The Best Ways to Burn

Lighting a candle seems like a pretty straight forward activity, but what you may not know about burning candles might be preventing you from getting the longest, cleanest, most effective burn for your money. Here's just a few tips everyone should know before lighting their next candle:

Jar Candles:

*The first time you light up your soy candle, you should be prepared to let it burn for a while. The preferred time is to allow a soy candle to burn one hour for each inch in diameter of the candle. For many soy jar candles that would equate to 3-4 hours of burning, as they are 3-4 inches wide. The reason for this is to get the best burn pool going. As it burns you will notice there is a slow spread of the melted oil from the center towards the edge of the jar. You don't want to extinguish you candle until the pool has reached the edges of the jar each and every time you light it. If you plan on going to bed an hour after you light your candle, start burning smaller-sized candles.

*We frequently say, "Candles have a memory and they love to carry a grudge!" Candles 'remember' how wide their oil pool was in the past, and they will grow to that size in the future. That means if you only burn them a little while the first time around, they will stick to that size burn pool and burn down through the candle, instead of making use of the wax around the edges. This is the primary source of candles "tunneling" or leaving excess wax stuck to the sides of the jar.

*Your scent comes from this burn pool. The larger it is, the better the scent. You will get more fragrance from a larger candle than a smaller one and you will get more fragrance from your candles if you burn them for long periods of time before extinguishing them.


Pillar Candles:

To prevent dripping, when candle burns down to the point that you can no longer see the flame, allow to cool completely then slice off the top of the outer wall of the pillar to allow proper burning to continue. If you choose, you can throw the excess wax into the top of a melter to get the most from it!

Taper Candles:
Our palm wax tapers are dripless, but to ensure this: avoid drafts, excessive vibrations or nearby heat sources and be sure tapers are straight and set firmly in their holders. (We sell Taper "huggers" in our store to help achieve a straight, wobble-free taper.)

Votives:
Votives are made to liquefy; burn them only in appropriate holders, never burn a votive without a container that reaches up to the top of the candle.

Avoiding soot:

Although soy wax burns much cleaner, the all cotton wick may cause some soot. Also, if you light your soy candle with matches or a typical lighter (even a budget candle lighter) the flame usually paints the jar black. Use a candle lighter with an adjustable flame that can be kept only large enough to light the wick, not blacken the jar.

*Keep your wick trimmed only when it's too long and has a mushroom top on it. Avoid burning candles in drafts (ie. outdoors, near a fan or heater/ AC unit).

*When putting your soy candles out, pinch the wick with your fingers or a Candle Quencher. This will virtually eliminate smoldering and soot residue caused from blowing or snuffing out wicks.

If you follow these simple tricks of the trade, you will be able to get much more burn time for your money, as well as an optimal candle-burning experience!