Introducing...

This time of year the established candle makers daily routine involves how to make more candles in a day, so the process of selecting a wax to use in production is not normally a task that is engaged. However, this is also the time of year many people are being exposed to candle making for the first time, so we feel it would be appropriate to “introduce” the various wax choices available and how to select the proper wax.

If you are well entrenched in candle production this will still be a worthwhile reading in that you have probably seen the market place has undergone a tremendous change. There are many types of waxes in the market, and we will break this series into two parts. Today we will feature choosing a blend or straight paraffin for containers and pillars. In our January issue, we will highlight the ever growing Natural wax market.

When starting out making candles, the first question that has to be answered is if you wish to use a blend or a straight paraffin wax. The demand for candle blends has increased over the last number of years and will continue to increase. Blends are easy to use because all of the necessary additives, except the UV, scent and color are part of the blend.

In most instances you melt this wax, add the color, scent and UV, and you can pour your candles. If you are only making a couple of candles and wish to simplify the learning curve, a blend is the perfect wax for starting out.

By now you have to be asking, if it was that easy why would I want to use anything else? While blends are easy to use, if you have a unique application or are looking to achieve something different, then a blend may not fit your requirements. Using a “straight paraffin” allows you to create a unique and one-of-a-kind look by testing different additives in your formulation. You can change the look of your candle through the course of the year having vibrant colors for the spring and summer, and pastel and more neutral colors in the fall and winter.

As you grow and your wax consumption increases, there are more savings that can be achieved by using straight paraffins. Blends are developed for all levels of scent load, so in many instances, more additives are added to accommodate that variation in scent loads. In addition blends involve labor on the manufacturing side and you pay for that cost in the blend.

If you are going to use a blend and wish to make containers, the next step is choosing which blend to use. The first is the blend that is paraffin based and generally has good scent throw, both hot and cold, but will require topping off. In our family of waxes this is our best selling CBL-129.

The next type of container blend is the paraffin/petrolatum formulation this would encompass the CBL-125, J-50 and J-223. These waxes have petrolatum in the formulation and function as low shrink waxes.

These have the tendency to be the highest price because petrolatum is an expensive component.

The third type of container blend is a hybrid of paraffin and Soy. This wax would be the CBL-130 and the recently discontinued J-300. This wax is great for making layered candles and the first step towards making Soy waxes.

For the pillars it is much easier in that low shrink waxes do not exist and in general you are choosing a wax that will create a nice smooth creamy look. This would include our CBL-141 and many others on the market.

Depending on who you talk to, a wax that mottles may be considered a straight paraffin or a blend. NOT all waxes will mottle, and a wax that has been designed for this application should be used to achieve best results. The best mottling waxes are the H series we offer.

If you elect to use a straight paraffin for containers a melt point wax between 121-129 is ideal. If you go much above a 129, it will be difficult to get a wick to burn the full diameter of the container. In our family of wax the Container Fill (CF) or the 3032 are the perfect starting base.

Hi! I'm Chandler! I can help you learn how to make candles.

CHANDLER'S CORNER

In addition to selecting the proper wick the Custom Wick Builder also is asking me to choose other options on the wick coating and sustainer base, are these important?

They can be for the performance of the candle, how you make your candles and how you wish to market the candle. After you select the quantity, height and wick type, you then chose the sustainer base. While the most popular base is the 20 mm x 3 mm there are other choices and the type of candle you make will determine which clip. The 15 mm (about size of a dime) is good for tea lights, the 33 is good for centering votive and for small containers and a wick base like 20 x 9 mm would be good to use in gel candles. You should definitely do some research to determine which wick sustainer to use and which will make the safest burning candle.

After the sustainer base the type of wax is next. The super-high melt will be the most rigid of the wicks, and if you are using a hot pour process this wax should be used. If you are making natural candles you may want to choose the beeswax.

Since every component has an impact on the safety of the candle should research to make sure you are using all of the right components.

We hope you enjoyed this issue of the En-Light-ener.
Thank you for your continued interest and support.
Our goal is to make this newsletter as entertaining and educational as possible.
Let us know if you have any ideas on how we can improve.

Candlewic Company
3765 Old Easton Road
Doylestown, Pennsylvania 18901
800-368-3352

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Issue Index

June 2008 - Fall Candle Season Starts Now, Extraordinary Candle Making Project, and more...

May 2008 -- Green Candle Making, Green Candle Projects, and more...

April 2008 -- Recent Candle Industry Price Increases, Aluminum Mold Candle Project, and more...

March 2008 -- Straight Wax, Exciting New Candle Making Products, and more...

February 2008 -- Business Side of Candle Making, Ice Candle Project, and more...

January 2008 -- Basics of Blended Wax Candles, Rose Floater Candle Project, and more...

December 2007 -- 12 Days of Business, 2007 Candle Making Projects, and more...

November 2007 -- Show Time for Candle Making, Making Snow Candles, and more...

October 2007 -- Ready, Set, GO candle making, Candle Luminaries, and more...

September 2007 -- GREENING Your Product Line and Your Bottom Line…, One-Pour Candle Tins, and more...

August 2007 -- Candle Making's Center of Focus, Making Streak Candles, and more...

July 2007 -- The Latest in Candle Making Products, Votive Candle Project, and more...

June 2007 -- Setting Your Candles' Sale Price, Summer Candle Projects, and more...

May 2007 -- Determining Your Candle Making Costs, Using Extra Candle Wax, and more...

April 2007 -- Natural Wax Buzz Part 2, Layered natural candles, and more...

March 2007--Crucial details of candle making, Candle projects with no melting required, and more...

February 2007--How to choose a candle making mold, Making custom candle molds, and more...

January 2007--"Green" Candle Making, tri-color jar candle project, and more...

December 2006--Looking into the candle making future, 2006 candle projects, and more...

November 2006--Introducing...a candle making introduction, candle projects, and more...

October 2006--Prime time: candle wicks, taper candle projects, and more...

September 2006--Clearly still here:Gel candle making, one-pour tins, and more...

August 2006--Fragrance - the driving force of candle making, a new contest, and more...

July 2006--Planning your production, using granulated wax, and more...

June 2006--Our 35th Year, using aluminum candle molds, how much candle fragrance to use, and more...

May 2006--Summertime candle making, making natural lemon candles and more...

April 2006--Choose the candle wick, making tealight candles and more...

March 2006--Choose the right wick base, blending soy wax with paraffin, making palm wax candles and more...

February 2006--The roll of wax additives in a blended wax world, UV additives, making grubby candles and more...

January 2006--The secrets of soy wax candles, more ways to use candles, making soy wax container candles and more...

December 2005--Planning for the new year, announcing our new home, secrets about wicks, and more...

November 2005--Holiday candle making, ideas to sell more candles, making luminaries and more...

October 2005--Temperture issues when making candles, how to start making candles and more...

September 2005--Choose the right candle mold, ASTM safety standards, and more...

August 2005--Color and Fragrance trends, choosing the right candle making tools, and more...

July 2005--Planning for efficient production, Marketing your Candles, Making Swirl Candles, and more...

June 2005--New market trends in candle shapes and textures, Making Textured Candles, and more...

May 2005--The trends and science of candle fragrances, Making Mottled Candles, and more...

April 2005--How to select the proper candle wick, Top Colors, Making "Earthy" Chunk Candles, and more...

March 2005--Selecting the right wax Part III, Our Top Waxes, Making Floral Candles, Our History and more...

February 2005--Selecting the right wax Part II, Our Top Fragrances, Making Fruit Candles and more...

January 2005--Selecting the right wax, Using blended wax, Coloring wax, Making Layered Jar Candles and more...

December 2004--All about candle making fragrances, Making Grubby Candles and more...

November 2004--Choosing Color for your candle making, Making snowball candles and more...

October 2004--Candle Making Busy Season, Making Palm Wax Candles, Speeding Up Candle Production and more...

September 2004--Candle Wax Melters, Making Sense of your Candle Scents, Making Taper Candles and more...

August 2004--Getting Ready For The Season, Using Votive Pins To Make Votive Candles, No Melt Candle Making and more...

July 2004--Some History & What's New, Paraffin Myths, Making Golf Ball Candles and more...

June 2004--Choosing the Right Candle Wax for Your Needs, Making One-Pour Tins and more...

May 2004--Investigating New Products, Burn Testing, Making Freestanding Gel Pillars & Novelties and more...

April 2004--Candle Making Trends, Rolled Candles with Beeswax Sheets, Making Taper Candles and more...

March 2004--Color Theory & Techniques, Floating Candle Molds, Making Tealight Candles and more...

February 2004--Mold Techniques, Computers and Candlemaking, Making Easter Egg Chunk Candles and more...

January 2004--Marketing Natural Wax and Paraffin Candles, Layering Natural Wax Candles and more...

December 2003--Holiday Greetings, 2003 Year in Review, The 6 P's, Making Icicle Candles and more...

November 2003--Building Your Candle Product Line, Making Holiday Ornaments & Soap-on-a-Wick and more...

October 2003--Marketing Your Candles, Polyurethane Molds, Making Lemon Candles, and more...

September 2003--Packaging & Labeling, Essential Oils, Making Rolled Pillars with Beeswax Sheets, and more...

August 2003--Using Palm Wax, Increasing Your Profit Margins, Using Aluminum Molds, and more...

July 2003--Ultra Violet Light Absorbers, Reducing Shipping Costs, Dipping Techniques, and more...

June 2003--Choosing the Right Wick, Using a Wick Stick, Making Floater Candles, and more...

May 2003--New Products Review, Pouring Temperatures, Finishes For Your Candles, and more...

April 2003--Selecting Paraffin, Natural and “Hybrid” Waxes, Using Pillar Pins, and more...

March 2003--Selling & Marketing Candles, Making it Easier to Make Pillars, Wax Art Crystals and more...

February 2003--Pouring Temperatures, Votive Tips, Making Grubby Candles, and more...

January 2003--Candle Making Safety Tips, Instruction Labels, What To Do With Extra Wax and more...

December 2002--Polycarbonate Molds, Making Clear Snowball Candles, and more...

November 2002--Candle Making as a Second Language, The Story of Chandler, Natural F Wax, and more...

October 2002--Candle Making as a Second Language, Projects Review and more...

September 2002--Accessorizing Your Manufacturing, Making Clear Pillar Candles, and more...

July/August 2002--Making Cinnamon Roll Candles, Clear Pillar Base, New Products, and more...

May/June 2002--Back to Basics, Making F Wax Candles, and more...

April 2002--Making Streaked Candles, Wax 101 part 3: Natural Wax, and more...

March 2002--Making Crackled Candles, Wax 101 part 2: Gel Wax, and more...

February 2002--Making Easter Egg Candles, Wax 101: An Overview, and more...

January 2002 --Review of 2001, Frosty Snowman Candles, New Products, Safety Info and more...

December 2001--Botanical candles, making white candles white and more...

November 2001--Chunk candles, clearance sale!, candlemaking books and more...

October 2001--The new candle market, choosing gels, votive wicks and more...

August 2001--New products, new location , new web site and more...

July 2001--Selling & Marketing Candles (part 3), Candle Burn Times and more...

June 2001--Selling & Marketing Candles (part 2), UV Light Absorbers, Wax Additive Recommendations and more...

May 2001--Selling & Marketing Candles, Burning Instructions, Selecting Sustainer Bases and more...

April 2001--Natural Waxes, Candle Burn Times, Wax Pouring Temperatures and more...

March 2001--Making Wax Inserts, Blended vs. Non-Blended Waxes, Colors, Fragrances and more...

February 2001--Whipped Wax, Wax Art Crystal Wax, Gel Candles, Using Containers and more...