Holes under surface in soy wax candle? Help!

[Emily.182]

Hi!

I'm new to candle making and have only made a few candles so far. Every candle I've make has had these holes (see picture) that only appear about 10-15 minutes into the initial burn. The melt pool also starts bubbling.

The surface of my candles are smooth once they have set so it's impossible to see if these holes will appear until after I've started using the candle. I want to be able to eventually sell these candles but feel concerned about the fact that my candles seem perfect until the wax starts to melt!

Has anyone got any idea what might be causing this and how I can stop it from happening?

I am using the Kerasoy container wax in glass jars.

 

[Nona'sFarm]

Wish I had some answers for you. I have only used Golden Wax brand and have not had this issue.
If you got the wax from a candle company, do they have a Help Line or Customer Service department you can contact?

I was thinking about this some more and wonder if they are air bubbles. Is there a recommended pour temperature for the wax you are using? Make sure you are following that. Also, are you stirring your wax as it melts? I find that vigorous stirring can create air bubbles.

 

[Emily.182]

Wish I had some answers for you. I have only used Golden Wax brand and have not had this issue.
If you got the wax from a candle company, do they have a Help Line or Customer Service department you can contact?

I was thinking about this some more and wonder if they are air bubbles. Is there a recommended pour temperature for the wax you are using? Make sure you are following that. Also, are you stirring your wax as it melts? I find that vigorous stirring can create air bubbles.

Thanks for your reply!

Yes, the recommended pour temperature is 45-55°C and I've been pouring at 45°C. Do you think it would make a difference to pour at the higher end of this range, maybe at 55°C instead? Also, I've been trying to keep the stirring to a minimum and only really after I've added the fragrance as I've noticed bubble starting to form when I've been stirring too.

Thanks

 

[Nona'sFarm]

A couple of more thoughts:
1) You are on the right path. It is very important to do a burn test for each new container/wick combination. Here is a link to the CandleScience guide.
https://www.candlescience.com/learning/how-to-conduct-a-burn-test
2) The bubbles may not matter to others, if the candle looks good, burns consistently, etc.
3) After you are happy with your burn test, have some friends try your candles and ask for feedback. I gave out forms with categories and all they had to do was rate each category from 1 - 10. They were "anonymous," they mailed them back ( I supplied the envelopes and stamps.) I felt that way they would be more honest. You don't have to be so formal, I just felt they might be more honest. Just brace yourself to know that what's important to others isn't always important to you. I looked for themes - so if only one person didn't care for the container, I didn't worry about it. But if 50% or more didn't like it, I paid attention.
Alternatively, you can just let your market/customers guide you, as I do now, by making small quantities and seeing what sells.
4) Finally, I have found that I sell the majority of my candles and wax melts in the fall and winter; at least here, candles tend to be seasonal. The only candles I make for the summer are the citronella soy and beeswax candles.

 

[jcandleattic]

This happens in candles all the time. What happened is the candle cooled too quickly, shrunk causing sink holes (air pockets) - to avoid in the future all you have to do is once the wax sets up, poke relief holes, and do a repour.
It usually happens more frequently with paraffin wax, but can happen with ALL waxes.

 

[LilyJo]

Yep I echo @jcandleattic seems it happens more with soy. Some fragrances seem to be worse than others but other than remedying, poking holes etc, it's pretty hard to avoid.