BlueFeather Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Hi everyone! I think I may have finally, after over a year of testing, figured out a wax and wick combo that works! The wick I think I am going to go with is a zinc wick. Has anyone run into any issues with customers not wanting to buy candles made with zinc wicks? I'm curious if a lot of people have the perception that the zinc wick is somehow dangerous. One of the reasons I ask is that I have seen candles being sold that specifically advertise that they don't use zinc wicks, only "natural" wicks. I'm concerned that maybe my candles won't sell if people see that little metallic glint in the wicks. What has been your experience with this? Do customers care? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Well zinc got a bad wrap and everyone assumes that zinc is the lead wicking that has been banned from the US. Here's a link to a little about the history, but I don't think most customers go looking to see what the wick has. However, should they, you're armed with answers. There's nothing wrong with zinc wicks. I would call the "natural" wicks a marketing ploy designed to get people thinking they are buying a totally clean product. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 2 hours ago, BlueFeather said: Hi everyone! I think I may have finally, after over a year of testing, figured out a wax and wick combo that works! The wick I think I am going to go with is a zinc wick. Has anyone run into any issues with customers not wanting to buy candles made with zinc wicks? I'm curious if a lot of people have the perception that the zinc wick is somehow dangerous. One of the reasons I ask is that I have seen candles being sold that specifically advertise that they don't use zinc wicks, only "natural" wicks. I'm concerned that maybe my candles won't sell if people see that little metallic glint in the wicks. What has been your experience with this? Do customers care? I have never, not once ever, been asked what my wicks are in the 20+ years of selling and using zinc wicks almost exclusively. Maybe I've been lucky, I don't know, but if I ever did get posed the question, I would be truthful about it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueFeather Posted January 25, 2018 Author Share Posted January 25, 2018 Thank you for the link, I will check that out! That's what my worry was too, that people might think they were lead wicks. Yes, it seems that there are a lot of scented candles that are advertised as 100% natural, or vegan even. 48 minutes ago, Scented said: Well zinc got a bad wrap and everyone assumes that zinc is the lead wicking that has been banned from the US. Here's a link to a little about the history, but I don't think most customers go looking to see what the wick has. However, should they, you're armed with answers. There's nothing wrong with zinc wicks. I would call the "natural" wicks a marketing ploy designed to get people thinking they are buying a totally clean product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueFeather Posted January 25, 2018 Author Share Posted January 25, 2018 40 minutes ago, Jcandleattic said: I have never, not once ever, been asked what my wicks are in the 20+ years of selling and using zinc wicks almost exclusively. Maybe I've been lucky, I don't know, but if I ever did get posed the question, I would be truthful about it. That eases my mind, thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 We've been asked, but people don't freak out on the answer. We just assure them they are not lead wicks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 Years ago when I was making paraffin, soy, or parasoy candles I found my fav go to wick was always the zinc. I sold those candles for a number of years and in all that time I had maybe 1-2 people ask me about the wick. I found customers mostly wanted to know how long the candles burn, if they burned clean, the price, and/or what wax I used. The vast majority simply never asked anything about the candles. Back then as well as now my number #1 question is how many hours does the candle burn? HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueFeather Posted February 1, 2018 Author Share Posted February 1, 2018 On 1/26/2018 at 12:20 PM, Scented said: We've been asked, but people don't freak out on the answer. We just assure them they are not lead wicks. Ok, good! I think because I live in Colorado and many people here are especially interested in natural, organic, etc. products, I was just concerned they might be a little leery of the zinc. But yeah, I think if I just let everyone know the wicks don't have lead I'll be ok. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueFeather Posted February 1, 2018 Author Share Posted February 1, 2018 10 hours ago, Candybee said: Years ago when I was making paraffin, soy, or parasoy candles I found my fav go to wick was always the zinc. I sold those candles for a number of years and in all that time I had maybe 1-2 people ask me about the wick. I found customers mostly wanted to know how long the candles burn, if they burned clean, the price, and/or what wax I used. The vast majority simply never asked anything about the candles. Back then as well as now my number #1 question is how many hours does the candle burn? HTH That does help, thank you! I think I just needed some reassurance that the zinc wicks wouldn't discourage people from wanting to buy my candles. It sounds like nobody is that interested in the wick! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 There are compatibles to the zinc if you want to look for alternatives, but you would need to test out each of the types of wicks available on the market to determine what works best in your application. I was thinking this issue has come up about twice since lead wicks were banned from the country. When people have asked us and we assure them the wicks are zinc and that lead based were banned for use here, they are OK with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 15 hours ago, BlueFeather said: Ok, good! I think because I live in Colorado and many people here are especially interested in natural, organic, etc. products, I was just concerned they might be a little leery of the zinc. But yeah, I think if I just let everyone know the wicks don't have lead I'll be ok. Thanks I don't find that to be necessarily true where I am (also in Colorado - a native actually) In fact the only place here I find that to be true is up around Boulder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 19 hours ago, Jcandleattic said: I don't find that to be necessarily true where I am (also in Colorado - a native actually) In fact the only place here I find that to be true is up around Boulder. Is Boulder a more centrally located artsy place? Not trying to stereotype, but we almost hit up Boulder on our last trip to Colorado. Lawrence is more our artsy/democratic/organic center and I think that's where the people were at who questioned us about our wicks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 10 minutes ago, Scented said: Is Boulder a more centrally located artsy place? Not trying to stereotype, but we almost hit up Boulder on our last trip to Colorado. Lawrence is more our artsy/democratic/organic center and I think that's where the people were at who questioned us about our wicks. Umm, how do I answer this delicately. I love Boulder, it's a beautiful place, and yes, I guess artsy(ish) - it's where a lot of the so called modern day "flower children" or "hippies" of Colorado live. And basically, where you will find more people focused on natural, organic, healthy, alternative lifestyles than almost any other place here in CO. It has the nickname of "The People's Republic of Boulder" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 I guess that's how you answer it lol! I think our next trip out to Colorado is the southwestern side, but we never seem to get to spend enough time out that way. Enjoyed Colorado Springs area like crazy though last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 57 minutes ago, Scented said: I guess that's how you answer it lol! I think our next trip out to Colorado is the southwestern side, but we never seem to get to spend enough time out that way. Enjoyed Colorado Springs area like crazy though last year. Colorado Springs is a very trendy and up & coming type of city. I don't get down that way very often. It has practically quadrupled in size in the last 8 years or so and I think it's now one of the biggest city's in the state. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 (edited) We stayed in the vicinity but cannot think of the name if I wanted to now. It's where the railroad is for the gorge, but we traveled to the springs a lot. Edited February 2, 2018 by Scented Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 34 minutes ago, Scented said: We stayed in the vicinity but cannot think of the name if I wanted to now. It's where the railroad is for the gorge, but we traveled to the springs a lot. Oh yeah, that's in Canon City if we are thinking of the same place. Gorgeous area, but also where the main state/federal prison is. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 Well that looked small for a main state/fed prison LOL! But we saw a corner of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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