Posted July 18, 2019 9 hours ago, The Candle Nook said: I agree with all advice so far. And I worry about giving them (newbies) too much advice (of course, maybe then they would invest in the running shoes! LOL)....I might add choose a FO from a reputable company and start with one or 2 of their best sellers. HT is likely to be good with top sellers. Mistake I made was having too many FO at the beginning. (I still have too many FO 😂😂😂) So part of that advice would be avoid reading the Fragrance Forum at all cost 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandleRush Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 Have your finances in order! This hobby/business costs a lot! I have a stack of invoices that are from last November to present, wow, to see the total expenses is eye opening. Still I enjoy the journey but it comes with a large price tag. I would start with melts/tarts first and get to know your wax and FO. After success with those apply what you’ve learned to Candles. Keep your choices simple initially! 🌸 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErronB Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 11 hours ago, The Candle Nook said: I agree with all advice so far. And I worry about giving them (newbies) too much advice (of course, maybe then they would invest in the running shoes! LOL)....I might add choose a FO from a reputable company and start with one or 2 of their best sellers. HT is likely to be good with top sellers. Mistake I made was having too many FO at the beginning. (I still have too many FO 😂😂😂) Definitely agree with the too much advice bit. There's way too many people thinking it's a one shot trick where there is a magic combo for everything. But even if you gave someone a perfect FO / wick / wax / container, doesn't mean they could make an amazing candle. Kind of like making a cake, you can give 2 people the exact same ingredients but doesn't mean the end result will be the same. Pouring a good candle comes from experience and knowledge. If I was starting over I would have just bought the full wick pack from lonestar which has all of the wicks in it, and a couple of the most popular containers like a jelly jar and tins. I create my own FO's so I already had a huge library of oils to mess with, but if I was starting out I would just buy some top seller packs with the tried and tested ones from a couple of places. Buying too many and not knowing enough about them causes a lot of problems, I decided to buy a bunch of new ones from The Flaming Candle when I was testing 6006 and it just so happened that the ones I picked had piss poor HT so I thought I had problems with the wax, you just gotta test test and test. The wax part has too many variables in it, depends what you want out of a candle. I started out with 464 a long time ago, I hated it for several reasons, but I was able to figure out what more I wanted out of a wax to decide on my next one. For me, it was something I could never get exactly what I wanted so I basically spent thousands on dollars on nothing but knowledge. I can pour a good safe candle now and understand the process, but I find melts are a lot better for HT and a lot safer, so I stuck with those. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura C Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 Hey @Forrest, I'm keeping the ball rolling. Advice for a newbie / beginner or anyone wanting to refresh their memory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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