Wax Melt Challenges
Posted by andrew sanderson on
There are a number of common issues / challenges with making wax melts. These include crumbling, sweating, issues demoulding and frosting.
Many of these issues can be minimised and, in most cases, fixed by consistently following a good technique.
Temperatures. Check on the Technical Data Sheet (TDS) for your wax and find the recommended heat temperature. heat your wax to a few degrees above this temperature to account for the drop in temperature when adding your fragrance oil. We towards the higher end of the recommended pouring temperature which means that we don't need to pre-warm our moulds.
Stirring. The two minute stir to combine wax and fragrance oil is one of the many myths within the wax makers world. To mix the fragrance oil and wax you need turbulence so stir one direction with a spoon rather than a stirring rod, stop and stir in the other direction. Repeat a few times. We stir our wax and fragrance oil for less than a minute. Too much stirring can exacerbate or cause frosting and introduce air bubbles.
By following the advice above and having a consistent technique you should see consistently good results and avoid these common issues.
Other areas to consider are :
Mould cleanliness. If you are having issues with wax melts not de-moulding easily, ensure that your moulds are a good quality, clean and have smooth surfaces. We find that a hot wash with washing up liquid cleans our moulds well.
Fragrance oil load. Wax melts can sweat if the fragrance oil is mixed with the wax at too low a temperature or is not fully mixed. It can also sweat if there is too much fragrance oil mixed in with the wax. Check your wax TDS for the maximum fragrance oil load. Sweating can also occur if wax melts are stored at extreme hot or cold temperatures. We recommend storing away from direct sunlight and at normal room temperature.
Varying Wax. This is more relevant to soy wax. As soy is made from soy beans, there can be variances in the soy oil which can lead to some batches of soy wax frosting more than others. You can minimise frosting with good technique but frosting will always occur due to the make up of the wax. Embrace the frosting as a trade off for using natural soy wax - pure soy wax will frost, soy contaminated with other waxes is less prone to frosting.