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Branch Basics Beeswax Candle

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Branch Basics Beeswax Candle

A fragrance-free jar of 100% beeswax on an organic cotton wick, listed by MADE SAFE. The dearest candle we list at about $1.23 an hour, and its “no toxic chemicals” claim has no emissions test behind it.

Best for People who want a MADE SAFE ingredient listing behind an unscented beeswax candle and will pay extra for the jar and the listing.

Our rating
Fair (3.1 of 5)
Price range
Premium
Verified marks
MADE SAFE Certified (ingredient screening)
Size
Jar candle, 13 oz by the page text (the store’s item code says 15 oz), about 40 hours of burn time, 3.5 in. wide and 4.25 in. tall, with a wooden lid
Made in
Made in the U.S.A. with beeswax from North American bees; the jar and lid come from China (maker’s statements)

approx. $49 for one candle (about 40 hours)

See it on Branch Basics’s site → (opens in a new tab)

We are not affiliated with Branch Basics. This link goes to the maker’s own page, with no tracking code. How we're funded.

Reader ratings & reviews

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    Reviews are personal experiences, not research, and they never change our quality ratings. Every review is read by our team before it appears.

    How we evaluated it

    How it scores Our rating, metric by metric Fair, 3.1 of 5
    1. Wax & wick 45% of the rating 4 of 5

      Two ingredients, beeswax and an organic cotton wick, with no scent, essential oil or dye; the purity is the maker’s statement and the page does not say whether the wax is filtered or bleached.

    2. Independent testing 15% of the rating 2 of 5

      MADE SAFE lists it, a paid certification that screens the disclosed ingredients against a hazard list; nobody has tested the wax for paraffin or measured what the candle gives off.

    3. Trust 15% of the rating 3 of 5

      No CPSC recall or Prop 65 notice found; points off for “no toxic chemicals” and “free of harmful contaminants” claims with no test, an unnamed candle maker, a 13 oz versus 15 oz mismatch and a commission-paying affiliate program of up to 20%.

    4. Value 25% of the rating 2 of 5

      About $1.23 an hour ($49 for the maker’s average of 40 hours), roughly three to four times the cost of the pillars.

    The rating, 3.1 of 5, is the weighted average of these scores. See how we rank candles and our standard.

    What’s in it Every ingredient, in label order 2 ingredients
    1. 100% Pure Beeswax
    2. Organic Cotton Wick
    Who tested it What each test found, and who paid for it 1 test
    • Paid certification MADE SAFE (Nontoxic Certified)

      Lists the Branch Basics Beeswax Candle as certified in all currently available sizes and packaging options. MADE SAFE screens each ingredient a company discloses against a list of more than 15,000 banned or restricted substances. It is not a lab test of the wax for paraffin and does not measure what the candle gives off when burned. The entry shows no certification date. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)

    Who paid, and why it matters
    • Independent The tester took no money from the maker for it: a consumer group, a journalist, a university or a regulator.
    • Paid certification An outside lab or certifier tested or listed it, and the maker paid for that.
    • Maker’s own test A lab report or certificate of analysis the maker commissioned and published.

    A certification is a floor, not a verdict: it checks what its program checks and nothing else. We weigh tests by someone with no stake in the result most.

    What people ask Worries raised online and elsewhere, and what we found 5 questions
    Is it really 100% pure beeswax?
    Branch Basics says so, and MADE SAFE relies on the ingredients a company discloses. No wax test is published. Branch Basics’ own candle guide (opens in a new tab) warns that some “beeswax” candles hold up to 50% paraffin, and a 2024 European Commission lab study (opens in a new tab) found about 27% of commercial beeswax products, candles among them, adulterated.
    Does it really give off “no toxic chemicals”?
    The product page says the candle emits “minimal soot and no toxic chemicals” and keeps a home’s air “free of harmful contaminants”. No emissions test is cited. A 2021 chamber study (opens in a new tab) found soot from all five pillar candle types it tested when the flame was disturbed. Keep the room ventilated and the wick trimmed.
    Who makes the candle, and what is the jar made of?
    The FAQ says the candles are made in the U.S.A., the beeswax comes from North American bees, and the jar and lid come from China. It describes the jar as lead-free decorated glass with lead-free paint and the lid as pine with a silicone seal. It does not name the candle maker, and we saw no test of the glass, paint or seal.
    Do influencers get paid to promote Branch Basics?
    Yes, by design. Its affiliate program (opens in a new tab) gives creators a 15% code for their audience and, as sales grow, commission of 5% to 20% plus free refills and gifts. Creators must use the products and have at least 1,000 followers, and the page invites doctors who recommend non-toxic products. Mamavation’s deals page (opens in a new tab) also lists this candle with a “MAMAVATION” code for 15% off. We did not check any particular influencer’s disclosure.
    Any recalls, Prop 65 notices or lawsuits?
    None found. CPSC’s recall list and California’s Prop 65 notice list (opens in a new tab) held nothing under its name on 2026-10-23. We could not search court dockets.
    Why we chose it What put it on our list 4 points
    • MADE SAFE’s own index lists the candle as certified “in all currently available sizes”. The program screens each disclosed ingredient against a banned and restricted list of more than 15,000 substances, which here means beeswax and a cotton wick.
    • The ingredient list is two items: “100% Pure Beeswax, Organic Cotton Wick.” There is no fragrance, no essential oil and no dye.
    • Sourcing is stated: the FAQ says the candles are made in the U.S.A. with beeswax harvested from North American bees, in a lead-free decorated glass jar with a pine lid. The same answer says the jar and lid come from China.
    • The care steps are specific: burn at least 3½ hours each time, trim the wick to ¼ inch, and snuff by pushing the lit wick into the wax pool so it does not smoke. The page gives an average burn time of 40 hours.
    Trade-offs What to weigh before you buy 4 points
    • It is the dearest candle we list. $49 for an average of 40 hours is about $1.23 an hour, against $0.36 to $0.40 an hour for the pillars we checked from Bluecorn and The Beeswax Co.
    • MADE SAFE reviews the ingredients a company discloses. It is not a lab test of the wax, so “100% pure beeswax” is still the maker’s statement, and the page does not say whether the wax is filtered or bleached.
    • The page says the candle emits “minimal soot and no toxic chemicals” and keeps a home’s air “free of harmful contaminants”. Candles of any wax give off fine particles and soot, so do not take that literally.
    • The page text says the candle is 13 oz, while the store’s item code says 15 oz. Ask before you buy if weight matters to you.
    What to know Details worth knowing first

    Branch Basics is best known for its cleaning concentrate, which is already on our list. It also sells this plain beeswax candle, and the finished product has an outside listing, which most of the beeswax candles we reviewed do not. MADE SAFE reviews every ingredient a company discloses against a list of more than 15,000 banned or restricted substances. Here the ingredients are beeswax and a cotton wick, so there is little for the screen to flag.

    It does not test the wax. Beeswax adulteration with paraffin is documented in commercial samples, and neither MADE SAFE nor Branch Basics publishes a purity result. The page also says the candle emits “no toxic chemicals”. Any burning candle gives off fine particles, so burn it in a ventilated room and read our guide to candles and air fresheners.

    The price is the other catch. At about $1.23 an hour it costs three to four times as much to burn as a good pillar. Branch Basics also pays creators commission to promote its products, so weigh any glowing review of it with that in mind. Buy it if the outside listing matters to you; otherwise a pillar from a maker that names its wax source is the better value.

    What we checked Each claim, and how sure we are of it 7 checks
    Third-party tested
    No
    How Branch Basics Beeswax Candle measures up against our candles criteria
    What we checked What we found
    Pure, named wax Maker’s claim Ingredients: “100% Pure Beeswax, Organic Cotton Wick.” The wax percentage is the maker’s statement; MADE SAFE’s screen relies on the maker’s disclosure rather than a test of the wax.
    A plain wick Maker’s claim Organic cotton wick.
    No added fragrance Maker’s claim Fragrance-free. The page says there are no synthetic fragrances or essential oils, only the faint honey scent of the wax.
    Honest sourcing Maker’s claim Made in the U.S.A.; beeswax harvested from North American bees; the jar and lid come from China, says the FAQ. Not stated: whether the wax is filtered or bleached, or who pours the candle.
    Ingredient screen by MADE SAFE (paid certification) Verified MADE SAFE index entry “Branch Basics ~ Beeswax Candle”: certified in all currently available sizes and packaging options. The entry shows no certification date.
    Clean-burn claims Not verified “Minimal soot and no toxic chemicals” and air “free of harmful contaminants”, with no emissions test cited.
    Recalls and Prop 65 notices Verified None found in CPSC’s recall list or California’s Prop 65 notice list for Branch Basics, searched 2026-10-23. Court dockets were not searched.
    What the labels mean
    • Verified We opened an independent record that confirms it: a certifier’s listing, a regulator’s list or a lab report. It is linked under Sources.
    • Maker’s claim The maker says so on its own page or label. We read it but found no independent record.
    • Not verified We looked and could not confirm it, or the maker does not say. Treat it as unknown.
    Sources Where our facts come from 10 sources
    1. Branch Basics Beeswax Candle product page. Maker’s page. Price, ingredients, burn time, FAQ and care steps as seen on 2026-10-23. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
    2. Branch Basics: safe and healthy candle guide. Maker’s page. Warns that some beeswax candles hold up to 50% paraffin; lists other brands it calls healthy. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
    3. Branch Basics affiliate program. Maker’s page. States the 15% audience code and the tiers of 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% commission. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
    4. MADE SAFE index entry: Branch Basics Beeswax Candle. Certifier or regulator listing. Confirms certified status in all currently available sizes. It does not list ingredients or a date. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
    5. MADE SAFE certification process. Independent source. Describes a screen against a list of more than 15,000 banned or restricted substances, based on what the company discloses. It is not an emissions or wax-purity test. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
    6. California Attorney General: Prop 65 60-day notice search for “Branch Basics”. Certifier or regulator listing. No notice names the company. Searched 2026-10-23. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
    7. CPSC recall list search for “Branch Basics”. Certifier or regulator listing. Returned no recalls. Searched 2026-10-23. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
    8. Chatzipanagis et al., 2024, Foods: Assessment of beeswax adulteration by paraffin and stearic acid using ATR-IR spectroscopy. Independent source. European Commission Joint Research Centre. Commercial beeswax products, candles included, were adulterated 27% of the time against 12.5% for comb samples. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
    9. Andersen et al., 2021, Indoor Air: Emissions of soot, PAHs, ultrafine particles and NOx from stressed burning of candles. Independent source. Five pillar candle types with different waxes and wicks. Particle mass was dominated by soot. We could not open the full text to see which waxes were used. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
    10. Mamavation: sales, deals and discounts from its favorite brands. Independent source. Lists discount codes for Branch Basics (including this candle), which shows a commercial tie between the brand and a site that reviews it. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
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