Trouble shooting soy container candles

[jnewport]

I poured some container candles yesterday using ecosoya cb135 and 25% ecosoya advanced blend. The candles look beautiful but the side of the jar look frosted? They are making the wax lighter than the top of the candle. Do I need to heat my jars? Thanks, Jeanne

[JacquiO]

Add 1 tbsp of coconut oil per pound of soy wax. That will get rid of the frosting and improve your scent throw.

You can get 76 degree coconut oil from Walmart it's called LouAnn coconut oil. One jar of it will make a lot of soy candles.

Hey! Isn't it good to know someone that's done a lot of testing and experimenting with ecosoya waxes?

[CandleMama6]

Do you know if this would work with other soy waxes?

[JacquiO]

I use coconut oil with the golden brand soy also. I get better color absorption and less cauliflower with the CO too. It's always worth a try IMO.

[Stella1952]

Prewarming the containers and prewashing them to remove the manufacturing residue will greatly improve side frosting issues.

[CandleMama6]

I use the GB 415. I wash all jars in warm soaping water and the only frosting I get is on the top. Someone told me that I could add paraffin, but I don't have any. I do have some of the Luan CO and never considered trying that. Maybe I will have to give it a try and see how it works.

Question though.......does it change the burning qualities so that I would have to re-test wicks??

Thanks for the help!

[Stella1952]

does it change the burning qualities so that I would have to re-test wicks??

Whenever one adds something new to a wax formula or tries a new FO, wick testing has to happen. Sometimes, a small amount of CO doesn't cause enough difference in the burn characteristics to have to change sizes, but sometimes it does. My suggestion would be to make a small batch and wick the same as you normally do and see what happens when you test.

You could also try adding USA to help reduce the frosting and improve the texture of the wax.

If the frosting you are seeing is on the top only, then the residue isn't what's causing your problem. If it ALWAYS happens, you might try tempering your wax and pouring hotter or cooler, depending. Certain FOs cause more frosting than others and some colors do the same thing. Cutting back on the dye helps and trying a different supplier for the FO suspected of causing a problem is sometimes helpful.

[CandleMama6]

You could also try adding USA to help reduce the frosting and improve the texture of the wax.

What is this?

[Stella1952]

Universal Soy Additive.

[JacquiO]

Adding CO hasn't really affected my wicking sizes - not as much as with the way some FOs can.

But like Stella advised you're gonna still need to test. You can up the CO to as much as 2 tbsps per lb if one isn't getting you the results your looking for. So it's good to start with small jars and test batches to see what works best in your soy wax.

I've never used the universal soy additive because the CO works so well for me I've never felt the need to compare.

I also use the CO in my ecosoya pillar blend but I cut it down to half a tbsp. It helps reduce the cracking issue.

The first thing you'll notice when using the CO is how much better the soy holds color. Whether using liquid dye or color blocks I've always had to add a lot of color to get just a medium shade and then it still frosts like a mofo. The first time I colored my CO enhanced soy wax it took less dye to get a brilliant red soy candle and with no frost.

Some people prefer USA some CO. IMHO it can't hurt to try the CO. You don't have to pay shipping to get it and if it doesn't work out you can always soap with it.

[Stella1952]

I've never used the universal soy additive

That may have a bearing.

I have only tested with NatureWax C3, so my results may be different from what one observes in a soy wax with a different formula (C3 contains soy & veggie derived additives). I have tested C3 by itself (no additives), CO alone (1 tsp/pp), USA alone (1 Tblsp/pp), and CO (1 tsp/pp) with USA (1 Tblsp/pp). Based on my observations, if I had to pick ONE additive that helps the most for frosting, texture & scent throw, USA alone does the best overall job. USA plus another, more stable, veggie oil works even better. I found that there isn't any noticeable improvement in scent throw when using both, but there is a definite improvement with frosting issues. My problem with CO as an additive is that it tends to harden C3 somewhat (and it's hard enough already), making the tops more prone to cracking.

I think it's important to settle on a wax and first learn what its failing points are... Sometimes the problems we experience are more related to our pouring procedures than the formula itself. For example, I temper my wax and pay close attention to the thermometer during melting, pouring and cooling. Once we have determined the best practices for handling our chosen wax, THEN it's time to test additives, one at a time, and in combination. That's a lot of testing for the average person to go through, so it's wise to start with a wax that has the fewest issues and pay close attention to procedure. Many folks report making acceptable soy candles without using ANY additives!

For folks who don't want to contend with the issues of candles made from polymorphic super-hydrogenated vegetable shortening, a parasoy blend might be the easiest for them to use. Just don't call those "soy candles"... LOL