help. why is this happening?

[Refael Eran Skira]

would appreciate some advice on this.
so I used only soy wax . fragrance at 10% (pure lavender essential oil -not 40/42)
color is pink and white.
blended fragrance at 165F .
what do you think the problems is? why would the white stuff float around the edges? what actually is it and why is it happening
Refaek

 

[lsg]

I would guess too much essential oil. I wouldn't go higher than 6%. You can try using a hair dryer or heat gun to melt the top of the candle to even out the wax.

 

[Quanta]

What specific wax did you use? What did you use for color? You said you blended the fragrance at 165F, but what temperature was it when you poured?

 

[jcandleattic]

Hi Rafaek,
This is what is called "blooming" and is a very common thing that happens in soy wax candles, especially 100% soy. There is nothing wrong with the wax, and it's only an aesthetic problem.
I know most soy waxes can hold up to 12% fragrance loads, so that isn't the problem.
You can try using a heat gun, but I would assume it would just come back after the first time the candle is burned.

Hope this helped.

 

[Refael Eran Skira]

I would guess too much essential oil. I wouldn't go higher than 6%. You can try using a hair dryer or heat gun to melt the top of the candle to even out the wax.

it keeps comming back up... even after blowing it with a hear gun
wierd. first time this happens to me . but I never worked with soy wax before.

What specific wax did you use? What did you use for color? You said you blended the fragrance at 165F, but what temperature was it when you poured?

used 100% soy wax. I never new there could be a difference between different soy waxes.was poured at around 150f (70c)

so making whole soy candles is just a no go?

 

[lsg]

I have made soy wax candles before and use fragrance oil that is especially for soy wax. You might try that.

 

[jcandleattic]

so making whole soy candles is just a no go?

No, not necessarily a no-go, unless you really just don't like how it looks, but just have to be aware they do this.
People who make, burn and use 100% soy wax candles are used to this behavior. As stated, it's aesthetic only, nothing to do with the fragrance, and shouldn't have any ill affects on the way the candle burns or the scent throw.
It's just the nature of soy wax.

 

[Refael Eran Skira]

thanks

 

[Quanta]

used 100% soy wax. I never new there could be a difference between different soy waxes.was poured at around 150f (70c)

so making whole soy candles is just a no go?

If you use pure soy wax without additives, you can get tops that look like that and the candle won't smell as strong.
I use Golden Brands 464 soy wax. It has additives that prevent the tops looking like that, and the additives also help with scent throw (how strong the candle smells). Your temperatures are fine, usually with the 464 that I use, the tops only look like that if the wax is not hot enough before blending in the fragrance and pouring. I can get perfect (or nearly perfect) tops with the 464 if I don't pour too cool.

 

[Refael Eran Skira]

If you use pure soy wax without additives, you can get tops that look like that and the candle won't smell as strong.
I use Golden Brands 464 soy wax. It has additives that prevent the tops looking like that, and the additives also help with scent throw (how strong the candle smells). Your temperatures are fine, usually with the 464 that I use, the tops only look like that if the wax is not hot enough before blending in the fragrance and pouring. I can get perfect (or nearly perfect) tops with the 464 if I don't pour too cool.

the problem is that it is a Lavender EO....so I guess raising the pouring temp would hurt the smell . I actually never checked completely the evaporating temperature of the oil itself...but knowing a bit perfumery.. lavender that is not synthetic would have more than 100 molecules that some for sure will get hurt by the heat and the smell will change. I am thinking maybe adding just some kind of liquid oil with low temperature to lower the melting point of the whole liquid would keep it natural and will allow pouring the EO in low temp. what d you reckon Quanta

 

[Quanta]

the problem is that it is a Lavender EO....so I guess raising the pouring temp would hurt the smell . I actually never checked completely the evaporating temperature of the oil itself...but knowing a bit perfumery.. lavender that is not synthetic would have more than 100 molecules that some for sure will get hurt by the heat and the smell will change. I am thinking maybe adding just some kind of liquid oil with low temperature to lower the melting point of the whole liquid would keep it natural and will allow pouring the EO in low temp. what d you reckon Quanta

I think your temperatures are fine. It's the fact that you're using pure soy wax that's causing problems. I think if you try a soy wax blend that is intended for candles, it will be easier to get smooth tops. They still won't be perfect, but it will be better. My tops only look like yours if I pour very cool (for example, 125 degrees or below). That's why I asked about your temperatures. I assumed you were using candle wax. If you're not using candle wax, you might get tops like that no matter what temperature you pour.

Where did you buy the wax you have?

Did the seller indicate that it was for a particular purpose?

Would you happen to know what percentage of the wax is hydrogenated soybean oil? The one I use is only partially hydrogenated, so it's mostly liquid oil to begin with. Adding more liquid oil might not work if yours is partially hydrogenated as well. I have heard of people adding coconut oil to candle wax but it is almost never necessary if you use a good candle blend to begin with.

If your wax is fully hydrogenated, adding coconut oil or regular liquid soybean oil might work. I have some pure soy wax that is partially hydrogenated, and I have some that is fully hydrogenated. I think I'll experiment and see which makes smoother tops. Both were sold as wax meant to be used in cosmetics, not for candles. I have lavender EO as well and coconut oil that I can add to see what difference it makes.

Do you know the melting temperature of the wax you have? If it is in flakes, do the flakes feel soft and a little bit oily, or do they feel more like bits of hard plastic?

 

[Quanta]

So, I did a few tests. I made 20 gram candles in little glass tealight holders. I made one out of the partially hydrogenated soy wax, one fully hydrogenated, and one that was 12g fully hydrogenated soy wax blended with 8g coconut oil (76 degree melt). They all had more or less perfect tops, except the coconut blend. That one was matte on top and just a little lumpy but not too bad.

And then I did another round, but added 2g lavender EO to 20g of wax. I also didn't do the coconut blend that round, but used my usual GW464 just to compare.

Oh my goodness. The fully hydrogenated soy wax was the worst when I made it with the EO. I got strange crystals like the pink candle in the OP.

Here are the pictures:

This first picture is, left to right: GW 415 (Partially hydrogenated, basically 464 without additives), fully hydrogenated, and then the fully hydrogenated/coconut oil blend. The fully hydrogenated one did not adhere to the glass at all. It popped right out and was very slick and shiny, and very hard. It also shrank a lot more than the others.

This next one is 20g of GW464 with 2g lavender EO. I have no idea what made the "scratches" on the top, I've never seen that before. But the top is level without any weird bumps or crystals.

This next one is 20g of fully hydrogenated wax with 2g lavender EO. I am going to make a few more like this and take a timelapse video of them cooling. I think that would be interesting.

Next is GW415 with lavender EO. This one looks fine.

I have not test burned any of these to check the hot throw. In my experience, hot throw is hard to test in a candle with such a small surface area. However, I will burn them just to see how they burn, and how they resolidify after burning.

 

[Refael Eran Skira]

hi hi......wow. thank you for the effort putting in it! sorry wasn't here for afew days. been sitting around caffes now that the lockdown has been removed.
any way. thank you for the time taking to experiment on this. so now I figure my soy wax is fully hydroginated. ok...well was super interesting. I still dont get how would I use it to get a perfect candle. advice anyone?

 

[Quanta]

hi hi......wow. thank you for the effort putting in it! sorry wasn't here for afew days. been sitting around caffes now that the lockdown has been removed.
any way. thank you for the time taking to experiment on this. so now I figure my soy wax is fully hydroginated. ok...well was super interesting. I still dont get how would I use it to get a perfect candle. advice anyone?

Can you post a picture of the label on the wax you have? If I know exactly what you have I might be able to make suggestions. You might have something that's not quite fully hydrogenated, because comparing your candle to mine, it isn't misbehaving nearly as much as mine are. Have you test burned it yet?

In the meantime, I have videos of the test candles I have. I have detailed explanations on the video description on its YouTube page:

 

[penelopejane]

I think what jcandleattic and quanta are saying is that it is part of the behaviour of a pure soy was candle.
That's why so many companies add stuff to soy wax so it does not do this.

 

[Quanta]

jcandleattic and quanta are saying is that it is part of the behaviour of a pure soy was candle.
That's why so many companies add stuff to soy wax so it does not do this.

Pretty much, yeah. Although normal candle wax isn't fully hydrogenated, and the stuff used to make the candle in the OP probably isn't either. I just used it to see what would happen. Just because. Normally, a partially hydrogenated soybean oil candle without candle additives isn't as bad as my fully hydrogenated ones unless you start adding massive loads of FOs and dyes. That's kind of what I wanted to test. My partially hydrogenated wax without candle additives actually cooled normally and has a nice smooth top, although I have not burned it yet and I only made one of those. I should test burn it tomorrow and maybe make a few more to verify my results. I can make some with varying amounts of EO and dye.

My reason for making multiples of the really bad ones is because they were more interesting, to be honest.

The candle wax I've had the best results with is Golden Brands/Golden Wax 464. It is a very popular candle wax. However, it's an American made product and isn't widely available outside the United States. I know there is a similar product available in Europe called Eurosoy 800, but I don't know if it's available in Israel.

 

[Refael Eran Skira]

well , everything here is chines made... so I am trying to go on that notion to have more natural candles, though paraffin here is fairly cheap. around 1 usd per 1 pound. ( 1/2 a kg) and soy is 4 times as much , I should ask the manufacture for an analysis sheet and check it out.

 

[penelopejane]

Pretty much, yeah.

The candle wax I've had the best results with is Golden Brands/Golden Wax 464. It is a very popular candle wax. However, it's an American made product and isn't widely available outside the United States. I know there is a similar product available in Europe called Eurosoy 800, but I don't know if it's available in Israel.

We get it in Australia and you can buy it in New Zealand!

 

[penelopejane]

well , everything here is chines made... so I am trying to go on that notion to have more natural candles, though paraffin here is fairly cheap. around 1 usd per 1 pound. ( 1/2 a kg) and soy is 4 times as much , I should ask the manufacture for an analysis sheet and check it out.

Great work!
Yes soy candles are very popular here (paraffin emits toxic fumes when it burns) but the commercial candle makers never say 100% soy just “soy candle”. Tricky!

 

[Refael Eran Skira]

can you tell me what in the blend? or the manufacture keeps it as a secret?