Frequently Asked Questions
Overall soy wax provides a cleaner, healthier, and more ecofriendly candle.
We choose to use 100% soy wax because it provides a carbon neutral burn.
Soy is also a renewable resource and is sourced from the United States.
Many companies choose to use paraffin wax because it provides a strong fragrance, however after much research it has also been determined that paraffin wax burns hotter and faster and emits toxic soot because it is a derivitive of petroleum.
Palm oil wax and coconut oil wax are also popular candle waxes, but are very controversial in their farming and harvesting practices.
Our soy candles are made with high quality fragrance oils that contain components of essential oils, but we do not use straight essential oils. While we love essential oils, fragrance oils are better suited for use in candles, as the scent throw is stronger.
The other problem with using essential oils in candles is that essential oils are volatile, meaning they vaporize very easily (which is great when diffusing). However, this also means that they are not as stable as fragrance oils, and when burned in a candle, the essential oil loses it’s aromatherapy properties making it useless for that purpose. Some essential oils can even become toxic when burned.
Our recommended burn time is 3-4 hours.
Be sure to trim the wick to 1/4" before each lighting. You may trim your wick with your fingers, by using scissors, or by using a wick trimmer. Our favorite way to trim the wick is by tapping it with a long lighter prior to lighting, this will break the wick off right where it becomes brittle. As a safety precaution, never leave wick trimmings (matches or other debris) in your candle jar!
If you light your candle and the flame is flickering it is likely that your wick is too long or your candle is in a drafty area. Immediately extinguish your candle, trim the wick, check for drafts, and then relight.
Always allow the melt pool to reach the edges of the jar before extinguishing - this is especially important with our soy candles. Doing so not only allows for even burning, but prevents "tunneling" which is when wax builds up along the sides of the jar.
Never leave a candle unattended or in reach of children, pets or a draft. Allow the jar to cool completely before handling.
Wax melts are scented candle alternatives that add instant fragrance to the atmosphere of any room. Pieces of scented wax are melted with a wax warmer using indirect heat. This gives off the same warm scent of a scented candle without the open flame. This is a great alternative for those living in dorms, apartments, assisted living facilities, etc.
Directions for use:
Simply open your wax melt package and break cubes apart. We recommend using 1-2 cubes at a time. Place the cubes in your wax warmer dish and turn it on. Enjoy!
The easiest way to remove used wax is to add 2-3 cottonballs to the wax while still liquid and allow the cotton balls to absorb the wax. Then simply discard the cotton balls or reuse them for campfire starters! Don’t ever discard melted wax down the drain. After you’ve removed the wax, clean the wax warmer dish with paper towel if necessary.
Wet spots are the spots or patches in jar candles that appear to have air or a wet spot showing through the glass between the wax and the jar. This is simply where the wax is either touching or not touching the jar which will change depending on the temperature. Wet spots are extremely common and will not inhibit the functionality of your candle, just the aesthetic appeal. If you look closely you will notice that all candles (even those from famous companies) have wet spots, and this is why many companies choose to pour their candles in tins or other opaque vessels.
Frosting is the growth of crystals in vegetable oils. Frosting may cause a candle to look dry or have a crumble like appearance on the top which is simply a characteristic of that crystal structure. It has nothing to do with the candle “drying out” and does not effect the quality or longevity of the candle.
Soy wax is a natural material and is sensitive to temperature change. The natural oil can separate from the soy wax but it does not affect the quality of the candle, the way it burns, or the scent throw.
Because soy wax has a low melting point, you may find that it will start to melt if left in direct sunlight or in a warm vehicle. We recommend always leaving your candles in an upright position while transporting them in the event that they get too warm. If they do melt, just take them to a cooler area and allow the wax to reharden.
Phthalates, or phthalate esters, are esters of phthalic acid. They are used to dissolve raw materials when making fragrance oils. They have been used for many decades in a myriad of pharmaceuticals, household and industrial products.
Recently, there have been concerns that high levels of phthalates can cause a host of health issues, some of the primary issues are headaches and allergies. The way I tend to describe a phthalate headache is this: imagine when you encounter that sweet old lady at church who loves to hug you every Sunday but her perfume gives you an instant headache so you avoid her like the plague.
It is not clear whether the levels that people encounter cause adverse effects, but it is clear to us that products would be better if they didn’t pose any such risks. While both the U.S. and Europe have imposed laws against Phthalates in children’s toys, (since they are put in the mouth) there are no rules against Phthalates in candles.
Nevertheless, we have decided to completely eliminate Phthalates from our candles, which allows for a headache and allergy free experience.
While we love the look of dough bowl candles, we would never sell candles in vessels such as dough bowls or coconut shells because they are highly flammable.
Here at 5:14 Candles your saftey is a top priority, that is why we spend countless hours researching and testing our products.
We would also like to mention that candle additives such as dried flowers, herbs, spices, glitter, cinnamon sticks, pine cones, etcetera are also fire hazards.
We do not make wood wick candles at this time. While we love the concept of wood wicks, we have done much research and testing and have found that candles just do not to burn properly with wooden wicks.
In our experience wood wick candles either tunnel around the wick, the wick doesn't stay lit, there is too much soot, and/or they are dangerous to extinguish.