I am fairly new to candle making. I have been making soy candles since just before Christmas, and I've really enjoyed it. What I HAVE NOT enjoyed is struggling to find the right temperatures, mixtures, etc to get good results. My first wax was one I found on Amazon. I had decent results (GREAT cold/hot throw), but the candles didn't always look great. I would get sink-holes in the top and they ALWAYS had wet spots. I don't use dye, because I like the clean look. However, when you have wet spots all around your candle, it kind of ruins the point of a white candle in a clear jar.
After getting tired of the appearance of that wax, I switched to EcoSoy Advanced. The wax was soft and had very smooth tops. However, the cold throw was awful, and the hot throw wasn't much better. On top of that, I had more wet spots than with the original wax! I tried changing pour temps, heating the jars, drying them on racks/flat surfaces... nothing helped.
Finally, I decided to order this wax. I was sort of hesitant, as I was tired of feeling like I was wasting money on wax that gave sub-par results. Man...I am so happy I made the switch. Granted, I have only made two small batches of candles, but they are PERFECT. I have NO frosting, NO wet spots, and, most importantly, AMAZING cold throw. (I have not burned them yet, as they are still curing, but I have no reason to think the throw will be anything but spectacular)
I have seen mixed reviews about this wax with varying results, so, for what it's worth, here is my method:
- I use a small melting pitcher on a gas stove on low/medium-low. I never melt more than 2 lbs dry wax at a time.
- Heat to 180, stirring occasionally
- Turn off heat, and it generally continues to increase from residual heat to around 185-190
- Wait for the wax to cool to 180 and add 1 oz/lb FO
- Stir slowly with a rubber spatula for around 30 seconds to properly mix the oil
- I continue to stir every 5-10 minutes (again...just slowly)
- I pour slowly at 135-140 degrees in to room-temp jars and cool them on my kitchen table (because my house tends to run cold, especially the kitchen, I use a space heater to keep the temp between 68-72 degrees)
Perfection.
I can't guarantee you'll have the same results, but I haven't seen better so far. For the time being, I'm sold on this wax. Best I have used.