Candle Care 101: How to burn your candle properly and safely

Dec. 2020

Candle Care 101: How To Burn Your Candle Properly

  1. The first thing you want to do is make sure your wick is the proper length, don’t worry we have started that for you. We do recommend using a wick trimmer since it creates a nice clean cut that maintains the integrity of the wick, but scissors will do! You want your wick to be about ¼” in length before burning. You will want to trim the wick to this size for every subsequent burn. We recommend only trimming wicks on cooled candles, to prevent debris from falling into hot wax.
  2. Next, you want to find the perfect surface for burning. The ideal surface is even, heat safe, away from drafts, and out of reach of pets, children and wild or elaborate draperies. We love an elaborate window treatment, just keep them away from fire!
  3. Lighters are great for early burns, but as the candle wax gets lower, we recommend a long match to reach the wicks without burning yourself.
  4. Helping your candle burn to its potential is a delicate balance of leaving it alone and keeping an eye on it. Most surfaces aren’t perfectly even, so we recommend rotating your candle 180 degrees every 30 minutes. This will ensure that you get an even pool of liquid wax.
  5. We also recommend burning for minimum of 2 hours and max of 4 hours. However, life can happen and sometimes you need to blow out a candle before it’s ready. This can create a little “memory ring” that can cause tunnel burning. Tunnel burning is when the candle will burn straight down like a little tunnel, leaving wasted wax along the sides of the jar.
  6. Keeping your wicks trimmed and your candles free of debris is the best way to avoid soot and smoke, however, dealing with fire can often leave a bit of soot along the inside of the glass. This is incredibly easy to clean! Get a paper towel and some coconut oil. When the candle is cooled, wipe the inside of the glass with the coconut oil. Ta-Da! Good as new!

CANDLE BURNING DON'TS

  • Don’t leave unattended
  • Don’t play with the wax or try to move the wax around the jar. This will make the wax uneven and promote uneven burning.
  • Don’t burn for more than 4 hours. Your wick can “mushroom” and create a large and unstable flame.
  • Don’t forget to trim that wick! Untrimmed wicks lead to popping, smoking, and soot. This is how candles end up looking dirty and full of debris.
  • Don’t burn in a small unventilated room.
  • Don’t fall asleep with your candle burning.

 

CANDLE BURNING DOS

  • Enjoy often and be happy!

 

Quick Note: 

The rough, bumpy tops after burning a soy wax candle are caused when the hot wax in the melt pool cools and solidifies at an inconsistent rate. This is a feature of soy wax, and not a sign you did anything incorrectly.

In fact, you can even use this feature as a way to show the candle is made with an all-natural soy wax. It does not affect the performance of the candle.