The Complete Guide to Cotton Wick Types for Indian Candle Makers 2026

The wick is the most technically consequential decision in candle making. Choose a wick too small and your candle tunnels. Choose a wick too large and your candle soots, mushrooms, and overheats the jar. Yet most Indian candle making guides cover wick selection in a single paragraph: 'test different sizes and find what works.' This guide goes deeper — covering the specific wick families available in India, what each does, and how to navigate the wick selection process systematically for Karessa concrete gypsum jars.

The Three Cotton Wick Families Available in India

CD Series (Cotton Core with Paper — The Indian Standard)

CD wicks (Cotton and paper blend, also sometimes called 'CDN') are the most widely available and most commonly used cotton wicks in India. They are available from VedaOils, Amazon India, and most candle supply stores in sizes from CD-4 (very thin, for very narrow jars) through CD-22 (large, for wide containers).

CD wicks have a slightly stiff structure due to the paper wrap around the cotton core. This stiffness helps them remain centred in soy wax and makes them easy to work with in production. They produce a clean, stable flame with minimal mushrooming at standard soy wax fragrance loads.

ECO Series (All-Cotton Flat Braid — Premium Quality)

ECO wicks are made from a flat, braided all-cotton construction without the paper core. They produce a cleaner, more consistent burn than CD wicks, have lower tendency to mushroom, and are considered the premium standard for artisan soy wax candles. ECO wicks are available in India from VedaOils and Moksha Lifestyle in sizes ECO-4 through ECO-14.

ECO wicks are slightly more expensive than CD wicks — approximately Rs.5-Rs.8 per wick vs Rs.3-Rs.5 for CD — but the performance difference is meaningful for premium products. For a Karessa concrete jar candle retailing at Rs.499+, the ECO wick is the correct choice.

HTP Series (High-Temperature Performance — For Difficult Fragrances)

HTP wicks are a woven cotton construction designed for candles with high fragrance loads, dense waxes, or fragrances that tend to clog standard wicks. If you experience wick drowning (the wick goes out in a pool of wax) with CD or ECO wicks at 10% fragrance load, HTP wicks are the solution. Available from international suppliers and some Indian importers.

Wick Sizing for Karessa Concrete Gypsum Jars

The critical rule for concrete jars: wick up one size compared to glass jars of the same diameter. Concrete conducts heat differently from glass — the wax beside the concrete wall cools more slowly, requiring a slightly larger wick to achieve a full melt pool.

The Systematic Wick Testing Protocol

Never assume a wick size is correct without systematic testing. The protocol:

1.    Make 3 identical test candles with your target wick size. Use the same wax batch, same fragrance load, same pour temperature.

2.    Burn 1 for a full 4 hours on Day 1 after curing. Measure: melt pool diameter at 2 hours and 4 hours. Note mushrooming, soot, flame height.

3.    Burn 2 for 2 hours per session x 3 sessions (representing normal home use pattern). Evaluate performance across sessions.

4.    Burn 3 in a high-heat environment (35C room, simulating Indian summer) to test heat stability.

5.    If the melt pool reaches full jar diameter at 3-4 hours without mushrooming: correct wick. If tunnelling: wick up one size. If mushrooming heavily: wick down one size.

Sourcing Wicks in India in 2026

•       VedaOils (vedaoils.com): CD series in all sizes from CD-4 to CD-22. Pre-tabbed and untabbed available. Price approximately Rs.200-Rs.350 for 100 wicks.

•       Moksha Lifestyle: ECO series in smaller range but premium quality. Best for ECO-6 to ECO-10.

•       Amazon India: Both CD and ECO wicks available in starter packs of 50-200. Good for initial testing. Price Rs.150-Rs.400.

Test your wick choices in Karessa's consistent concrete jars: karessacandles.com/collections/concrete-candle-jars. Same jar dimensions batch after batch.