Choosing high-quality supplies helps improve the scalability and competitiveness of your homemade candle business. Wicks, waxes, dyes, containers or molds, and essential oils are some of the candle making supplies that can promote your project’s success. Here are nine types of candle wicks and waxes and how to choose the right ones for your products:
Candle Wicks
Wicks are candle making supplies that hold a flame and cause the surrounding candle wax to melt. Quality wicks allow candles to burn slowly and evenly over a longer time period. Four common types of candle wicks are wooden, flat, cored, and square:
1. Wooden Wicks
Wooden wicks are made from small, dry, and rigid pieces of softwood. These supplies come in various categories, including single-ply, cylinder, or multilayered wood wicks. Wooden wicks are eco-friendly, produce attractive popping flames, and have longer burn durations.
2. Flat Wicks
Manufacturers knit fiber bundles together to make flat candle wicks. Flat wick material options include cotton, linen, high-tensile paper, eco, and LX wicks. These natural wicks enable candles to burn consistently without emitting harmful carbons. Flat wicks are versatile and rigid enough to withstand candle waxes with high viscosity levels.
3. Cored Wicks
Materials like zinc, paper, and tin are placed at a wick’s core to enhance its stiffness. Stiff, cored wicks don’t curve back toward the candle while burning. Cored wicks are ideal for floating, poured, gel, and other candle types because they are easily positioned and ignited.
4. Square Wicks
Square wicks are ideal for tall or large-sized candles because of their fast candle wax consumption rate. A square wick helps prevent carbon from clogging the tip because the wick self-trims as it curls into the flame. The braided cotton fiber bundles used to make square wicks enhance their rigidity and performance in thick waxes.
How To Choose the Right Wicks
Checking the size and shape of various candle wicks can help you find the right ones for your project. Lengthy wicks with moderate diameters draw adequate molten wax to the flame for brighter burns. Wicks with large-sized diameters cause sooty burns, while wicks that are too narrow cause irregular or flickering flames. A burn test can help you determine whether the wicks produce clean and consistent flames. When testing your wicks, check for self-extinguishing, flickering, drowning, tunneling, and mushrooming. These problems cause candle wicks to burn fast and produce more soot or smoke.
Candle Waxes
Wax acts as fuel in candles by facilitating combustion and the production of flames. Quality candle wax produces consistent flames and less or zero soot. Here are five types of waxes to choose for your homemade candles:
1. Rapeseed Wax
Hydrogenation hardens and stabilizes unsaturated rapeseed oil to form rapeseed candle wax. Low carbon emission, recyclability, and biodegradability make rapeseed wax ideal for environmentally conscious candle makers. This wax has a high scent throw and a creamy, soft texture for easy adhesion in candle molds.
2. Beeswax
Beeswax is suitable for use in indoor environments because it helps produce warm, smoke-free flames. This wax’s high viscosity helps increase the burn duration and reduce a candle’s dripping rate. High-quality beeswax may be more expensive than other waxes, making it suitable for candle makers with larger budgets.
3. Gel Wax
Candle makers can add beads, polished stones, glitter, or sea shells to gel wax to craft decorative candles. The polymer resin and mineral oil in this candle wax extend its burn duration. Gel wax has high fluidity that can make a candle drip quickly. This wax is ideal for lighting outdoor spaces since it produces bright flames with some soot.
4. Coconut Wax
Coconut wax is ideal for environmentally conscious makers as it is naturally sourced and produces less smoke. Mixing coconut wax with fragrance oils enhances its ability to carry scent, as it is an odorless wax. The wax’s fluidity makes it more flexible for adding fragrance oils and other waxes.
5. Soy Wax
Soy wax is made through the hydrogenation of soybeans’ unsaturated oil. Eco-friendliness, long burn time, and scent-holding ability make this wax ideal for homemade candles. If you choose soy wax, keep it in a moisture-free environment to prevent the formation of unwanted air bubbles.
Find Quality Candle Making Supplies
The right waxes and wicks can help you create quality candles that attract more customers to your business. Buying these supplies wholesale is more cost-effective and can help you find products that meet different customer needs. Contact a reliable wholesaler today for help finding quality candle making supplies.
