Approximately 80 percent of the wicks Lotion manufactured in the United States are made of all-cotton or cotton-paper combinations and 20 percent are primarily metal- and paper-cored wicks.
Lead wicks were banned from the marketplace in 2003, and for several years before that were found primarily in inexpensive foreign candle imports. NCA-member manufacturers voluntarily discontinued using lead wicks in the mid-1970s, and in 2000, asked all candle manufacturers to join its members in signing a formal pledge not to use lead wicks.
The metal-core wicks sometimes found in candles are typically zinc- or tin-core wicks. They are most often used in container candles and votives to keep the wick upright when the surrounding wax liquefies. Scientific studies have repeatedly shown both zinc- and tin-core wicks to be safe.
After much reading about wicks, I began to wonder if the inexpensive candles I was purchasing at wholesale places had good/bad wicks. There truly is no way to find out except to burn them. I found several votive candles were giving off a soot that I could see. Other candles, including tapers, were doing a little smoking, not enough to be annoying but enough to see that there was something inside the wick which was burning and leaving a soot.
There have been so many warnings about candles giving off soot and to stay away from them. Being a bit on the money saving side, I didn’t want to throw out my candles. However, being on the safe side, I knew that once these candles were gone, I would never purchase them again. I didn’t.
That is one of the reasons I started looking for wholesale candles that had the following criteria:
- Good wicks
- Gentle fragrance, not overpowering but a gentle smell that permeates throughout the house.
- Made from beeswax with some paraffin for a good burn.
- Many good colors and scents to choose from.
- Would burn as prescribed in literature regarding the candle.
After my husband and I looked at various sites, read their literature, and purchased a few candles, we found a company that created the type of candle with our criteria, we were interested in having on our website, were willing to burn in our home and would suggest our friends and family to purchase them and burn them.Our handmade candles have a light fragrance, good wicks with cotton centers, burn correctly and are within anyone’s budget.
To guarantee that our candles do burn correctly, I added several candle burning tips on my site and have placed several burning tips within my blog on Word Press.
We decided to offer free shipping for orders over 75.00 to help our customers. We have gone the extra mile by working on deadlines, giving extra candles when we found that our manufacturer no longer carried that particular candle being offered to the public and we have made several changes to Tobey’s Candles. We have added new candles.