Coconut Blend Wax Melts

[NJ1228G]

Hi all. I have been testing a coconut wax blend for 0.5 oz melts. I understand this is a softer wax but the application in a condiment cup has worked very well. The problem I am having is throw. CT and HT are phenomenal but only lasts for about 8 hrs. It’s not a very long scent life. Large melt companies last for days! Is this normal? Could it be the fragrance oil or is it an issue with the wax? I’m trying to develop a more luxurious line of melts and really like how the coconut wax is working but how can I market them as luxury without a scent life that lasts for longer than 8 hrs?

[Sarah S]

In my experience, the softer waxes do not have longevity with their throw. A soft wax may have great initial HT as the melt pool will reach a high temperature quickly, but as you have noticed the throw diminishes significantly over the course of several hours.

Are you using a coconut blend? I don't think that coconut wax is a great stand alone wax anyway, for any application.

If you are ok with parrafin, I would suggest adding 40-50% hard paraffin wax, or switching to parrafin entirely. There is a reason why the big manufacturers use parrafin, it makes a fantastic tart!

Also consider the size of the tart, .5oz is not a lot of wax. The fragrance may truly be spent in that tiny amount of wax after 8 hours, depending on the strength and quality of your fragrance oil.

If you are married to the "all natural" concept, try blending palm wax with the coconut, 50/50, or try palm/coconut/soy at 50/30/20.

Finally, what makes your tarts "luxury"? Are you going for visual impact? Unique fragrance? Price? Novel packaging? Marketing something as luxury has many different factors, performance being only part of it. It is very likely that you may need to be flexible with your waxes to create your product line, so don't be afraid to  experiment.

[NJ1228G]

Hi Sarah,

 

Thanks for the quick response! I’m using a coconut/apricot blend. I liked the all natural concept and all the great things I’ve heard about coconut wax. I’ve read that coconut waxes are more luxurious which made me try working with it. It’s a nice wax, but most important to me is quality. I’m not so worried about price, but rather trying to find a niche segment without using colorants and keeping it as natural as possible. 
 

I may need to go back to the drawing board. I suppose a luxury brand has other factors to it other than just what is considered to be “luxury” wax. Perhaps I bring more of a luxury feel in with my packaging. I am by no means trying to charge a “luxury” price, I just want my customers to feel like they are getting a quality product that evokes happiness. I’ve researched a ton so this is only the first time actually starting to make products and test. 
 

I read a lot about a para-soy blend that had stellar reviews that I am eager to try! 

[Belinda]

I've never used coconut wax but have heard good things about it. I have used several different paraffins and para/soy blends they have all had good throw.

[lovelyscents]

Which oil were you using and wattage on your warmer?

[EAM]

On 3/25/2020 at 5:38 PM, Sarah S said:

In my experience, the softer waxes do not have longevity with their throw. A soft wax may have great initial HT as the melt pool will reach a high temperature quickly, but as you have noticed the throw diminishes significantly over the course of several hours.

Are you using a coconut blend? I don't think that coconut wax is a great stand alone wax anyway, for any application.

If you are ok with parrafin, I would suggest adding 40-50% hard paraffin wax, or switching to parrafin entirely. There is a reason why the big manufacturers use parrafin, it makes a fantastic tart!

Also consider the size of the tart, .5oz is not a lot of wax. The fragrance may truly be spent in that tiny amount of wax after 8 hours, depending on the strength and quality of your fragrance oil.

If you are married to the "all natural" concept, try blending palm wax with the coconut, 50/50, or try palm/coconut/soy at 50/30/20.

Finally, what makes your tarts "luxury"? Are you going for visual impact? Unique fragrance? Price? Novel packaging? Marketing something as luxury has many different factors, performance being only part of it. It is very likely that you may need to be flexible with your waxes to create your product line, so don't be afraid to  experiment.

I am butting in but same question. I have been testing 4625/ coconut. It either has an awesome throw for 6-8 hours or its a complete dud( based on the oil I am sure) If you were to make a " perfect blend of waxes" what would you suggest?

[KrisS]

Something additional to note is that most of the coconut waxes do have a smidge of paraffin in them.  Otherwise, they'll be melty around body temperature. 

 

I've played with coconut in conjunction with brittle soy pillar wax, beeswax, and with palm.  I like palm from a performance/throw standpoint...but it tends to leave an air pocket mid melt.  there's not enough profit margin to heatgun it and do a repour on melts.  Beeswax is expensive.  Soy pillar is inconsistent.  

 

Blarg.

[Marisa11]

I have been using Coconut Apricot Wax and added 10% 130MP Paraffin wax at 8% FO just to try some melts. I might kick it up a notch on the paraffin 5% at a time to see where that gets me. I like the idea of melts in shapes over the clam shells. I think the 10% paraffin with that wax would be fine in clam shells. I will test the throw when I put it on the burner in a couple days. 

[Lovejoy444]

I am almost two years late to this party, but for anyone checking this thread from here on out, I wanted to second what lovelyscents said. Higher wattage warmers will blow through the FO faster than a lower watt warmer. My tabletop warmer that uses a round 20w bulb kills wax melts much quicker than the plug-in warmer I used to have that used a small 15w bulb. There are a million other things that affect scent, too, but consumers' individual wax warmers can have a big impact on the performance of otherwise identical melts, which may be a good reason to test your melts in both higher and lower wattage warmers. You can then offer up a range (e.g. 8-20 hrs) for the life span of the melt instead of a flat number, as well as educate consumers on the science of wax melt life span--and that poor performance isn't necessarily the fault of the creator! LOL

Edited March 7, 2022 by Lovejoy444

[LilFirecracker]

On 3/6/2022 at 9:10 PM, Lovejoy444 said:

I am almost two years late to this party, but for anyone checking this thread from here on out, I wanted to second what lovelyscents said. Higher wattage warmers will blow through the FO faster than a lower watt warmer. My tabletop warmer that uses a round 20w bulb kills wax melts much quicker than the plug-in warmer I used to have that used a small 15w bulb. There are a million other things that affect scent, too, but consumers' individual wax warmers can have a big impact on the performance of otherwise identical melts, which may be a good reason to test your melts in both higher and lower wattage warmers. You can then offer up a range (e.g. 8-20 hrs) for the life span of the melt instead of a flat number, as well as educate consumers on the science of wax melt life span--and that poor performance isn't necessarily the fault of the creator! LOL

So true!! I'm trying to figure out right now how to word this in my Etsy store listings when I open.