It's all about the wick

Wicks come in all shapes and sizes and materials.  It's what makes a candle... a candle.  If you think about it, wax melts are wickless candles.  They use a different heating element to melt the wax so that awesome fragrance gets emitted into the air.  But why are wicks so important? Well, if you don't have a good wick, your candle will just not burn like it should.  It's a science to get the right wick. You need a perfect balance between the size of jar, the type of wax, any fragrance oil, and colorants- it all matters and different waxes, oils, and colors can make each wick perform very different even in the same jar!

There are many different types of wicks.  Most high-quality wicks are made from braided, plaited or knitted fibers to encourage a slow and consistent burn. There are five different categories wicks can fall in to:

Flat- usually made from three bundles of fiber, are very consistent in their burning and curl in the flame for a self-trimming effect, and are the most common used.

Square- are more rounded and a bit more robust than flat wicks.  You will usually find these with candles made from beeswax as they help inhibit clogging of the wick which happens with most waxes.

Cored- use a core material to keep the wick straight or upright while burning. The wicks have a round cross section, and the use of different core materials provides a range of stiffness effects. The most common core materials for wicks are cotton, paper, zinc or tin. 

Wooden- have become popular in recent years for the visual aesthetic they create and the soft crackling sound they produce. They are available as single-ply, multi-layered, curved and decorative shaped wicks made from 100% wood, semi-wood, fibrous material or cotton and wood combinations.

Specialty- These wicks are specially designed to meet the burn characteristics of specific candle applications, such as oil lamps and insect-repelling candles.

Now, the reason wicks are so important is because, if you don't have right size wick for the vessel/jar your using to make your candle in, then you just won't get the proper scent throw.  A wick delivers the fuel (wax) to the flame.  If the wick is too small then you won't get a proper wax melt and the flame could sputter out or the fragrance wont be admitted into the air because the wax didn't get hot enough.  If the wick is too large then it will flare and soot and burn the wax at too hot of a temperature causing the top and middle notes to burn before ever being enjoyed leaving just the base notes, which usually don't smell all too nice by themselves. 

Most wicks do something called "mushrooming" which is carbon buildup.  If you ever notice your candle sooting or having black smoke, this is likely the cause and means that you need to trim your wick to 1/4" (something you should be doing before each and burn).

Something else that needs to be considered is the placement of your candle. Besides needing wax, the wick/flame also needs air circulation.  Too much and your candle can burn out or you won't be able to smell it.  Not enough and you'll notice that you can only smell the candle when you're a few feet away.  Proper circulation/air flow is key in making sure you can smell your candle on the other side of the room.  The wick/flame can only do so much, so if you ever notice you just don't smell your candle, try moving it to a different spot and you'll likely be able to smell it again. 

Wicks are pretty important and when you have the right one, you'll have one amazing candle!