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Great idea! You could color the powdered milk and maybe add epsom salts or clay? Cool, I'll give it a go. Thanks Scented. Stevce

I have an electric two top burner on my bench with separate adjustable heat controls (Wally World-GE) which holds glass coffe carafes filled with wax. If I'm testing a new fo, I take out enough for the one candle and put my thermometer probe (oven type with long silver cord) to monitor the temp and agitate for 2 minutes (set on the thermometer) and then pour into the container. If I'm pouring 10 fragrances and only a few per fragrance; I line up my similar fragrances and don't clean up in between. HTH Steve

Oh gosh, I have a full concrete basement and fortunately a whole side is dedicated to my craft. I have work lights over a long bench and shelves over the bench that hold supplies currently being used and then there are the shelves with supplies for other seasonal stuff. Cabinets full of molds, dyes, oils, waxes, jars (hundreds) you name it. Its totally insane but at least I have resolved to use up my current supplies (oops I did order about 5 new pounds of fo but that doesn't count) before buying any more. The soap stuff seems to be overtaking the candle stuff and I sell a lot more of it than candle. I keep thinking that someday the lab will get a total makeover, lol. You gotta love it. Steve

Consider 6% as your starting point and add as meets your taste (why else do you think companies offer 1 ounce samples as a general rule of thumb?). I started with a votive kit from Cajun Candles (J-50 wax)and bagged up the votives with my label and gave them as Valentines gifts to friends, neighbors and co-workers. They became my customer base and eventually I landed several wholesale accounts which kept me running day and night. I went from J-50 to J-223 to Green Leaf (Clarus 3022) and haven't looked back. Combustion of heavy vanilla fragrances will create shrooms, no matter what you do. Vanilla causes cold process soap to turn brown or tan. I find that clear fos that are formulated to smell like vanilla but don't actually contain vanilla work the best in both soap and candles. Now some folks are going to highly disagree with me on that conclusion but if you want to simplify your results; look for fragrance oils that have low amounts of vanilla or cinnamon. Here's my formula: 2 12 ounce jars will hold 8 ounces comfortably and that equals 15 ounces of wax and 1 ounce of fragrance oil or almost a 7% load. I don't color. I will color if asked but nobody ever asks. Candles are highly competitive in a flooded, cooled off market with tons of cheapies. Why do my customers come back? Your candles are better and you have fragrances that nobody else has at Walmart. I created the name, the label, and have no help from anyone. I closed my business down and notified the state tax folks that they weren't getting anymore of my money and only sell to a select few of customers. I'll open back up when the market improves and I'm retired. Personally, I didn't care for your wax and only liked the 85 % 6006 with 15% soy; if I couldn't get Clarus 3022.

I have one in use and one waiting in the shop if ever my old one conks out. Bass Pro Shop used to place these on sale in the fall but this style of fryer has been discontinued due to people burning up their homes with exploding turkeys. Electric Turkey Fryer: The Cajun Injector Electric Turkey Fryer is the original electric turkey fryer that was introduced a few years ago. The Cajun Injector Electric Turkey Fryer is the SAME electric turkey fryer that was originally made by Masterbuilt. This 28 quart electric turkey fryer with digital controls includes an auto shut-off and a seafood kettle with adjustable digital thermostat control. The Cajun Injector Electric Turkey Fryer is countertop safe and has a powder coat finish. You can take out the stainless steel tub and clean it and put it back in without a problem and the spout never clogs up. It doesn't burn the wax (parasoy) and it holds 25 to 30 pounds comfortably. You can heat up your wax in a heartbeat and be ready to go by the time you have everything ready to pour. You better buy it while you can and get another one for back up, and no you can't have mine, lol. Steve

Think of fo percentage as part of a recipe. You like your cake to be really sweet and lots of vanilla, so you add more sugar and vanilla extract but there's a limit; you can't double the sugar or you ruin the cake. Some fos are highly concentrated and their formulations have been based on a particular medium such as soy or paraffin. The idea is that even though a highly concentrated fo is more expensive, it takes less to do the job and is actually cheaper on the bottom line. This the wrong craft for a perfectionist. Too many variables for what appears to be fairly simple and which is complicated by personal taste. If your husband thinks the candles are good, then trust his judgement and put your product out there. The real factor behind this industry is the idea that somehow you can create something new and wonderful that everyone will beat a path to your door and all the sacrifice will pay off. I love to create but not much of a salesman (sigh). I'm lucky that over the years my sales have allowed me to break even and play with candles and soap but I am not deluded. I know if all this "stuff" were to be added up, along with my hours of research and back breaking work; the hole would be pretty deep. Take a deep breath and start doing it or give it up and learn a lesson. I promise that once you take the plunge; you'll wonder why it took you so long. I've been using Clarus 3022 for about 7 years and that's my wax. I know it inside and out and what it will and won't do. HTH Steve

Thee Rose Jam reminds me of Camay brand soap with a touch of sweetness. It soaped beautifully and the fragrance has great depth. Rock Star is very nice but accelerated a tad on me. I want to soap Comforter and Champagne Snow Showers next.

Great ideas. I have back orders for the softball size mondo bombs and feedback on bath bombs in general is very positive. The bath could make a major come back if this keeps up. I think a little duckie would be cool, just not sure how that would hold up against the citric acid. Maybe the different fragrance core makes more sense, Scented. I think you could add fo to a clump of shea butter and or color and mold the bomb around it or make a smaller bomb and then coat it with the larger mold. I thought about placing a vitamin e gel in the center. Just have to monkey around with it. I made three batches of soap yesterday (my stock is almost gone) and am totally worn out. Thanks for the help. Steve

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How are they doing, health wise? I really miss that resource, as they used to sell my 3022 wax and some of my favorite fos. I honestly think Alabaster came up with the fragrance but their version was spot on IMHO. Please post the list when you can, TIA. Steve

Good luck CB but I read some pretty convincing arguments on the qualities of lanolin. I use it sparingly and think that maybe its real value is in other cosmetic applications,as it has no real property other than as a layer of protection on the skin by its nature. Mango butter or a combo of Argan and Mango might be another alternative but a greasy one. HTH Steve

I would go with a cd wick. Zincs just don't hold up to soy (a percentage of 6006 is soy) but testing will tell the tale. Try cd or cdn wicks, lx wicks, eco wicks and go for sampler packs. I think the KY line from Aroma Haven/Rustic Essentials has the the best bakery fragrances for the price. The first rule of thumb is to see if you have a local outlet close by and start with that distributor. Buy everything in sampler type bundles. You can save a lot of cash by trying out 1 or 2 ounce fragrance oils and buying slabs of wax. The Prim market is a good one if you study and find out what's being offered in your locale. This phase of the journey is no piece of cake and a lot of folks drop out because they get discouraged at handcrafting something that looks easy. I'll take soaping any day over chandlering but that's just my opinion. Welcome to the Board and good luck with your adventure. Just keep your hand on the credit card and stay focused. Steve

So far, I'm having a blast with bath bombs (no pun intended) but would like to make a mondo bomb with a surprise center or a center that would add something special to the overall affect. Does anyone have an idea about that? TIA Steve

I would suggest jojoba. The qualities are pretty close and its not going to increase that greasy feeling you get with butters. JMO

I really appreciate those suppliers who are using flat rate shipping. Regardless, CB is right about shopping around for the best overall price. I wish there were more Amazon type deals available (Prime) where the shipping fee is included and not an additional amount. You have to be a smart shopper and hope that your plans work out so you can at least break even or make a marginal bit of profit. I miss the better economical times when you charge decent retail and wholesale prices for your product. Steve

I took a coated wire hanger and covered it with a ribbed drinking straw. The ribs pick up the soap and create very tiny patterns through the soap. I use it all the time. Skewers for the tops is a snap and thats about it.

Well cd or cdn are described as almost self-trimming wicks ands ecos are described as self-strimming. My experience has been that wicks are coated in different ways. Some have a heavy wax coating that makes them rigid and stand alone while the same wick from another source has a very light coating and is limp. The cdn wicks from Candle Coccoon used to have a heavy coating and burned much better but the last batch didn't have that same coating. Now you know the truth about people who burn candles. They don't ususally maintain the wicks. My only gripe with cd or cdn is that they tend to create a one sided melt pool for about 1/2 of the burn and create hang-up. I've tried about every wick known to the universe and always come back to cd or cdn or csn (same diff). I just wish they would go back to a rigid heavy coating. HTH Stevce

Ok, using one ounce in a two pound log mold, bath bombs and all Lush dupes but one: Supernova-beautiful-perfect-5 stars, Sultana-same results, just beautiful and so easy to soap-5 stars, Rose Jam-Scented says, "Stinky" but I say, "came alive in soap and is very sexy and feminine" -5 stars, Jungle-My absolute favorite for bath bombs,soap anything-10 stars, Cucumber/Melon-what can I say? perfection 100 stars. The Lush dupes are taking off with customers and its hard to keep product. I have more samples to test but so far FB is really impressing me with the way these formulations behave in cp and bath bombs. I'm not to sure about candles and frankly, I'd rather put these in b&b applications than candles but we'll see. HTH Steve

Made a batch of Jungle-Lush type bath bombs and a batch of soap with Rose Jam-Lush type, awesome fragrances.

I agree with CB on the Tassi Lavender but my favorite is True Lavender from the now closed Tennessee Candle Supply. I have about 8 oz left, so sad.

Gosh J-50 brings back old memories, as does J-223. Old school waxes that colored beautifully and were pretty easy to wick (hated the sooting and shrooms). Shipping is such a killer to the bottom line. Buy the pallet and don't look back. Steve

The wick is designed to leave about an inch at the bottom for safety, so that's good. Vanilla tends to clog up a wick and usually requires a wick-up. I'm assuming that you are adding some form of soy to your 4627? You might try a larger wick instead of double wicking, unless you just enjoy the extra effort. I never did care for either type of wick you mentioned using but that's just me. Try a single larger wick if you have sampler packs of those wicks. I think an lx would work a little better for you or a cd maybe. You didn't mention the hot or cold throw you are getting from this formula. Good luck and welcome to the Board. Steve

CB? I mean, well what can I say? I live on the side of the road in a little hut made of soap molds; you can thank Miss Candybee for my homeless condition. Oooh I wish they had slabs with dividers. Please stop me from buying another soap mold. Those micas look awesome though......I'm running out of micas for my bombs. Where's my credit card? Did I mention that I'm a member of "Hand-Crafters Anonymous"?

Cucumber Melon-Fragance Buddy-No A or D and sticks like glue-very authentic Jungle (Lush Type)-Wowzer, so good (little pricey) but no A or D and sticks Supernova (Lush Typer)-Fantastic! No A or D, sticks really well Sultana (Lush Type)-Same as above So far all the Lush dupes are excellent. Reasonably priced oils that are very potent and easy to work with in any application. The turnaround on orders is amazing and shipping is free with orders over $100.00! I give Fragrance Buddy two thumbs up!

Its described as "modified" tapioca starch? I halved the amount of it in the formula with the slsa and added a tbl of Kaolin to this last batch of Supernova and used the citric acid as last ingredient method and got beautiful bombs. I used white, blue and red colors and everything worked out just fine. Used Apricot Kernel, Rice Bran and Sweet Almond for the oils and ran everything through a sieve after adding the citric. Spritzed with witch hazel and never got a single bubble. Thanks for the tip. Steve