Please Help - Newbie Questions

[herrenfam]

First off, I apologize for not fully researching this on the boards first. I suffer from narcolepsy and i fall asleep when I start reading a lot

I have about 6 pounds of soy wax flakes for container candles.I bought it with 50% and 60% off coupons! I love the stuff. But my daughter convinced me to buy the ArtMinds (Michael's store brand) premium paraffin wax. My question is, can I mix the paraffin with the soy flakes for container candles? If so, what ratio would I use? Also, When I finally get my lye, I'll be venturing into CP soap and I'm very excited. I have olive oil, coconut oil, castor oil, shea butter, and cocoa butter. These are all for skin-improving properties. But how do I use all this paraffin wax, if it's even possible? Thank you so much in advance!

 

[earlene]

Not in soap, but I do use it therapeutically for my hands.

I think the thread needs to be moved to the Candles forum. It's currently in the Lye Based Soap Forum.

All you have to do is ask an admin to move it and they will.

 

[atiz]

Not in soap, but I do use it therapeutically for my hands.

I think the thread needs to be moved to the Candles forum. It's currently in the Lye Based Soap Forum.

All you have to do is ask an admin to move it and they will.

But I thought the question was about whether to use paraffin in soap, so that would belong here!

To the question itself: I have no idea, but I am somewhat skeptical. It does not seem to show up in any soap calculator, so while you may try it as an additive for making a hard bar, kind of like beeswax, it won't itself be made into soap. (I do like beeswax a lot, use it 1-2% in almost every batch, maybe paraffin would be similar?)

 

[Relle]

Not in soap, but I do use it therapeutically for my hands.

I think the thread needs to be moved to the Candles forum. It's currently in the Lye Based Soap Forum.

All you have to do is ask an admin to move it and they will.

Moved to beginners forum

 

[BattleGnome]

People use soy wax in soap, so I’d assume there’s someone who has tried paraffin at some point.

I know nothing about paraffin/candle making but I think soy is often used at 3% or less. When you’re comfortable with soap making you can start adding the wax at lower percentages to see how it behaves for you. Make small batches and add the wax at increments of 1% per batch to see if you like what it does.

I’d also just like to note (since you said you were new) that most oils change their properties after being converted into soap. Coconut is wonderful on skin as a plain oil but it has super cleansing power when made into soap, as a result most people use coconut oil at 25% or less (but there are special cases where you’d use more). I like to suggest SoapQueen to newbies as a reference before they start but she recently moved her blog to her retail site and I’m not sure which posts are where anymore. (And as good as her information/recipes can be she does want to sell you stuff more than she wants to teach you. Just be aware when she uses specialty ingredients).

 

[Susie]

Paraffin is a petroleum product, therefore it lacks triglycerides to be broken down by the lye. So, no, you can't soap with it. Sorry.

 

[lsg]

If you are asking if you can combine paraffin wax and soy wax to make a container candle, I would try a couple of small container candles with different combination amounts to see which combinations work best. You can also use the paraffin wax as carved candles.

 

[atiz]

I think all this is kind of confusing, because people are talking about 2 different things:

1) No, it will not turn into soap (for the reason @Susie said).

2) But yes, you might try to use it as an additive, at 1--2% (as @BattleGnome suggested).

The two are different; a lot of people use additives that do not turn into soap but still contribute something to the bar.

 

[earlene]

First off, I apologize for not fully researching this on the boards first. I suffer from narcolepsy and i fall asleep when I start reading a lot

I have about 6 pounds of soy wax flakes for container candles.I bought it with 50% and 60% off coupons! I love the stuff. But my daughter convinced me to buy the ArtMinds (Michael's store brand) premium paraffin wax. My question is, can I mix the paraffin with the soy flakes for container candles? If so, what ratio would I use? Also, When I finally get my lye, I'll be venturing into CP soap and I'm very excited. I have olive oil, coconut oil, castor oil, shea butter, and cocoa butter. These are all for skin-improving properties. But how do I use all this paraffin wax, if it's even possible? Thank you so much in advance!

Sorry, I only noticed the question about using it in container candles.

I suspect you can, since you can also buy wax blends, but again, not a soap topic, so I cannot address that part of your question.

As for use in soap, as Susie says, I would lean toward no. It would just make your soap very waxy. If you really want to try, go ahead, but I don't think anyone would like it much. I have used lanolin, which at least has some saponifiables, but too much lanolin makes for a very sticky and very draggy (drags on the skin) kind of soap that is not at all pleasant.

However, I did find this thread: https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/paraffin.26371/

 

[dixiedragon]

Is there a reason you want to combine soy and parrafin in a candle?

Some folks here are using soy wax at 40% in their CP soaps and like it. My understanding is that it replaces lard, palm or tallow. So maybe:

40% soy wax
20% coconut (not liquid)
5% castor
35% olive (or sunflower, or rice bran)

 

[jcandleattic]

My question is, can I mix the paraffin with the soy flakes for container candles

Yes, you can, as long as the paraffin you are mixing the soy with is a container paraffin blend. Otherwise it would be too hard of a wax and burn to hot for containers making it unsafe.

ArtMinds (Michael's store brand) premium paraffin wax

This is a straight high melt point paraffin and not recommended for containers. You'd be better off making a pillar with it and not blending with soy.

'll be venturing into CP soap and I'm very excited. I have olive oil, coconut oil, castor oil, shea butter, and cocoa butter. These are all for skin-improving properties. But how do I use all this paraffin wax, if it's even possible?

I would not use this paraffin (or any paraffin) in a soap. It will not saponify, could possibly seize your batter, and cause it to separate. Especially with this paraffin you would have to soap at a VERY high temperature in order to keep the wax melted long enough to mix, and even then, it'd be iffy.
As someone said above, it could be used as a wax dip (for hands and such) if you used some addititve (microcrystaline, vybar, and some mineral oil) to soften it up, but even then it might be too hard to use as a hand dip.

 

[herrenfam]

Thank you for pointing out that the paraffin won’t saponify. Good thing you caught that for me! I’ll do as you suggested - make some pillar candles with the wax so that way it won’t be a waste of money!