Many different materials have been used over the years:
- beeswax, the wax honeybees make honeycomb from
- dried candlefish, a type of smelt common off the american northwest coast
- cinnamon wax, obtained by boiling cinnamon bark
- insect wax, obtained from certain insects
- tree nut wax, extracted from various types of tree nuts
- tallow, a hard fat from slaughtered cattle or sheep
- waxy plant extracts, obtained from certain plants
- yak butter, made from yak milk
- spermaceti, made by crystalizing sperm whale oil
- oil seed waxes, obtained from plants in the Brassica rapa species
- stearin, similar to tallow but odorless
- paraffin, a solid white distillation fraction of coal and petroleum
- soybean wax, obtained from soybean oil
- palm wax, obtained from palm kernel oil
- etc.
Many different materials have been used for wicks too:
- plant reeds
- rush pith
- cotton or linen strings
- modern braided self trimming cotton wicks
- etc.
