Heating FO

[pixie]

I have a two scents that are hard to mix. The FO just doesn't seem to want to bind to the wax. I have tried mixing longer than usual and that does help somewhat. Based on the advice from another post on this forum, I would like to try to warm the FO prior to adding it to the wax.

How exactly should I do this? Obviously I dont want to heat it so high the fo will burn off but I do want to heat it high enough that it blends more easily with my wax. For those of you that are experienced with this, what do you suggest? Should I microwave it, set it on a hot plate, or maybe put it over a pot of warm water?

[Karen M]

I had some FO's in the past that would not bind, one was candy corn from Lonestar, I finally gave up and quit making it.

But other oils that wouldn't bind, I have used vybar with them and maybe use less oil per LB, also heating up the oil will help, but just warming it a little not actually cooking it. I put the bottle of oil in a warm water bath to heat it up.

HTH

[Scented]

I go hot water lol. I never had success with warm (go figure) and I toss vybar in there too. I had a horrid time getting someone's Rapture to bind in my wax ... using less did help. Those that just wouldn't bind, I pretty much chucked though too. I can't remember what they were now though.

[HorseScentS]

I go hot water lol. I never had success with warm (go figure) and I toss vybar in there too. I had a horrid time getting someone's Rapture to bind in my wax ... using less did help. Those that just wouldn't bind, I pretty much chucked though too. I can't remember what they were now though.

Can you tell an FO that will be hard to bind with the wax OOB? Like, would you say that the heavier the oil the harder it is to bind? or not.

Also, I hope this is not dangerous, but here's how I've been heating my FO: I put it into a 1 Cup Pyrex measuring cup in the oven next to the jars I'm preheating, & the lowest setting on my oven is 170, so that's the temp I use. I put a piece of tin foil loosely on top of the Pyrex cup. I'm kind of afraid it will overheat & blow up, though, so I take it out & set it on my electric skillet, which is usually set at 200, while constantly checking the temp with my digital thermometer to finish bringing the temp up to about 160/170-ish. If there's an easier way, and a safer way, I'd love to know what it is.

[Scented]

Um just because of flashpoints and things happen, I would never warm my oils in the oven or on the stove. I just go a little higher than warm, because 1) I lack patience and 2) I always had to reheat it again anyway.

No, you can't tell. Well you can if you put it in your wax and mix it and there's a sludge or oil outline on the bottom of your pot. Rapture is a heavy, sultry fragrance to me and I love it ... it floated forever while I slowly added vybar and stirred and stirred and kept repeating the process. You don't want the sludge in your wax or the oil slick. It never really solidifies. It just umm makes things ultra messy, especially when using a nice rich red. This is why I do not color until after I know the fragrance will bind. The other FO was a white tea and ginger from someone who said, "we never had issues before so you are doing something wrong." I know the FO came from someone I absolutely refuse to order from again, but I have about 6 of those companies and three of them are OOB. And then there was an ultra heavy oil that just flat did not mix into the wax at all and sat on the bottom of the pot and burned, forcing me to clean and scrub the brown sticky stuff forever just so I could use my pot again. That person, too, is OOB. And it was a terribly rich and lovely FO that I really wanted it to work. I hated losing the wax I had for that, but really I had no choice. Well I did have a choice and I chose to pitch it lol.

Edited July 28, 2011 by Scented

[Scented]

And white tea and ginger, to me, is an average or typical scent.

[HorseScentS]

Thanks, Scented. I think Stella posted that she heats her FO to 160, no doubt she's got a super-safe way of doing that, so I hope she'll weigh in.

[Stella1952]

I think Stella posted that she heats her FO to 160, no doubt she's got a super-safe way of doing that

I put my FOs and dye in the pour pot and set it in an old electric skillet with water in it (like a shallow double boiler) - set thermostat to warm (130°F-160°F). I just want it warmer than room temp, but not necessarily exactly as warm as the wax. The reason I do this is not because of "binding" or hot throw - it's so that the FO will not thermally shock the soy wax when it's blended in, which is one technique I use to help reduce frosting. I also have found that predissolving the dye in the FO and warming them both makes for better dispersion in the wax (ie. no grain-sized "hot spots" of color).

The FO just doesn't seem to want to bind to the wax.

What FOs, what wax, at what temp are you currently adding the FO, how long are you stirring and with what? When you say "doesn't want to bind," exactly what are we talking about here? What is the candle doing that leads you to think the FO isn't "binding"? Edited July 28, 2011 by Stella1952

[HorseScentS]

Brilliant, Stella! Thanks! I'll try that. I'm still adjusting colors, though, so don't think I can add and mix the dyes to the FO just yet, but I have read about that being a good thing to do.