faq

BEFORE LIGHTING Trim the wick to ¼ inch each time before burning. Long or crooked wicks can cause uneven burning or flaring. Place the candle on a stable, heat-resistant surface. This will also help prevent possible heat damage to counters and table surfaces and prevent glass containers from cracking or breaking. Keep the wax pool clear of wick trimmings, matches and debris at all times. Avoid drafts, vents or air currents. This will help prevent rapid or uneven burning, sooting, and excessive dripping. Burn for 2-3 hours each time you light the candle. This will help the candle burn evenly, and remember to trim wicks before each burn. WHILE BURNING Never touch or move a burning candle. Never move a container candle when the wax is liquified. Don’t burn a candle all the way down. For a margin of safety, discontinue burning a candle when there is 1/4" inch of wax left in the container. Place burning candles at least three inches apart from one another. This is to make sure they don’t melt one another, or create their own drafts that will cause the candles to burn improperly. Extinguish a candle if the flame becomes too high or flickers repeatedly. Let the candle cool, trim the wick, and check for unwanted drafts before re-lighting. Always keep the candle within your sight. If you are going to leave the room, be sure to first blow out all candles. Never use a candle as a night light. Be very careful if using candles during a power outage. Flashlights and other battery-powered lights are safer sources of light during a power failure. Never use a candle during a power outage to look for things in a closet, or when fueling equipment – such as a lantern or kerosene heater. Never burn a candle on or near anything that can catch fire. Keep burning candles away from furniture, drapes, bedding, carpets, books, paper, flammable decorations, etc. Keep candles out of the reach of children and pets. Do not place lighted candles where they can be knocked over by children, pets or anyone else. WHEN EXTINGUISHING Use a candle snuffer to extinguish a candle. It’s the safest way to prevent hot wax from splattering. Never use water to extinguish a candle. Water can cause the hot wax to splatter and might break a glass container. Make sure the candle is completely out and the wick ember is no longer glowing before leaving the room. Don’t touch or move the candle until it has completely cooled.

As a general rule, scented candles will have minimal smoking due to the amount of scent put in them. Before you light your candle, make sure the wick is only ¼ inch. This seems short, but trust me the wicks are strong enough to give you an even burn. If your candle does start smoking you should blow it out and let the candle cool. Then trim your wick and relight. If it continues to smoke, blow it out and rub the wick between your thumb and forefinger. This removes any excess debris that might cause smoking, then relight. Please be careful when handling hot containers.

The black you see is carbon. An excessively large flame will produce carbon due to lack of sufficient oxygen from the air in the jar to provide complete combustion. The updraft of hot gases from combustion hinders diffusion of air into the jar and that starves the flame of oxygen. The key for that perfect burning candle is wick maintenance. The wick must be trimmed to no more than 1/4" throughout the candle life. It is suggested that upon each candle lighting the wick be trimmed to our specifications. Note: Burning a candle for longer periods of time than recommended can cause a wick to "mushroom" or produce a large black clump on the wick. Always keep your wicks trimmed to 1/4 inch and burn for only the recommended amount of time to prevent this effect.

Place on a safe, level, heat resistant surface. If your house has vaulted ceilings place your candle where the ceiling is lowest. Burn your candle in a non-drafty room. Remember to keep your candles away from any flammable products, and high enough to be out of reach of curious children and pets. Never burn unattended.

Yes, our candles are 100% vegan friendly and cruelty free, as they do not contain any animal products, nor have they been tested on animals.

No. This is a common misunderstanding. Remember, a candle is a solid not a liquid. Most liquids will lose their fragrance if left uncovered. Examples of this would include perfumes and colognes. At CC Shop we thoroughly mix our fragrances within the wax and continue to agitate throughout the filling process. This assures that the fragrance is captured within the very structure of the candle and releases the powerful fragrance upon wax liquefying through melting. Occasionally a customer will drop one of our candles, shattering the glass. This gives us the opportunity to prove that our candles are scented throughout the candle, not just "topping off" surface scenting or wick scenting. This very well may be your answer when purchasing candles from others sources, which after a short time you say, "I can't smell my candle anymore!"

We recommend keeping your candle at room temperature out of direct light. If you keep your candle in direct sunlight or UV lighting for an extended period of time, you may notice the wax turning yellow. This is completely normal. To ensure keeping the clear white, keep out of lengthy direct exposure. ​

Our candles are perfectly safe for most individuals suffering from allergies. The candles burn clean and the fragrance does not irritate most allergies. As with all candles, the product is not meant to be used outside of its intended purpose (meaning don’t eat it!)

Yes. If you leave wick debris in your wax it can cause uneven burning of your candle, and can be a fire hazard. Please be careful to keep direct flame off your glass because it can cause your glass to get too hot and shatter.

Yes!! Always!! Every time!! Be sure to trim the wick to 1/4" before each lighting to prevent wick curling. Trim your wick with a simple finger pinch or by using scissors or a proper wick trimmer. As a safety precaution, never leave wick trimmings in your candle jar!

A properly burning candle produces water vapor and carbon dioxide, the same materials we exhale when we breathe.

No. For many years candle makers were using wicks that had a lead core. This was so the wick would stand straight up. Once they found out that lead was bad for your health most candle companies replaced their lead core wicks with zinc core wicks because they had the same results without the health issues. Some companies may still use lead wicks, so this is a great question to ask when buying a candle. We use a cotton wick with a zinc core. Our wicks stand straight the entire time you are burning them to ensure a consistent burn every time.

Wax and fragrance can occasionally clog the wick. Extinguish the flame, wait for the candle to cool, trim the tip of the wick, then twist the wick with your fingers to loosen the fibers in the wick. This will allow for the fragrance and wax to more freely absorb through the wick.

We cannot change the shipping address for orders that have already processed at our warehouse or gone out, and the U.S. Postal Service is not able to change delivery addresses once an order has been shipped. If your package was shipped via FedEx or UPS you can request a redirect, although this may cause you to incur an additional fee. Homesick Candles is not responsible for mis-delivered packages if the wrong shipping address was entered during checkout.........

Of course! We'd love to help you with that. We currently sell our CCS candles in case packs of 12 candles per state for bulk order discounts. We are able to process bulk orders quickly, usually within 2-3 business days and standard shipping takes 3-7 business days within the continental US. To inquire more about our bulk order process, please email us at: dinah@californiacandleshop.com

Yes. For more information on bulk pricing and quantity price breaks, contact us. Some examples of large orders we’re happy to accommodate are: Candles as wedding favors Candles as a gift to your clients or vendors Candles to burn in your salon/spa/hotel

No. California Candle Shop has a strict no sharing or selling of any information provided on this site. All information provided on our site including personal, contact and payment information is used solely by CCS.

If a product is found defective, CC Shop will replace it free of charge. All returns must be authorized by a CC Shop Representative. Returned products will only be accepted within 30 days of shipment date. Products must be received back to our warehouse undamaged and unused. Returned products are subject to shipping charges. Custom and wholesale orders are not returnable unless defective. CC Shop will not be held responsible for the condition of any returned packages, and we will not return any broken or mishandled merchandise to the customer. For our employees safety, any and all broken or mishandled returns will be discarded and you must take reimbursement issues up with your shipping company.

I am so sorry! Unfortunately, I am not responsible for orders after they are shipped. All orders are packaged very carefully so that they can arrive as safe as possible, but sometimes the mail carriers can have a few mistakes and mishaps with packages. This is why packages are insured, though! You can file a claim through USPS on their site or by following https://www.usps.com/help/claims.htm and receive your money back for your damaged items.

Unfortunately, due to many safety concerns and personal health, we cannot accept returns on any lip balms, oil, honey, gift basket, and soap.

At California Candle Shop®, we craft our products in small batches and carefully inspect them before shipping. ALL SALES ARE FINAL and cannot be returned or exchanged, so please make your selections carefully. California Candle Shop® does not replace, refund, or exchange products that have been purchased ... Thoroughly inspect your package(s) upon arrival for any damages. In the event damage occurs during shipping, please report any issues along with supporting photos (required) within three (3) days of delivery to dinah@californiacandleshop.com. We will only offer a replacement of the item originally ordered, no refunds, substitutions or exchanges. California Candle Shop is not responsible for lost or stolen packages or damages that occur once package(s) are received. California Candle Shop releases all accountability and liability once USPS or another designated carrier takes possession of the package(s). California Candle is not responsible for incorrect shipping addresses, and all costs associated with amending an incorrect address are the sole responsibility of the purchaser.

We are only able to ship to the contiguous 48 states. We do not ship to APO/FPO addresses, PO Boxes, Hawaii, Alaska, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. We are not able to ship internationally at this time.

We ship with only the most reliable carriers worldwide. Once the package has left our warehouse, CC Shop cannot be held accountable for lost, stolen or mis-delivered packages, but we want you to have the best possible experience with our company. Please contact the carrier assigned to your order and see if they have any insight. If they are unable to assist, please email us at: dinah@californiacandleshop so we can work with you to resolve this.

No. We try to ship orders on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. To ensure your order does not sit in a truck or warehouse over the weekend (which could compromise the quality of the product), orders placed on Thursday, Friday or Saturday will be shipped the following Monday.

Please allow at least 24 hours after you've received your tracking number to track your package. Note that some carriers reuse tracking numbers so don’t be confused if you enter this number and see that your package was delivered 2 months ago. Simply allow the carrier to refresh the feed and check back. If the tracking does not populate, please contact us and we'd be happy to help!

At this time we only ship within the United States. Stay tuned. We hope to have this option available soon!

CC Shop ships within 2-3 business days from the time the order is placed. In some cases, during special promotions, ship times can be longer. It is our goal to ship orders as quickly as possible.