Strange texture

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Pink Dinosaur

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Hey, here’s the details of this candle I made. Do any of you have any insight into why it hardened to look this strange? Thanks for any help!

3.5in diameter container ID
5in tall container
3mm Eco wick
Soy wax, 450g, 12% max fragrance
Melt@74°C
Fragrance@57°C, 27g, 6%
Pour@41°C
Eucalyptus, 5.4g
Lavender, 21.6g
 

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Sorry you never got an answer - if you are still around here is your answer - nothing is wrong with the candle. That is the nature of soy wax, and just what it looks like once it hardens.
You can take a heat gun and smooth it out, however, once they are burned that bumpy top will come back.
HTH
 
Hope you are still around. Your avatar is cute! A couple of things that could have affected the outcome:
1) Soy waxes typically need to be heated to at least 85C (185F) to make sure all of the bonds among the wax molecules are broken (it's a physics thing!).

2) It looks as if you are using essential oils rather than fragrance oils. That is fine for eucalyptus, as it is one of the very few EOs that has large enough molecules and the right chemistry to enable it to work in candles. Not the same for lavender. Most EO molecules are small and can get sucked into the wick, where they will clog it and get burned, which can smell bad and be bad for your lungs. As soon as they are properly bound to a binder or carrier or solvent oil, they are technically a fragrance oil, not an EO. Also, binding is not the same as mixing, so the function of a carrier oil in aromatherapy is not the same as a binder/solvent/carrier oil for FOs. It has to do with physics and chemistry.

3) Scents should be added when the wax is still quite hot and "open", not less than about 70C (160F). You added yours at 57C (135F). Again, physics and chemistry. Many FOs recommend being added at 85C (185F) so the wax molecules are completely separate from each other and the FO can be uniformly distributed. At 57C (135F) the wax molecules are already recreating their crystalline lattice structure, so there is no way the FO/EO can be properly distributed.

4) When adding FO at 82-85C (180-185F), you need to stir fairly vigorously for 2 full minutes. Add 1 minute for every 5-7C drop in temp at which you added the fragrance.

5) I poured my containers at about 65C (63-68C) or 150F (+/- 5F). I experimented pouring from ~80C down to ~38C. At 41C (105F) I also got lousy looking tops. Not as bad as this, but unacceptable.

So given everything in the physics/chemistry lecture above, you are simply working at temps that are too cool. Give it another try at higher temps, use Fragrance Oils rather than EOs, and you will be on your way to making good candles!
 
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