Candle Wicks

Here's All You Need to Know:

The purpose of a candle wick:

A candle wicks sole purpose is to pull the melted wax into the flame for fuel. The diameter of the wick is what determines the size of the flame.

Larger candles need a larger wick to melt a pool of wax all the way to the jar. Sometimes a candle is so large, or irregularly shaped that it needs multiple wicks to burn the candle. Please read our tips page to read about caring for wicks.

What's this I'm hearing about lead wicks?

Some wicks are made with a metal core in order to create a hotter flame. The majority of these cores used to be made from lead.

Thankfully in recent years, the U.S. has realized that burning candles with lead wicks can have extreme health issues. This is especially true with children. So the U.S. has banned all use of lead wicks in candlemaking.

This was a great decision but with all the imported candles coming into the U.S. from other countries, it seems highly possible there could still be many candles on the market today with lead wicks.

What about other metal core wicks?

The other types of metal core wicks are usually zinc and tin. It is unclear about the health issues with these metals, but they are generally considered safer than lead.

Again, the purpose of the metal core is to create a hotter flame for the paraffin waxes that have a higher melting point. We feel that because these metals have not been proven safe to breathe and since there are healthy alternatives available that it's best to just play it safe.

What are the healthy alternatives?

The most common of the natural candle wicks are made from cotton or a cotton and paper blend. Some wicks are even made from hemp. These wicks burn cleaner and are relatively harmless.

They do not create the amount of heat that a metal core wick will so they are usually found in candles made of soy and/or vegetable wax. These candle waxes have a lower melting point than paraffin wax.


For more info about candle wicks check out this site.