Here are some important tips to get the most out of your beeswax candle investment:
Safety first
Remove all paper and decorative packaging from your candle before you light it.
Location, location, location
Keep your candle on or in a heat-resistant candle holder, on a flat surface. Avoid placing your candle in high traffic areas or near children or pets. Place candle away from moving air from fans, open windows or heating vents.
Timing is everything
The guiding principle for candle success is that you burn it one uninterrupted hour for every one inch (2.5cm) diameter of your candle – especially the first time you light it. So, if your candle is 2 inches across at its widest point, you’ll want to burn it for two hours before you extinguish it. Watch for the “melt pool” to get nearly to edge of your candle.
If you extinguish your candle too early, your melt pool will create a memory circle when the wax pools, and this can encourage your candle to tunnel. Tunneling is exactly what you think it is. And when your candle burns straight down in a narrow circle, you waste a lot of wax.
It’s best to burn tea lights in one 4-5 hour sitting to get the most of your candle. Extinguish your votive when you have about ½ inch remaining if you don’t intend to let it burn out completely – otherwise you may not be able to light it in future.
But don’t go overboard
Letting a candle burn for more than four hours can cause your wick to become too long or allow carbon to collect on the wick. This might lead to a tall flame, or your candle wick might start releasing smoke and soot. Always wait two hours before relighting the candle after a four-hour session.
Trim and tidy
Do a visual inspection of the area around the wick before you light it. Tidy up any debris (like small pieces of wick or match) that could catch fire when you light your candle. Be sure your wick is kept at ¼ inch. Long or crooked wicks can cause uneven burning, dripping, flaring and sooting. Plus, trimming the wick improves your investment: Candles will burn up to 25% longer if you trim the wick every couple of hours. Simply extinguish the candle, trim and relight.
How enlightening
Be sure to light the wick at its base, where the wick comes out of the candle. This allows the beeswax to absorb into the wick.
Hug it out
Encourage the use of all the wax as you burn your pillar candle. To do this, you simply push the unmelted “walls” of your candle toward the wick after you extinguish the flame.
Extinguishing your beeswax candle
Do not blow your candle out. Not only can you spatter wax with this method, but your wick may continue to smoulder – which will ruin it.
Instead, using your wick dipper, gently push the wick into the wax pool until the candle is extinguished and then immediately pull the wick out and straighten it for next time. You can use a snuffer if you prefer.
Store candles well
Keep your candles in a cool, dry cabinet out of direct sunlight. Keep your candle wrapped in tissue paper or cover them lightly with a tea towel to keep dust away. (Once you blow it off, dust won’t impact the quality of your candle, but who needs to do more dusting?)
Because Loving Earth’s beeswax candles don’t have added fragrance, they won’t expire like other candles can. But don’t deprive yourself of the joy of lighting them for too long!