Soy Candle Care

Soy Candle Care – Wood Wick

The first time you burn your candle is THE MOST IMPORTANT

Always light your wooden wick from the base, closest to the wax, and ensure the full width of the wick is alight. Lighting your wooden wick from the top could result in the wood burning itself out before reaching the wax.

  • The first time you light your candle let it burn long enough to develop a melted wax pool that goes all the way to the edge of the container (this can take up to a few hours, depending on candle size).
  • Burn your candle no longer than 4 hours of burn time (a 2-to-4-hour burn is optimal)
  • Keep the wick trimmed to about 1/4” before each use.
  • This will keep your candle looking great, smelling great, and burning evenly.

 

TRIM YOUR WICK

Keep the wick trimmed to about 1/4″ before each use.

Trim your wooden wick before each burn.

Trimming your wick is important for so many reasons – the most important being that your candle will burn properly. You can trim your  candle wick using a wick trimmer, scissors or nail cutter.

CANDLE TUNNELING

If you don’t give your candle enough time to form a full melt pool (especially) on the first burn, a little depression or “tunnel” may start to form around the wick.  This will make it more difficult for the wax around the edges of the jar to melt, causing the tunnelling effect to continue with each burn. Eventually the tunnel can become too deep for fresh oxygen to flow in, and your candle will have trouble staying lit for more than short periods of time. It can even go off within minutes of lighting.

Remember it’s not the wood fueling your candle’s flame, it’s the wax. The flame is drawing the wax upwards through the wick, so if it’s not trimmed short and clean, the wax can’t make it to the flame.

What to do if your candle doesn’t light. 

If you didn’t let your candle burn long enough to develop a melted wax pool to the edge of the container then you may have trouble lighting it the next time.  If your candle can still light, let it burn long enough to get a BIG melt pool. If your candle won’t stay lit because it is drowning in a wax pool, then you can try carefully using a paper towel to soak up some of the excess wax.  Then wait a minute or two before relighting. Repeat until your wick has room to breathe.