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Going Soy


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I had some soy votives given to me and burned them this weekend. LOVED the scent throw, it smells so clean. I have ventured a little into Soy here and there but nothing major but I think I am going to do some major testing and go with Soy. Wish me luck, lol......

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Probably a huge mistake. :)

I wish you well! But soy candlemaking is hard and tedious work.

It's not for the feint of heart - or those that are easily frustrated. Many decisions to be made regarding wax to use, wicks to use, frosting issues, oils that won't throw. Too many things can go awry. And the money spent on perfecting soy will put a dent into the bank account.

Do a search - and go into it with open eyes!

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You could smell the difference between soy and paraffin?

The only difference I find with the scent is my older paraffin candles still smell great and look the same as the day I took them out of the mold....my soy votives seem to smell a bit "off" and they look "dry".

I use the Enchanted Lites votive wax. Not sure if there is a better votive wax or not, but I just don't seem to get the same shelf life between the two.

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You could smell the difference between soy and paraffin?

It was a different smell, cleaner. It is hard to describe but I had some parrafin ones burning in one room and soy in the other and the room with the soy just smelled cleaner. CLeaner probably isnt the word I am looking for but it is hard to explain. I just got some pillar/votive soy and some container soy to test for the weekend.

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All I've ever worked with is soy / C3. I learned how to make candles with it and I never knew there were easier waxes to work with out there. Now the worst part...I can do anything with C3, but give me another wax and I'm LOST!

Time and patience (and alot of money!), maybe a good luck dance or chant and you'll be golden! LOL Seriously, if you're interested in it, DO IT! Half the battle is wanting something bad enough. Good luck!

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I think back to when I was making candles for family as gifts. I knew nothing of testing, I just followed the kit instructions - boy those were the fun days LOL. I just placed my latest scent order, and will buy my cases of containers tomorrow, but this post got me thinking back to when I bought my canning jars at Big Lots - whatever size was cheap, my wicks at Hobby Lobby, because I was too afraid of wasting money on 100 wicks at a time and when the idea that I could make candles was too cool. Now I vary between obsession and love for candles, but I wouldn't give it up for all of the testing supply money in the world.

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Just keep in mind that there is no perfect soy wax out there. One will throw great but look horrible. Another will look great but throw scent terrible. The best thing to do is pick one and make it work for you. It is very rewarding, but very frustrating work tryin g to tame the soy beast. I love soy too, but since the prices are going through the roof, I decided I didn't love it enough to pay the prices, not to mention the other headaches. I hope it all works out great for you! :yay:

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When I switched I tried 5 or 6 different soy samples, all with their own quirks. I resisted the change because I could never get "perfect" candles using soy. I finally decided that there will always be an imperfection (some don't frost much but don't throw well, some throw great and frost like crazy, etc.) I just picked the soy that I could live with it's particular imperfection. I get few sinkholes and very smooth tops with small amount of pitting when the candle sets back up after burning but I have never gotten rid of the frost so I dropped the color.

Have fun deciding on your soy and I agree, there is a difference in smell. I think paraffin container candles smell more waxy but my mom says soy smells like hot cooking oil to her-lol.

Good luck!

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Another thing to watch for is just when you think you have it figured out you buy more soy that comes from a different batch and it is not the same. You have to test a few candles out with each batch of soy.

Don't get me wrong you do not have to go and test everything again but a test of the lighter oils and the heavier oils should do okay.

I am sure there are more experience people here than me that can lead you in the right direction with that.

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Another thing to watch for is just when you think you have it figured out you buy more soy that comes from a different batch and it is not the same.

I totally agree. I test one pound from each new case with one FO & dye combo with which I am very familiar. I also do the same thing whenever I get a new batch of any additive, such as USA. I get three containers from a pound. If everything is the same as always, I put the other 2 in stock. If not, I test another FO/dye combo to see... I have been very fortunate in that I have never had one case of C3 differ from the next nor any problems with the USA, but I still test new cases anyway...

It's real important that when people are thinking that there is a difference in the performance of their new batch of wax that they take into account seasonal environmental conditions that change the performance of veggie waxes. For example: I get a new case of wax in the summer and have not poured since winter. I freak because the wax is behaving differently, but the difference may not be the wax at all, but the environmental changes under which I am pouring in the summer versus the winter. While some brands may have frequent batch differences, most are quite uniform - it's the conditions under which the candles are poured that makes the difference. ;)

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