Archive for the ‘Candle Making Wax’ Category

The Benefits of Using Soy Candle Wax

April 15th, 2011 | Posted in Candle Making Supplies, Candle Making Wax, Soy Candle Wax | 2 Comments »

Candles have been around for ages. Over the years, candles have been used in a wide range of settings – religion, health, household emergencies, aesthetic value and for therapeutic reasons. Candles are common commodities in the house. For years, candles were typically made of the common paraffin wax. But now, a lot of people are concerned about going organic and natural. As a result, more manufacturers are trying offering alternative materials for candle making, materials like beeswax and soy candle wax.

Soy candles are of course made from soy wax. This wax comes from hydrogenated soy beans. Soy candle wax is a cheaper natural wax than beeswax.

There are a lot of advantages to using soy candle wax compared to paraffin and beeswax. The following describes the benefits of creating soy-based candles.

Beeswax candles were first introduced as a natural alternative to paraffin waxes but the cost of beeswax has dismayed many candle makers. Soy candles, on the other hand, are cheaper options and give you almost the same results as beeswax.

Soy candles are natural. Soy waxes come from renewable sources unlike paraffin. Many manufacturers and candle makers are against using paraffin since it is a non-renewable material as paraffin is petroleum based.

Spills from soy candles are easier to clean. Spills from paraffin waxes are noticeably more difficult to remove from the furniture, clothes and other surfaces. Soy candle spills on the other hand can easily be removed with hot, soapy water.

Soy candles burn clean. They do not produce dark soot like paraffin candles can. Soy candles produce very little smoke when burned, especially when they are made from a 100 % pure soy wax. Those soy candles that leave soot are made from a blend of both soy and paraffin waxes.

Like paraffin and beeswax, soy candles produce a terrific smell.

Lastly, since soy candles are made from soy beans, you are also helping farmers with each purchase. You actually help the local community of farmers who grow the soy beans that are used for candles. Aside from that, candle manufacturers are also in the community all over the country. This means that with every soy candle that you buy, you are helping the economy.

Soy candles are worth considering when buying candles for the home or when candle making.

How to Make Your Candles Throw

June 21st, 2010 | Posted in Candle Fragrances, Candle Making, Candle Making Fragrance Oil, Candle Making Wax | 8 Comments »

Making your Candle Throw (or cast its fragrance over a wide area) is the goal of Fragranced Candles. This is not hard to achieve if you understand the basic parameters. There are 5 things to consider when making a successfully Fragranced Candle. If you have the following steps in place, your candle making process will yield an excellent and fragrant candle.

Do not be discouraged if your first try is not as good as you had hoped. These things are easily achieved when you know what to plan and look for.

1. Make sure you are using very high grade fragrance concentrates. If you wonder what you have, read the article here about the differences between A Grade and B Grade fragrances and those sold by others.
2. Make sure you use 1 to 1.5 oz of your fragrance per pound. (1 oz to 20 oz liquid wax) You can use less after testing for strength, but start here. With our stuff it will run you out at that level, and you can back off to your desired fragrance strength. Also make sure that your fragrance is mixing completely into your wax. You will know this when you pour into your candle containers. If there is a bunch of unmixed fragrance on the bottom of the pot, raise your temperature next time and stir it in better before pouring.
3. Make sure your wax is holding the fragrance in the wax evenly, all the way to the top. You will know this if there is not any watery substance at the bottom of the container after it sets up. Also, if your candle has very little smell when initially lit or has to burn about half way down before it starts to smell good, then you know the fragrance is settling down into the lower part of your wax. To make sure this does not happen, add one quarter to one half teaspoon of Vybar 260 to your container blend to hold it in properly. This will allow the wax to hold your scent in evenly to the top of the candle after it sets up and in most cases will not noticeably effect the burn of the candle.
4. So, now you have made sure you have;
1. Quality fragrance, and you are
2. Using an adequate amount of it, and the fragrance is mixing properly with your wax, and
3. Your wax is holding it evenly after it sets up, and
4. Make sure the top of the candle is level flat before lighting it. This means in most cases that no matter if you are using a one pour wax, or regular paraffin, you will still have to either do a repour if you are using regular paraffin to fill the crater in the center, or if you are using a one pour container blend, you will have to take a heat gun and remelt the top and fill any holes or dips in the top. Ideally, where the wick comes out of the wax will be level, or a little above the edges of the container where the wax touches the edge of the jar. (like a mini pyramid is shaped) If you do not do this, the wick no matter how big it is, will core down and drown out if it is in a well when lit. The candle tops are easily remelted flat with a heat gun. A hot hair dryer will work in some cases also. Take care not to light the wick with your heat gun, people will complain that the candle is used and want to return it if the wick is charred.

5. The Whole Secret to a Candle that throws is to know where the “Throw” comes from. It comes from the melt pool of the candle wax when it burns. The actual fragrance oil burning makes no smell at all. Raw Fragrance only creates soot if burned directly with an oil lamp wick by itself. (don’t try that yourself by the way, its dangerous) This is why Melts or Tarts smell so good when used in a tart melter. The tart melter makes a melt pool to warm up the candle fragrance in the wax pool creating a warm updraft to spread the fragrance throughout your home. The same applies to a Candle. The Melt Pool should be approximately one quarter inch to the thickness of your pinkie finger at the most. A deeper melt pool can make your container hot and could possibly spill onto your customers table or carpeting if bumped so be careful and find the ideal melt pool for your container by varying your wick size up or down. A Melt Pool of one quarter inch works fine in most cases and will throw the fragrance as the candle is burning, making the melt pool, and creating a slight heat updraft from the candle that takes the fragrance with it to fill your home.

We are here to help you be successful. If you have other questions feel free to ask, we are happy to help you with this or any other fragrance application.

How to Figure Melt Points of Waxes and Oils

June 16th, 2010 | Posted in Candle Fragrances, Candle Making Fragrance Oil, Candle Making Wax, Wax Melt Point | 1 Comment »

When Mixing waxes, oils and additives for candle making, it is first important to note that All calculations are made by weights, not volumes or liquid measures. I learn best by example and hopefully you will also. Here is a couple of samples for you to see how it works.

I want to make a pillar candle with a melt point of 145F. I only have a slab of votive wax with a 125 melt point and some C-15 with a melt point of 212. How much of each would I use to get my desired melt point? Heres how it works to calculate raising a melt point..

Votive wax at a 125 mp – 77%, 125 x 77% = 96.25 melt point, 77% of a pound 348.81 grams, 12.32 oz wt

212 MP additive          -23%, 212 x 23% = 48.76 melt point, 23% of a pound is 104.19 grams or 3.68 oz wt

Totals                             -100%                   =145.01 degree melt point

Ok, so you can see how it works to lower a melt point, here is another scenario,

You have some 125 mp votive wax left over and you want to know how much mineral oil to use to make a good one pour container blend at approx 100mp.

Votive wax at a 125 mp – 80%, 125 x 80% = 100.0 melt point, 80% of a pound is 362.4 grams or 12.8 oz wt

Mineral Oil at 0 mp (liquid)20%,     0 x 20% = 0 melt point, 20% of a pound is 90.6 grams or 3.2 oz wt.

Totals                             -100%                   =100.00 degree melt point

You have some extra wax around you want to use up so you are going to mix them together. You want to know what the melt point is so you will know what to use the wax for.

Votive wax at a 125 mp – 70%, 125 x 80% = 100.0 melt point, 80% of a pound is 362.4 grams or 12.8 oz wt

Molded Candle Wax at 140 mp 20%, 140 x 20% =28 melt point, 30% of a pound is 135.9 grams or 4.8 oz wt.

Pillar wax at a 145 mp – 10%, 145 x 10% = 14.5 melt point, 10% of a pound is 362.4 grams or 12.8 oz wt

Totals                                           -100%                   =142.5 degree melt point

(The 142.5 mix above would be an Excellent Molded Candle Blend)

All of the above scenarios will weigh 16 oz or 1 pound but will make 20 oz liquid when melted. Don’t confuse the liquid volume of 1 pound being approx 20 oz liquid melted wax.

Handy reminders for conversions,

453 grams is one pound approx by weight. 28.31 grams per ounce.

16 oz per pound weight, 20 oz liquid melted wax approx per pound of wax

See the Handy Kitchen Measuring page in the frequently asked questions section for more conversion info for cups, pints and other oz to wax fill conversions

Say you were making 4 oz hex jars and they took exactly 4 oz liquid to fill them.

Using 1 pound of any of the above formulas, you would use 1 lb of wax (20 oz liquid), and an ounce of scent per pound. So in reality you would have available from this one pound of wax, 20 oz liquid from the wax, and an additional ounce of scent for a total fill volume of 21 oz. If you did 4 oz jars you would get 5- 4 oz jar fills per pound.

keep this in mind when figuring your costs. You get more than 16 oz of fill volume from a pound of wax with scent. In reality you get 21 oz and alot more product than you had planned on. Your cost per jar just went down using this scenario.

If you have questions concerning anything on this page just give me a quick e-mail at candlemakers@fuse.net