Scenting Soy With Dried Herbs

[riverrider420]

Hi All

Been reading your forum all weekend and have to say my head is spinning from all the great info you all have offered. What has me most interested is the "100% natural" debate. Not really sure how to start asking the questions i have, so maybe if i just explain what my objective is, all and any input would be welcomed.

I work in a school that services children on the autism spectrum. Our parent group is awsome when it comes to fund raising. one idea that came up was candles, which alot of parents as well as administration vetoed it because of the chemicals in candles. Our children are super sensory sensitive and react behaviorly ar physically to things the nerotypical people don't even know are there. Me being proud of the new soy candle making book i got for christmas, started talking with the parents about the possibility of soy candles.

I have looked into a few wax distributer who have (or say they have acording to what i have readhere) 100% natural soy..some say they are treated with botanical oils and others say not treaded with any oils. NOW..what does all that mean? natural, or not natural?

I also looked into scenting..FO are out for obvious reasons..so i started playing with dried herb....they do give the candle a nice scent when not being burned..and the slightest scent while burning. the obviouse would be to add more herbs. but have found alot of wax loss with what i'm useing. Has anyone wored in this are? any help would be greatly appreciated. Then next option would be EO and from reading here it seems to work, but when i was speaking with someone about it, they scared me away..saying it was dangerouse becouse of the low flash point of EO. Has anyone heard anything of the dangers of EO's.

I hope this post makes sense..as i get more into soy candle makeing..the more there seems to learn....so thank you all for listening and for any input anyone may have

peace

[elfcat]

IMHO, Unfortunately there is not a lot of regulation to help determine what is 100% and what is not. Basically they can say 100% natural but you can never really know. Companies are not required to tell you what the "other" oils are that they use. I'm sure as you have read there is some very hot debate on whether or not organic is really organic. I think the closest we have on that debate is that our government does "certify" some products that meet certain standards as "organic". It is the best we have, and for me, it is enough if it is certified as organic. Obviously, others would disagree.

I think you have hit upon a really great idea and if you can do the research and put in the work it would require. Starting with the "organic" waxes would be a great start. (There is also palm, coconut etc) At least then you know there is some regulation on it. A lot of people use EO in their candles with great success so I wouldn't give up on that idea. It might just be about finding which EO's can be used at higher heats.

Obviously, you would have to be the final judge of what is enough and if the parents would accept it.

Good Luck! :smiley2:

[Tereasa]

To me, dried herbs are nothing but a brush fire waiting to happen. Much more dangerous than EO.

Candles aren't the way to go if you want 'natural.' During the debate on organic waxes, you'll notice that the ingredients for the wax are 'certified' but the process isn't. A field trip to a soy wax refining plant would be in order for anyone who even tries to suggest that soy wax is natural.

[riverrider420]

Thank you elfcat and tereasa for your inputs...i have been reading the debates about organic and all natural..i think my main objective is to get the cleanest burning candle i can get wether they are "organic" or "all natural" may not really come into play.

what i have been doing with the herbs is, mixing it with teh wax after melting it and letting it steep (for lack of a better word) the draining the wax. from the test burns i have done....there is so little herb left that it really hasn;t affected the burn..Doing it this way...do you still think the risks are still great?

[elfcat]

Thank you elfcat and tereasa for your inputs...i have been reading the debates about organic and all natural..i think my main objective is to get the cleanest burning candle i can get wether they are "organic" or "all natural" may not really come into play.

what i have been doing with the herbs is, mixing it with teh wax after melting it and letting it steep (for lack of a better word) the draining the wax. from the test burns i have done....there is so little herb left that it really hasn;t affected the burn..Doing it this way...do you still think the risks are still great?

If you're not hung up on the "organic" or "all-natural" thing then you have a whole lot of room for experimentation! I've never tried putting herbs in my candles but I did a Google search on EO's and herbs in candles and got back a lot of companies who do use them in theirs. I like my candles to be really strong so I don't think the dried herbs would be enough. (Of course it would be pretty:-) I would probably experiment with both the dried herbs and the EO's. I wish I could be more help but perhaps someone on this forum has more hands on experience they can add.

[ChrisR]

If you want to go as natural as you can, make beeswax candles!! They naturally give a sweet honey scent without adding anything.

[tealfrank]

Hello there. This is a very long conversation but I'm very short on time, so I'll get hit some highlights.

I'm VERY environmentally conscious and I'm the mother of two children with sensory issues...not autistic, but very sensory sensitive. My oldest was on the very withdrawn side of the scale. Although he has a brilliant mind, he got overwhelmed so easily that he was constantly "shut down" mentally and emotionally. Very sensitive to light, smell, crowds, being touched, and the worst [low] esteem that I've just about ever seen in a human being . It was terrible. It was all I could do to get that boy through school. Unfortunately, we didn't know anything about sensory issues back then and didn't get him the help he really could have used. He's 20 years old now, well adjusted, and on his own.

My three year old is on the POLAR opposite side of the scale. That boy is non-stop wild. He needs the extreme physical stimulation to organize his head. Obsessive chewing. Very high emotion. Needs all his toys to be in groups. Lots of hand wringing/gestures. But again, a brilliant mind. We thought for awhile that he may be autistic because at 18 months he "lost his words", as well as some other things. Fortunately, he's not autistic, just very sensory. Two years and counting of speech therapy, OT, early intervention programs, special ed, and pre-K have made a world of difference. He's still very wild but has come a long way.

All that said, I make soy, EO candles! Regarding "natural", IMO nothing is natural any more! Most soy is now being grown in Brazil on illegally cleared rain-forest land. Heartbreaking. Hopefully, the wax company you choose has joined the agreement to obtain soy from non-illegally cleared fields. Lots of info on the 'net on this subject. Also, consider using a food-grade soy wax for more purity. Lavender is a great EO. Not too low in flash point, can be obtained semi-reasonably priced, very powerful from a medicinal and aromatherapy standpoint. Same with ylang ylang as well as geranium. Mix a lower flashpoint oil (IE lavender which is around 160) with a higher flashpoint oil like ylang ylang which is around 180-190. Mix all three! There are endless combos out there. Used in proper proportions, each of these three oils are superb for anxiety, stress, depression, etc. I put a couple of drops of lavender EO in my little one's bath to calm him (too much though has the opposite effect, it becomes stimulating! Same with many of the "calming" eo's. Moderation is key!) A couple hours on the essential oil websites will provide a wealth of info. I wouldn't even mess with the dried herb thing. Besides being a pain, if you accidentally leave some herbs in the wax, it could start a fire.

I burn candles CONSTANTLY and have not noticed an adverse reaction from my child (from a behavior/emotional standpoint). I can't say that it "helps" for sure, who knows, but it doesn't seem to aggravate his issues. Each child is different however, so I can only speak for myself. In fact, my little one loves to smell all my candles. It makes him happy. Every day, we go through the, "Can I smell all the candles?" routine...the unlit ones, of course!

That's all I have time for right now! Wishing you lots and lots of good luck!

Tina

[Circle]

When a company sells a food product, they have to list that it contains soy, if it has soy traces of any sort. The reason is that some people are allergic to soy like they would be peanuts and it can be quite serious. I don't know how this applies to soy wax?

I agree that beeswax would be the best natural alternative, not the cheapest, but you get a natural fragrance and the wax is lovely as any candle.

[Sharon in KY]

I just had a request for Peppermint tarts. The teacher is going to experiment with the scent cause she read smelling peppermint helps you learn. I'm going to send both EO and FO just to see if it makes any difference.

As far as the soy candles and natural scents, I would go with EO and maybe keep them on the soft side. But I have found when I need to strain my wax a paper towel is the best thing you can use. The wax has to be hot and you'll waste less wax. The herbs sound like an interesting thing. I have a bunch of spices from Penzey's and would love to smell them in a candle....

[riverrider420]

Thank you all so much for your responses..i think i will give the EO's a shot. i've been reading alot of what eveyones suggestions on wax to use and wicks...i've been useing 4 and 8 oz jelly jars about 3" in diameter. thinking about the CB 135 and CD wick..anyone have any words of wisdom..such as wick size, % of EO to use, suppliers?...thanks again

peace