Do any of you make candles to go with

[hlee]

your soap?
I really don't want to but thought it would be cool to have matching scents for the tub.
Maybe I can make DH do candles. lol.

 

[CaliChan]

What's DH?
I don't make candles but I'd sure love to one day

 

[hlee]

DH is my husband.

 

[melstan775]

DH is "Dear Husband" Cali. I think candles are a lovely idea, and I have been researching them A LOT lately. They are easy even if time consuming: Melt wax. Add color and fragerence. Pour into container. Recenter wick if necassary. They cure quickly in 1-2 weeks. The tricky part is just making sure you use the right kind of wax. I like the idea soy wax in tin containers. No need to make sure the wax adheres like when using a glass jar because you can't see it from the outside anyway. Also a little soy wax with cocoa, shea, and sweet almond oil = massage candle!

 

[misskat22]

I already do candles and I'm going to be making soap to match. That way if people want baskets or just would like the soap scent other places in their house they can

 

[new12soap]

A lot of people do make candles to go with bath sets, or just because they love making them, BUT, I have to disagree that they are easy. There are many different types of wax, even more wick types, additives, and getting the right wick to work with the right wax in the right application takes a LOT of work and time and research and trial and error. I haven't even attempted candles, and all of the friends I know that do have said flat out that candles are MUCH harder than soap.

Another consideration is insurance. As I understand it, the liability for candles is much higher than with soaps and B&B products, and a lot of homeowners' policies will not cover any claims if you make candles at your residence and something goes wrong. Again, I don't make them and I do not have any hard numbers for you, but a consideration to take into account if you decide to try it.

I am not discouraging you from doing it at all, just saying take your time and learn all you can so you can do it safely

 

[melstan775]

Let me rephrase that. The process is easy. There are of course many considerations in choosing your wax - container type, candle shape, scent throw, scent fade, color morph. But you know, lye burns, alien brain, not so much a worry with candles.

Something else you just said there makes me want to ask a question. I think I will call my insurance agent and ask, and I will post what she says if it's of any use. I want to ask basically, if candle and soap making aren't covered for in-home manufacturing, what would be required to make such applications eligible for coverage. If insurers like farmer's and allstate won't cover it, insurance companies that specialize in commercial insurance might. Not all insurance companies specialize in the same services even if they are all licensed to do it. Brunswick comes to mind. They cover everything but they specialize in commercial and professional liability. I wonder if they would do in-home liability for manufacturing. Probably not but maybe I will ask anyway.

 

[jcandleattic]

your soap?
I really don't want to but thought it would be cool to have matching scents for the tub.
Maybe I can make DH do candles. lol.

I do. (hence the username!) but learning candles was way harder and very much more expensive than soap was. IMO anyway...
But good luck! It is fun once you have all the testing out of the way!

 

[jcandleattic]

Let me rephrase that. The process is easy. There are of course many considerations in choosing your wax - container type, candle shape, scent throw, scent fade, color morph. But you know, lye burns, alien brain, not so much a worry with candles.

Something else you just said there makes me want to ask a question. I think I will call my insurance agent and ask, and I will post what she says if it's of any use. I want to ask basically, if candle and soap making aren't covered for in-home manufacturing, what would be required to make such applications eligible for coverage. If insurers like farmer's and allstate won't cover it, insurance companies that specialize in commercial insurance might. Not all insurance companies specialize in the same services even if they are all licensed to do it. Brunswick comes to mind. They cover everything but they specialize in commercial and professional liability. I wonder if they would do in-home liability for manufacturing. Probably not but maybe I will ask anyway.

Umm, you can totally get alien brains in candles. Especially if you use too much of, or the wrong kind of additives with the wrong kind of waxes. And each blend has it's unique qualities, that lend different things to different techniques.
Even the process is not really all that easy. Well, the process is,(melting and pouring) but getting a candle that will burn correctly for the right amount of time is many many months, $ and supplies worth of testing and retesting. And then, if you change one teeny tiny thing, oh, well, there you go, you have to test that new item as well.
IMO learning to make soap was incredibly easy compared to candle making.

Oh and my insurance covers me for both candlemaking and soap making in my home, but I have had it for many years, that might be the difference. IDK but I'm not gonna question it. LOL

 

[melstan775]

a-ha! Learn something new everyday. I have yet to see anything about some of the things that can go wrong with candlemaking. Thank you for your input on that one, since no one else wants to share. Do you mind if I ask who your insurance company is? Many people here can't find a carrier, or keep getting turned down. There was a thread on it not that long ago.

 

[jcandleattic]

a-ha! Learn something new everyday. I have yet to see anything about some of the things that can go wrong with candlemaking. Thank you for your input on that one, since no one else wants to share. Do you mind if I ask who your insurance company is? Many people here can't find a carrier, or keep getting turned down. There was a thread on it not that long ago.

Yep, and I answered on it. I have State Farm. It's my homeowners and home business insurance. And car, and boat, motorcycle, etc., LOL They insure everything for me.

 

[Mindyw86]

I agree, the process it's self is easy but the testing can be a real PITA! What works for me, even if you do it the same way, may not work for you wherever you live. The different wicks, waxes, containers, styles takes a lot of testing and every time you think you are done testing, u find a new jar, scent, or something you want to try and you have to thoroughly test that and so on. I have been making candles for about 3 1/2 years and spent a lot of money in testing and still am when I find a new container or something I want to try.

I am not all trying to discourage anyone interested, because I LOVE my candles! Lol just want to be honest and hopefully helpful in anyway I can

 

[green soap]

I am going to be making my third batch and even though the first batch was worthless, we enjoyed the second batch. The efforts are almost comical so far. Good thing this is just for our enjoyment and not to sell.

I don't want to match soap and candle scent, I just want to make bees wax candles. I get the bees wax in bulk from a local bees keeper and it has that wonderful honey scent. The second attempt let us enjoy a few hours of the candle, and I just love that scent. I love everything about it, including the light quality. I might occasionally get 'fancy' with my soaps, but I want simple unscented bees wax candles.

On my first attempt I used both 2 1/2 and 3 inch diameter mason jars (4 and 8 oz) and hemp wicks. I just had the wicks around. I recycled the little metal stubs from one of hubby's candles.

So the candle barely burned, but the wick burned very well. There was this 1/4 inch hole burned right down the candle, with most of the wax intact.

OK, no problem, re-melt the wax, and use a different wick. By then I had learned that for bees wax you use 100% cotton. I bought BBs WU-450, supposedly for candle diameters 3.5-4 inches, and pool wax 3 inches.

So I used the new wicks, one of my containers was 3 inches diameter, and the other one was only 2.5 inches. The pool wax (supposed to be 3 inches) was only 1 inch diameter, in both.

OK, don't laugh because that was an improvement. If I could get that thing to burn at the container diameter, it lasts a super long time too. All and smelling so sweet. I guess it is back to BB (or maybe I'll try bulk apothecary???) to get heftier and heftier wicks. Cotton wicks, but bigger. WU-150???? Buy 10 of each size?

Can you hear the sound of cash registers going here? I started using stuff I had, recycled containers, wicks.......now off I go to BB.....

 

[jcandleattic]

I am going to be making my third batch and even though the first batch was worthless, we enjoyed the second batch. The efforts are almost comical so far. Good thing this is just for our enjoyment and not to sell.

I don't want to match soap and candle scent, I just want to make bees wax candles. I get the bees wax in bulk from a local bees keeper and it has that wonderful honey scent. The second attempt let us enjoy a few hours of the candle, and I just love that scent. I love everything about it, including the light quality. I might occasionally get 'fancy' with my soaps, but I want simple unscented bees wax candles.

On my first attempt I used both 2 1/2 and 3 inch diameter mason jars (4 and 8 oz) and hemp wicks. I just had the wicks around. I recycled the little metal stubs from one of hubby's candles.

So the candle barely burned, but the wick burned very well. There was this 1/4 inch hole burned right down the candle, with most of the wax intact.

OK, no problem, re-melt the wax, and use a different wick. By then I had learned that for bees wax you use 100% cotton. I bought BBs WU-450, supposedly for candle diameters 3.5-4 inches, and pool wax 3 inches.

So I used the new wicks, one of my containers was 3 inches diameter, and the other one was only 2.5 inches. The pool wax (supposed to be 3 inches) was only 1 inch diameter, in both.

OK, don't laugh because that was an improvement. If I could get that thing to burn at the container diameter, it lasts a super long time too. All and smelling so sweet. I guess it is back to BB (or maybe I'll try bulk apothecary???) to get heftier and heftier wicks. Cotton wicks, but bigger. WU-150???? Buy 10 of each size?

Can you hear the sound of cash registers going here? I started using stuff I had, recycled containers, wicks.......now off I go to BB.....

I've never used beeswax in a container before. They just don't burn well in containers, and if you get it to burn right and out to the edges, be careful. Beeswax gets really hot because it has such a high mp.
I've only known of people either making tapers or rolled beeswax sheet candles with 100% bw.
Let us know how the continued experimentation goes.