Why Choosing the Proper Candle Wick Is Important

Whether you’re a novice candle maker, or an amateur just starting to experiment—understanding the importance of the candle wick is critical to creating a well-crafted, well burning candle.  For some candle enthusiasts, this might be one of the biggest challenges that they encounter, but once you get this down pat you’ll be guaranteed of that perfect, fragrant candle every time.

Now, the candle wick choice is going to vary based on what kind of candle you’re making.  Pillar candles versus votive candles—the same kind of wick is not viable between these two.  If you want to get it right, then you need to think about your candle construction in a different way.  This is like a well-oiled machine; it takes the perfect candle wick to make an ideal flame.  This is candle science folks!  Let’s delve deeper.

Getting That Candle Wick Right the Very First Time:  What Is Involved?

The wick is a very important part of your candle.  You can look at this like a fuel line.  As the wick burns it melts a part of the wax, liquefying it and igniting a radiating fragrance!  Now, in order to have an optimal burning experience you have to have an accurate size wick for your candle or the wax won’t burn evenly and you won’t get your money’s worth from the candle itself.  Finding that “right” wick can be trying, to say the least.

Most candle wicks will have a nice firm core so that they’ll be able to stay upright when in melted candle wax.  With size, you don’t want too big a wick or you’ll have too much flame—and vice versa.  Just remember, too small of a wick won’t give the best experience either.  You have to consider the wax blend and the size of your candle container to find a wick the most suitable.  However, for those candle enthusiasts who are intrigued with the idea of candle burning with no wick at all, read on!

Is it Time to Consider Making Your Candle Without a Wick?

Designing candles without wicks is certainly growing in popularity, and with some of these candle styles, the process is fairly easy.  For example, if you’ve created a molded candle or you have a pillar style using a wick pin, it doesn’t take a genius to get the best burning quality from your candle.  Now, if the style candles you’re creating don’t involve a wick pin, you’ll have to add a step to the process.  Simply use a standard wick pin and make about a one a half centimeter hole where a wick would normally be placed.  There are a variety of ways one can go about it, and lots of information available!

Many candle enthusiasts choose wick-less candles when they live in an area where a live flame might be unsafe.  However, the wide array of fragrances doesn’t become limited because of this either.  In fact, some claim there are more flavorful options available in comparison to those candles that do use a wick.  On another note, you can also make your own wicks if you’re interested in doing so.  These can be made from simple, household items.

The choice is yours!  If you do choose to make your own wicks, perhaps you’ll find our instructions below pretty helpful!  No matter what candle style you go with, the goal is to relax and enjoy the aromatherapy experience!

Making your own basic candle wick:

• You’ll need scissors, wax, pliers and some durable string
• Cut the cotton string to the appropriate size and saturate it in melted wax
• Allow the wax coated cotton string to air dry
• Now it is ready to place within a candle, it’s that simple