I encourage you to read the About link, but the short story is — Dude Candle is a one man small business based in California on the central coast.

I work full time in the off road industry while growing Dude Candle after hours and on weekends. It initially started as a question mark. I had an idea, I thought it had some potential, but who knew for sure. I perform every aspect of the business – product development, photography, web design, packaging design, order processing, and shipping.

This little “experiment” surprised me and over the last year or so since it’s initial launch, it surprisingly found a strong and enthusiastic response from consumers like you, so thank you! And that, is the short story answer.

WAX
Dude Candle uses a soy blend that combines both soy and paraffin wax. We do this because, quite simply, it makes the best burning and best scented candle without any additional environmental or socially responsible compromises. If we truly produce a 100% soy candle, it will be clearly labeled as such. Otherwise, we label it a soy blend. We believe in honesty. You can read more on our blog post here.

WICKS
We use various wick types depending on the wax and fragrance formulation blend, but in most instances, they are all cotton or paper core wicks. We never use lead or zinc wicks.

FRAGRANCE OILS
Each scent is a careful blend of fragrance oil to create our own unique line of candles. It’s often thought that candles use Essential Oils for fragrance and this is somewhat incorrect.

In order for fragrance to bond with the wax molecules, it must be a specialty type of oil. If we use essential oils in any of our candles, it’s typically as an accent fragrance and does not constitute the “base” or “bulk” of the fragrance’s scent.

PTHALATE FREE
All fragrance oils we use are pthalate free. This is a positive step forward in ensuring we reduce and risks to human health.

I keep all product in stock and if it’s online, it’s ready to ship. If there’s any unusual situation in which a bulk order is placed which affects inventory, you will be notified.

All orders typically ship within 48 hours via USPS Priority Mail, and now as of July 2023, I offer USPS Ground Advantage which offers more competitive rates but with an additional day or two for delivery times. Based on calculations, this new service is likely to be helpful for customers from the west coast to the mid west (Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, etc.). It’s currently offered online and I’ll continue to monitor it’s use and helpfulness to customers.

USPS Priority Mail usually delivers from coast to coast within 3-4 days. All orders ship from Arroyo Grande, California which is located on the Central Coast.

During peak holiday seasons such as Christmas, there may be shipping delays, but only as a result of carrier delays.

Once an order ships, you will receive an email with tracking information. Please note, tracking information for orders after 5:00pm Monday through Friday or on weekends may not provide accurate details until the shipment processes through the USPS system during the next work day. Example, an order placed at 9:00pm Friday may not show accurate tracking information until Monday.

If you have any further questions, please contact me.

The shortest answer is – it’s not – and Dude Candle does not mark up shipping costs. Shipping anything over a pound requires USPS Priority Mail, and now, after July 2023 – ‘Ground Advantage’ (see below).

I recognize that some companies offer free shipping and dramatically reduced shipping rates, but Dude Candle is not (despite how it may appear) a huge company with enormous profits to absorb shipping costs. Nor do I want to charge more for my products just to sneak in the appearance of “free” shipping.

Remember- everything about Dude Candle is a “one man” show. Web design, packaging, photography, product development, candle production, shipping – it’s all just me. Occasionally, I will offer reduced specials to help lessen the costs.

Please recognize the real world costs and challenges and I thank you for your understanding and continued support.

UPDATE: July 2023, USPS now offers a “Ground Advantage” Program which offers more competitive rates but with an additional day or two for delivery times. Based on calculations, this new service is likely to reduce shipping costs for customers from the west coast to the mid west (Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, etc.). It’s currently offered online and I’ll continue to monitor it’s use and cost savings to customers.

Dude Candle 8oz jars features an average burn time of about 40 hours while our 16oz amber jars can reach up to 80 hours.

Each candle arrives in a Dude Candle box and memorable tissue. It makes for a great presentation as a gift or on a store shelf. The tissue is worth a good read when you get your hands on one!

Yes, Dude Candle offers wholesale accounts. Visit our Wholesale Application page for details.

It’s a descriptive way to describe how a candle scent will smell when you burn it. It’s a similar to the language used to describe fine wines or whiskeys. There’s the way a whiskey smells, the way it tastes, and then the aftertaste it leave you when you’re done drinking. Describing candle fragrance uses the same technique.

Top Note

This is the first note you sense when you smell a candle. This will indicate the overall direction of the intended scent and deliver your first impression.

Middle Note

These are the more complex elements of the overall scent. Often representing the largest portion of a candle’s fragrance delivery, the complexity of the combined scents to make the “heart” of the fragrance make the middle notes the most descriptive and variant.

Base Note
This is the heavier, long lasting scent that remains after the candle has burned. It’s the final scent you’re left with that leaves you with your lasting impression.

Simple answer – it’s purely subjective. Each individual judges for themselves if a scent is strong, weak, or matches your interpretation of a scent. The way you prepare a barbecue is completely different than the way your neighbor would prepare. The wood, the smoker, the marinate, the seasoning is different for everyone.

At Dude Candle, we try not to get too clever or far off the mark for the most familiar scents. If we call it “Motor Oil”, that’s what it will smell like. And if we can’t nail the scent, we won’t produce it.

There is a lot of debate on this subject and studies on candle wax, as one can imagine, are not on the highest level of priorities or expenses for researchers and legislatures. The production of soy candle wax is a protected trade secret. However, the gist of it all is this… After being harvested, the soy beans go through a cleaning process, then bleached, then deodorized, then distilled. When complete, there is an additional process of hydrogenation to help solidify the oil and get it closer to a wax form.

The story goes on, but it should be clear by now that the production of soy is a highly processed system using GMO soy seed and chemical processes to render the soy wax.

The notion that you squeeze a soy seed to produce an all natural soy wax is a myth. That’s not to suggest soy is bad or worse than paraffin wax, but Dude Candle does not subscribe to the belief it’s “better” or “cleaner” or “safer”.
So why do we use it? Because the molecular design of soy wax (along with others we use) is different and may be a better option for certain fragrances we produce. Fragrance oils will bond differently with different types of wax, which is why some of our candles use 100% soy while others use a soy blend.

For more information on Soy Wax, read our article here.

Yes, Dude Candle can provide a custom production run of candles with a minimum order of 30. Custom orders are perfect for office events, weddings, teams, clubs, organizations, special events, and more. Labels can also be customized to your liking, but will bear the Dude Candle brand name and logo in some form for branding and marketing.

Please contact us for details and pricing.

Dude Candle will allow returns on any candle that has not been damaged, burned, or altered (such as surface scraping). We will supply a return shipping label upon request. Shipping costs are not refundable.

It is upon you, the consumer, to ensure the candle is packed safely and securely to prevent damage in transit. Dude Candle will not assume responsibility for damaged returns as a result of improper packing. When your return is received, please allow up to 72 hours for your return to be processed.