Jwalter Posted November 21, 2020 Share Posted November 21, 2020 Hello everyone, I am a new candlemaker here who has been doing quite a bit of research over the last month and have realized that making candles is such an exciting and wonderful science! However, man it can be confusing at times with how much information there is out there! I also have noticed that I must be patient and understanding with the process of learning the craft. I just wanted to introduce myself and join the forums to hopefully become competent and learn along the way! This is an adventure I decided to get on because of my mental health. I needed to find something to become passionate about after being a substance abuse counselor for 5 years and getting burned out. I have found that making candles is an exciting new adventure and I am grateful to have something to look forward to each day. I just want to start off to say that I have purchased most of the equipment required for candle making so far and have been testing different things Goal: To create a solid 100% soy candle that is safe, reliable, has a good cold and hot throw (which apparently is the goal of many!!!) Equipment: Currently using hearts and crafts 100% soy wax 50lb boxes Fragrance oils from Natures Garden - Many different kinds Electric Scale Pouring Pot Thermometer Warning labels 9 ounce straight sided jars with twist lids (Gold) - Mason jar kind of feel to them - 2 1/2 inch diameter Labels with my current business name/picture Wax coloring kit (haven't even began using color because of how it may change my burn) Wondering about 6%, 8%, or 10% FO loads - I decided to start in the middle with 8% CD wick sample pack - 12, 14, 16 tests so far... (looking like the 14 or 16 works the best) Wax Molds - silicone I also have been reading on how to conduct proper test burns, trouble shooting candle issues, examining proper temperatures for pouring/mixing oil etc... Taking notes, more notes, and some more notes. Pictures and more pictures. Lots of stuff to do. I'm not really sure where to go from here other than doing tests at this point. Thank you so much, hope to see you all around! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted November 21, 2020 Share Posted November 21, 2020 Welcome! You are doing so well to be methodical with your end game in mind. please do share your journey here, including successes and not so successful results. Everyone learns something from sharing. Looking forward to watching you emerge as a seasoned chandler one day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfroberts Posted November 21, 2020 Share Posted November 21, 2020 Welcome! This is a great place to learn, research and have questions answered. You are obviously off to a great start! It can be a maddening craft, that's for sure, and you've gotta love it to put up with all the testing, reformulations, wax inconsistencies and whatnot. It's like a saga that never ends. Good luck to you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jwalter Posted November 22, 2020 Author Share Posted November 22, 2020 So far I have made one candle tested that have worked well with CD-16 wicks at 8% fragrance oil with 9 ounce straight sided jars approximately 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Mulberry oil - Natures Garden I just recently made a candle with 10% FO with 40% blood orange, 30% balsam and cedarwood and 30% patchouli - IT SMELLS WONDERFUL cold, not sure how it will be with a hot throw. I have been making a few wax melts at 10% FO for samples of smell - I tried one day to make 4 different types of wax melts but found that I made them in tiny batches (didnt seem to work as well as using like 8 ounces of wax to make many melts of the same type of scent).. I tried to make like 2.5 to 3 ounces of 4 different kinds and noticed that I had no cold throw at all with them. I am wondering if the temperature change was too drastic due to having such a small amount of wax. Still working on it! Thank you so much for your support! I am waiting on my order for CD-14 and CD-16 wicks to start testing other candles in my jars. I am struggling with things like just sandlewood or vanilla, or lavender. I am wondering if these are primarily scents that I am supposed to mix with others that may be stronger. They just seem very mild honestly and I don't know if thats just the nature of those type of scents? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightLight Posted November 22, 2020 Share Posted November 22, 2020 Every supplier has different strength and quality oils for candles. One companies lavender can be strong, and another’s weak. One companies lavender can smell drastically different from another companies. Wicks some wick work well in some waxes but not all waxes. This is a slow process learning about well process, and materials. Read the forums and and ask questions. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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