FAQs & Candle Care
How do you take care of a wood wick candle?
Light the wick on one end and allow the flame to flow naturally across the wick, Make sure that the wax melts to the edge of the candle before extinguishing it—this may take between 30 to 60 minutes. Allowing the wax to pool will discourage “tunneling” or leaving wax on the sides of the vessel.
Are wood wick candles better?
We've found that wooden wick candles have a better scent throw when burning. Wooden wicks create a horizontal flame that throws more heat into your candle quicker, so even though it burns slower and lower, a wooden wick candle with heat up your fragrances and creates a scent throw into your room in less time.
Wooden Wicks vs Cotton Wicks
We make both wooden and cotton wick candles, so this question is often asked by our customers, “What’s the difference between the different wicks?” We love carrying both types of candles.
Wooden wicks are thin slabs or tubes of wood crafted precisely for candle making. They create a beautiful crackling sound, but need a bit more attention and maintenance. Cotton wicks are braided cotton strands, dipped in wax and compressed to hold their shape. Cotton wicks often create lower cost and easier to maintain candles.
Lighting and Relighting
Both wooden wicks and cotton wicks ignite and take flame easily upon the first lighting. However, upon the second and subsequent burnings, the wooden variety will need a bit more care and time. Cotton wicks are more of a grab and go kind of candle, trim the wick and they’ll light in 3 seconds, while wooden wicks may take up to 20 seconds to catch fire.
In fact, it may take 2 or 3 tries to relight a wooden wick candle, as they require more time for the fire to penetrate the outer, more charred layers of wood.
Matches vs. Stick Lighters
I’ve found that this is actually one of the most important differences between using a candle with Cotton versus one with wooden wicks.
Wooden wick candles are almost entirely impossible to light with a match. We’ve found that there just isn’t enough flame or enough time given to you by the length of a match to properly provide fire to a wooden wick. Even fireplace matches are somewhat ineffective. For the amount of time that you’ll need to hold to flame on the wooden wick, there will be so much burnt match debris inside your candle wax that it will become a fire hazard.
We always recommend purchasing a stick lighter if you’re thinking about purchasing a wooden wick candle. Also, your poor singed fingertips will thank you!
Cotton wicks are much easier to light with matches. Even tiny matches have enough length on them to properly light a cotton wick candle.
Drafts and Wind Gusts
Both types of wick will struggle in a draft or gust of wind. Burning a candle in a drafty corridor or outdoors will cause the erratic flame to consume more of your candle, but will also create more soot and smoke in the process.
Wooden wicks are not recommended in drafty places or for outdoors use, as they’re more likely to extinguish under light wind pressure and are more difficult to relight.
Cotton wicks do much better in an outdoor setting, but will still struggle and burn faster and more erratic.
Light the wick on one end and allow the flame to flow naturally across the wick, Make sure that the wax melts to the edge of the candle before extinguishing it—this may take between 30 to 60 minutes. Allowing the wax to pool will discourage “tunneling” or leaving wax on the sides of the vessel.
Are wood wick candles better?
We've found that wooden wick candles have a better scent throw when burning. Wooden wicks create a horizontal flame that throws more heat into your candle quicker, so even though it burns slower and lower, a wooden wick candle with heat up your fragrances and creates a scent throw into your room in less time.
Wooden Wicks vs Cotton Wicks
We make both wooden and cotton wick candles, so this question is often asked by our customers, “What’s the difference between the different wicks?” We love carrying both types of candles.
Wooden wicks are thin slabs or tubes of wood crafted precisely for candle making. They create a beautiful crackling sound, but need a bit more attention and maintenance. Cotton wicks are braided cotton strands, dipped in wax and compressed to hold their shape. Cotton wicks often create lower cost and easier to maintain candles.
Lighting and Relighting
Both wooden wicks and cotton wicks ignite and take flame easily upon the first lighting. However, upon the second and subsequent burnings, the wooden variety will need a bit more care and time. Cotton wicks are more of a grab and go kind of candle, trim the wick and they’ll light in 3 seconds, while wooden wicks may take up to 20 seconds to catch fire.
In fact, it may take 2 or 3 tries to relight a wooden wick candle, as they require more time for the fire to penetrate the outer, more charred layers of wood.
Matches vs. Stick Lighters
I’ve found that this is actually one of the most important differences between using a candle with Cotton versus one with wooden wicks.
Wooden wick candles are almost entirely impossible to light with a match. We’ve found that there just isn’t enough flame or enough time given to you by the length of a match to properly provide fire to a wooden wick. Even fireplace matches are somewhat ineffective. For the amount of time that you’ll need to hold to flame on the wooden wick, there will be so much burnt match debris inside your candle wax that it will become a fire hazard.
We always recommend purchasing a stick lighter if you’re thinking about purchasing a wooden wick candle. Also, your poor singed fingertips will thank you!
Cotton wicks are much easier to light with matches. Even tiny matches have enough length on them to properly light a cotton wick candle.
Drafts and Wind Gusts
Both types of wick will struggle in a draft or gust of wind. Burning a candle in a drafty corridor or outdoors will cause the erratic flame to consume more of your candle, but will also create more soot and smoke in the process.
Wooden wicks are not recommended in drafty places or for outdoors use, as they’re more likely to extinguish under light wind pressure and are more difficult to relight.
Cotton wicks do much better in an outdoor setting, but will still struggle and burn faster and more erratic.