OK I feel dumb asking this but....

[beauty41]

What is the difference between Soy Wax & Pariffin Wax? Does one burn better, does one smell last longer? Sorry I feel dumb asking this question but I am new at trying to make my own candles ( for a hobby at this time) and I want to get as much information on the both waxes before I even buy anything!

Also what company offers the most & longest lasting fragrances? And what compnay offers the best wicks & containers for candles? Prefer a company that is the MOST reasonable price wise!

Thanks,

Lisa

[Carrie]

The most reasonable price? Don't forget...you get what you pay for. There are cheap fo's and quality fo's. Which one do you want?

Soy wax is made from mostly soy beans and paraffin is a petroleum product. Both have good and bad aspects to them. I'd say read all you can about both and form your own opinion.

[scentlady]

You'll want to read all you can about the pros and cons of soy and paraffin before you decide. If you're undecided get a sample kit of each and try them both. Then you should probably find suppliers as close as possible to you to cut down on shipping costs. If there is someone close enough to pickup from all the better. There are suppliers who have wick charts that you can use as a starting point for testing. There's no one company that's better than the rest as far as fo's, there's lots of good one and many opinions. Again you get what you pay for and you have to use quality materials to make a quality candle in my opinion. I'm sure you'll get lots of help for specific problems once you start testing.

[MeAndMyPuppyDog]

The most reasonable price? Don't forget...you get what you pay for. There are cheap fo's and quality fo's. Which one do you want?

Soy wax is made from mostly soy beans and paraffin is a petroleum product. Both have good and bad aspects to them. I'd say read all you can about both and form your own opinion.

Not always the case. I buy a Strawberry oil for $6.10 a pound that is hands-down the best strawberry around. I've smelled oils for twice the price and beyond that weren't half as good.

Buy what you *know* is good and try to cut out as many middle-men as you can. You'll get the best value and learn the most!

[SliverOfWax]

When it comes to fragrance, do your own testing instead of listening to advice from someone you don't know. And never listen to scent reviews that are oob (out of bottle). As you learn and test, you will find scents that work for you.

[KFTS]

Not always the case. I buy a Strawberry oil for $6.10 a pound that is hands-down the best strawberry around. I've smelled oils for twice the price and beyond that weren't half as good.

Buy what you *know* is good and try to cut out as many middle-men as you can. You'll get the best value and learn the most!

She didn't say this was always the case, but for the most part you do get what you pay for with FOs. Sure there is the occasional exception, but frankly, I haven't even seen a 6 dollar FO except maybe the Scent Event. She doesn't *know* what is good or she wouldn't be posting, so not sure what you meant by that.

Anyway, read the posts already here, there are many people asking for help on paraffin and soy and you will learn a lot from what is here and the common pitfalls. If you go with soy, I recommend buying from a company that specializes in soy compatible FOs (JBN, FOH, Millcreek, Scented Bean, Snowtop, etc) or have already tested them in soy, you'll have much better luck and save some money. good luck

[MeAndMyPuppyDog]

She didn't say this was always the case, but for the most part you do get what you pay for with FOs. Sure there is the occasional exception, but frankly, I haven't even seen a 6 dollar FO except maybe the Scent Event. She doesn't *know* what is good or she wouldn't be posting, so not sure what you meant by that.

Anyway, read the posts already here, there are many people asking for help on paraffin and soy and you will learn a lot from what is here and the common pitfalls. If you go with soy, I recommend buying from a company that specializes in soy compatible FOs (JBN, FOH, Millcreek, Scented Bean, Snowtop, etc) or have already tested them in soy, you'll have much better luck and save some money. good luck

Sorry, sounds like I stepped on your toes -- perhaps you buy and resell oils or something?

As far a newbie starting out... I would always recommend para over soy. Reason being that there is simply A LOT more information out there on how to work with it, etc. Also, there is A TON of mis-information out there when it comes to soy.

I just wouldn't want to see somebody get ripped off with the "cost more so it's better" line. It simply isn't the truth. If you have 3 middle men, a $6 oil is now $24. If you have. only 1 middle man it's $12. So you're saying the oil for $24 is better than the one for $12. Actually the opposite is probably true because as it passes hands it is probably cut with all kinds of carriers and junk.

[Mona]

http://www.igiwax.com/wax_faq.shtml

http://www.candles.org/elements_wax.html

[KFTS]

Sorry, sounds like I stepped on your toes -- perhaps you buy and resell oils or something?

As far a newbie starting out... I would always recommend para over soy. Reason being that there is simply A LOT more information out there on how to work with it, etc. Also, there is A TON of mis-information out there when it comes to soy.

I just wouldn't want to see somebody get ripped off with the "cost more so it's better" line. It simply isn't the truth. If you have 3 middle men, a $6 oil is now $24. If you have. only 1 middle man it's $12. So you're saying the oil for $24 is better than the one for $12. Actually the opposite is probably true because as it passes hands it is probably cut with all kinds of carriers and junk.

No I don't sell oils, and are you suggesting she is somehow going to buy from the manufacturers and not the companies (middlemen) most of us refer to on this board? They have huge ordering minimums. Sure they're less $ and good oils, but a lot of them require 25 lb minimums or huge minimum $$ purchases. Maybe you can share where you get these cheap but fantastic oils that the rest of us don't know about that a newbie could actually afford

[KristinesShower]

If you're willing to make an "investment" instead of just purchasing a pound here and there of a particular (or many different) fragrance oils, you can get them for alot cheaper too.

[sugarysweet95]

In terms of the it's better if it's more expensive, I've had mixed results. I bought some cheap FOs of ebay when i was only really beginning (don't do any more!!!!). Anyway within this same set, there were some ones which were better than more expensive ones i've bought since and some which were worse!

I suppose i'd say, if it's a lot cheaper, what's the harm in tryin a bit! If you don't like it, you've not wasted much money (if you only buy enough to test). If you do like it and it compares well to more expensive makes, then you can carry on buying it!!!!! (I've also found that my best paraffin wax is really cheap from a random craft shop I found on the net!!!!)

In terms of startin out as newbie, I'd go with paraffin. I'm quite a newbie myself and have only ever used paraffin. There seems to be loads more info on paraffin and it's easier (in the UK at least) to buy paraffin wax, FOs, dyes and wicks that are all designed for paraffin.

[Ring of Fire]

I too would also start with paraffin or a paraffin/soy blend. Soy is so over rated and there is so much misinformation on soy candles.

I would start with votives and look around Natures Garden to start with.

http://www.naturesgardencandles.com/

They have many great fragrances at reasonable prices. Choose some samples, buy a slab of wax and off you go. They have info on their site on how to get started. You don't need to spend a lot of money to see if this craft is for you. If you find out it is, then be prepared to spend a lot of money on testing.

Good Luck.