I'm looking to bootstrap a candle/fragrance startup and I'm looking to source refill pouches for diffuser fragrance - can I fill the pre-printed pouches with a filling machine into the spout and then place to the cap on, ready to ship? Any help would be appreciated 🫶🏼

I've been testing 464 soy wax with different loads (8% vs 10%) and cure times (7 vs 14 days) for hot throw retention. At 10% I get stronger cold throw, but hot throw seems to plateau after 7 days cure.

Curious what the experienced makers here are finding — is the extra 2% worth it for longevity, or does it just cause sweating?

Working with makers across US, EU & Asia on natural oil blends.

I started making wax melts about 4 weeks ago and I absolutely love the processes, but I can’t help but notice that the melts I make do not smell very strong under a warmer. The only way I can kind of get a whiff of the scent is if I have air circulating through a fan. For context, I am using The Flaming Candle’s Problend 650 Para-Soy wax. I’m using a 10% fragrance load and fragrance oils from The Flaming Candle, Midwest Fragrance Company, Virginia Candle Supply, and Candle Science. I’m adding dye and fragrance oils in around 175-185 Degrees, letting it cool to around 160-150 then pouring into my clamshell molds. I let each wax melt cure for at least 1 week and I get a pretty decent cold throw, but little to no hot throw. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong and feeling pretty discouraged. Any advice/tips would be greatly appreciated

They literally looked SO PERFECT after setting yesterday.. now when I came home, I noticed these strange spots.

What's happening, how can I fix it, how can I prevent it?

Golden soy wax

We just started making wax melts in October using Cocosol wax from Candle Science and Candle Science fragrance oils. We have a set of wax melts that we started testing from a batch that was made 6 days ago (6 curing days total). The wax melts smelled amazing and strong for about 5 to 6 hours but once the 6hr mark hit the scent basically took a nose dive and significantly decreased in smell and by hour 8 was almost non existent.

We used a FO of 13% and mixed into the wax at 185 F, stirring for 2 to 3 minutes before pouring into clam shells.

Is this normal for wax melts? Did we start testing to early? We are worried our first batches will not perform well now for longevity.

Overall the Cold Throw and Hot Throw was amazing, it just didnt last beyond hour 6.

Thank you!

Hi everyone! I'm from Bosnia, and I've just made my very first soy wax candle. Since the holidays are coming up, I love getting into the festive spirit early and creating a cozy atmosphere around me. The fragrance oils I used were chocolate and gingerbread. The whipped cream on top is actually a whipped cream imitation, and I really struggled with it, but it turned out perfect for my first try! 😊

So i just joined yesterday and asked a question not counting the couple of ridiculous downvotes i got for no real reason the mods delete my post? Ive seen overzealous mods before but wow...

I have a lot of pigments (not mica) left over from when I made lye soap. Has anyone used them for coloring candles or more specifically for making dye chips?

I can't find much information about what companies are using to make their dye chips but my guess is that they are using pigments. My guess is based on companies selling titanium dioxide to whiten candles, which is a pigment.

Curious to hear what others think.

I own a fragrance business and have been making candles for over two years.
I recently switched over my wax to 464 Golden Soy Wax and have had nothing but issues.

To start, I was using wood wicks and then ran into the issue of the candles immediately extinguishing. Realized the single wood wick wasn’t strong enough to fuel a wax as dense as this one so I applied a double wick and that was fine.

Then I decided I’d switch over to cotton wicks to avoid any issues (jokes on me I guess), using ECO 8 and 10. These produced a beautiful even burn, strong flame but zero hot throw.
I follow the suggested practices of the supplier for the wax, I follow the curing practices.
So then I did some reading and found that ECO wicks are not best for this wax because it doesn’t produce a high enough temperature to achieve the hot throw. So I switched to CD/Stabilo 12, as suggested and nothing.
It’s also worth noting that this problem is across the variety of all my fragrance oils, earthy, gourmand, citrus etc.

I have had it with this wax altogether and am now switching to the Freedom Coconut Soy. My mainline containers are 2.8” in diameter and I have 4” 3 wick tumbler jars that I am planning to do some candles in also.

I am really hoping someone can point me in the right direction, I know it’s all trial and error but I’d love the path of the least amount of error because I’ve already lost a lot in this process as it is.

Thanks in advance

Hi all! New here - I see a thread was posted a while back asking about mixing pine resin directly with soy wax; it seems the consensus is that it would be too flammable, but no alternatives were discussed.
I’m wondering if I could safely mix pine resin-infused oil with soy wax to make scented candles? I’ve foraged a ridiculous amount of pine resin and am planning to infuse it into (probably coconut) oil to use in soaps, salves, etc. I’d love to make some candles too, mostly for personal use or friends and family.
Anyone know if this infused oil would still be too flammable to burn safely? And would it mix well with soy wax without affecting the consistency too much? I’m thinking of trying a 5%-95% ratio of oil to wax and seeing how it burns, thoughts?

Vet noen hvor jeg kan få kjøpt disse beholderne som kan brukes til å lage duftlys i, i Norge, eller hvor man kan bestille de fra uten å bli ruinert? Helst borosilikatglass sånn at jeg vet at de tåler varme 🔥🔥

What are the tips to getting a strong smelling candle? Is it a certain brand or wax? Beginner in search of advice TIA

Hey everyone! I’m looking into adding a few candle warmers to my line, but the sheer variety out there is a bit overwhelming.

It seems like the top-down lamp style warmers completely took over recently, but I'm trying to figure out what buyers actually care about most. Is it mostly aesthetic/decor look, or do functional features like timers and adjustable heights really drive the sales?

Also, if you’ve sourced these before (whether through local distributors or searching platforms like Alibaba), are there specific brands or manufacturers you recommend for safety and quality?

Would love to know what warmer setup you’ve had the best experience with!

New to candle making here. I tested several candles with P&J scents, which I absolutely love. The size is too small to make larger batches (unless y’all have a secret site you can send me?). I researched and read a lot of makers use Candle Science, but I am so under whelmed and will be returning what I can. Did I just pick bad scents or is Candle Science over hyped?

I am toying with the idea of collaborating with local artists to have their artwork displayed on my packaging. It would feature their names on their art and act as a celebration of real art in an age of AI muck. I would hope to promote their business aswell as create a striking line of candles. Has anyone ever done anything similiar? What do you think would be fair terms? Ie is it unreasonable to think artists would allow me to use their art for the releease of 100 boxes for example?

I'm trying to get some supplies to get started on some wax melts for Christmas and they're sold out of so much. Pretty much every fragrance oil I looked at was out of stock in almost all sizes. Kind of panicking that I won't be able to get oil from them!

I am just venturing into candle making and know nothing except what I am learning from your posts and comments. Which is SUPER helpful! I keep seeing that essential oils don’t really hold up well with the heat. So my question is this, are there any “ reasonably” (less toxic than normal) healthy fragrances I can use? Thank you all!!!

Hi friends. I could really use some advice to try and troubleshoot / find solutions I haven’t tried yet.

I own a small candle business for 6 years. I sell online and in a few stores through consignment, so not a novice but not huge.

Anyways, I moved from the north to the south about 3 months ago and since then I am having a terrible time with rough tops that I can’t fix with my heat gun. They just look worse.

I haven’t changed any recipes, any containers, any wicks, or wax. Everything is literally the same except for my climate.

Here’s what I’ve tried so far: changing my pour temp. I used to pour at 135, I’ve tried 155 and 145. The 145 is getting better but the tops still look gritty and I have some deep air pockets.

It’s not every candle, I’ll pour 20 and 6 are a mess. When I heat gun I obviously open up that air pocket and the wax fills in but then it dries with a gritty top.

Ugh, I’m so frustrated. Any idea what may be going on? Any suggestions are appreciated.

Editing to add I add oil between 185-187, higher for heavier oils, mix slowly for 3 minutes. I pour very slowly too to avoid air bubbles. The room is 82 degrees with no drafts.

Update: Thanks for all the responses and help. What ended up working was adding a small dehumidifier to the room, increasing my pour temp to 148 degrees and preheating my jars.

I’m guessing because my ambient room temperature is much warmer here that the wax was cooling too fast causing all the sink holes and nasty tops.

What might be the mistakes here? In the pink one I changed the wax quality.

I just make candles for fun, so I’m very open to learning new things! This is the melt pool after a 2 hour burn (first burn). The diameter is 3 inches & I am using soy wax. Should I downsize the wick? Currently using ECO 8 wicks.

Edit: the candle jar was never filled to the brim with wax! The wax height on the side of the jar has not changed, it was just a test so I did not bring the wax to the top.

Need some help with wicking as I am struggling with this mold as I just got it. The widest diameter of the mold is 4 1/2 inches so I am looking at a cd 20/22 wick. BUT I cannot get a 20/22 wick through the little hole at the bottom of the mold. Any suggestions or strategies you have used? Thanks!

I’m currently using 100% soy but willing to try other blends and experiment. I have had tunneling with this new soy wax I bought, and that didn’t used to happen using the same wicks and jars.

I usually make 4 oz or 8 oz regular candles.

Also curious if anyone has had good luck with coconut wax.