candle wick
Whether you’re wick testing, looking for wholesale candle wicks, or searching for the perfect pillar wick, we have the answer to your “which wick” query. Our high-quality, lead-free candle wicks for paraffin wax, and soy, coconut and other natural wax blends, are ideal for beginners and seasoned chandlers alike.
All-natural candle wicks for soy, paraffin, and natural wax blends
Our candle wicks are constructed from all-natural, ring-spun cotton and are metal free. Pretabbed candle wicks come in standard lengths, are primed with a wax coating, and have a metal tab at the wick base, making them easy to use in container candles. Spooled candle wicks are uncoated and can be cut to your desired length when crafting pillar candles. View the product detail page for each wick to see bulk quantities and wholesale pricing.
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How to choose the right candle wick
Selecting the best wick to use for your candles is one of the most important aspects of candle making! The choice of wick affects how the candle burns, the strength of the hot throw, and more.
Because of the many available wick options, it can feel daunting to know where to begin. But we’ve got you covered with all the information you need to pick the right candle wicks!
A general rule of thumb
To make properly wicked candles, you need to know two main things:
- Wax type
- Diameter of the candle
Start by determining the type of wax you’re using and the diameter of your container or pillar mold. The wax indicates which wick series to use (ECO, CD, or LX), while the diameter of your container or mold indicates which size to use.
After gathering this info, use our Candle Wick Guide below to see the wick we recommend based on your wax and diameter.
All recommendations in the Candle Wick Guide are based on a 7.5% fragrance oil load and no dyes. Dyed or heavily fragranced candles may require a larger wick size than the guide recommends.
Always conduct a burn test to determine the right wick size for the combination of wax, container, fragrance and dye being used! Recommendations from the guide are a starting point for your own testing.
Why is choosing the right wick so important?
Now that you know how to select candle wicks, let’s go a bit deeper about why it’s crucial to use the correct wicks for your candles.
The proper wick size is essential for:
- hot throw
- safety
- performance
The correct wick selection will result in a candle that achieves a full melt pool, throws fragrance well (hello, hot throw!), doesn’t produce excess soot, and has a nice, steady flame.
A wick that’s too small for your candle may leave some wax unmelted and make it difficult to achieve a full melt pool; too large, and you’ll likely notice excess soot, flame movement, and risk the container becoming too hot.
What kinds of wicks do you carry?
We offer metal-free wicks designed for:
- paraffin wax
- soy wax
- coconut wax
- other natural wax blends
- container candles
- pillar candles
- votive candles
- tealight candles
The wicks are all made of cotton and many include paper threads too. Some wicks are cut to specific lengths and come pretabbed for easy use. And others come on spools so you can cut them to custom heights for your unique candle projects.
Common Questions and Answers about Candle Wicks Still have burning questions? Get your answers here!
We’re proud to offer ECO, CD, and LX wick series. CD wicks are also referred to as Stabilo wicks. All of our candle wicks are constructed from all-natural, ring-spun cotton. They do not contain zinc, lead, or any other metals.
These pretabbed candle wicks have a high-melt point wax coating comprised of vegetable wax and beeswax. This coating creates rigidity, making the wick easy to handle and center. ECO and CD wicks are braided with thin paper threads, while LX wicks are flat-braided, 100% cotton.
The wick tab is made of steel and is crimped onto the end of the wick. They save you the time and frustration of tabbing the wicks yourself. The wick tab stabilizes the wick when placed in a container, and its second job is to extinguish the wick before it reaches the absolute bottom of the container.
Before you pour the wax into your container, attach a wick sticker to the pretabbed wick and center it in the bottom of the container. The Small Wick Stickers are best for tealight wicks, and the Large Wick Stickers and Wick Stickers Pro are best for 3" and 6" wicks. Once the wax is poured, straighten and center the wick, then attach a Wick Bar by pulling the wick taut and pressing it into the bar's slot.
Beeswax is a versatile wax that can be used for containers, pillars, votives, and wax melts, but it can be tricky to wick! When, where, and how it was obtained all factor into how it will perform in candles. With so many variables, it's hard to predict which wick size to use. For this reason, it will take a bit more testing to find the best one for your candles.
We generally recommend the ECO series for beeswax. We suggest purchasing several different sizes of ECO wicks in the 12 pc bags. Having a variety of wick sizes on hand for testing makes it easier to find the size that works best with your wax.
Our spooled candle wicks can be used with our seamless pillar molds to make beautiful cylindrical pillar candles. Spooled candle wicks are also handy for creating custom wick lengths. The spooled candle wicks are constructed from all-natural, uncoated, ring-spun cotton.
Spooled wicks do not have to be primed, however, you can prime them if you prefer. The extra coating, or priming, on the pretabbed wicks just provides extra rigidity to the wicks so they'll stand up better while pouring and cooling candles. Learn more about how to prime spooled wicks here.
CandleScience does not currently carry organic candle wicks. Despite our exhaustive search, we have not been able to locate a reputable producer of certified organic cotton wicks.
All of the candle wick series we carry are constructed from all-natural cotton and paper materials, but they cannot be labeled as organic.
Choosing the right wick size
Learn how to find the proper sized wick for your candles.
How to conduct a burn test
Conducting a burn test help you find to right type of candle wick and size for your candle application.
What are pretabbed wick assemblies?
Learn more about what a wick assembly is, how it's made, and what each component does.