Candle care....and why is it so important?

Let's talk candle care. 

'Candle care is important as burning correctly extends the life of the candle, gives maximum scent throw and keeps YOU safe.'

Our candles are all hand poured and made out of the highest quality soy wax on the market....making it the ULTIMATE candle. Perfect aesthetically smooth tops and a perfect reset. As our candles are all hand poured in small batches, some colour variants may occur, however the scent throw of the candle will always be the same as long as you know how to care for your candle. 

CANDLE SAFETY FIRST!

You should never leave a candle unattended. Always burn within sight, keeping away from flammable objects and of course always on a heat resistant surface and away from draughts, candles are always best in still air. Always keep away from children and pets, and never move your candle while burning as the tin can become hot, and so will be the melted wax. Pretty common sense stuff right?

THE FIRST BURN IS THE MOST IMPORTANT!

You should always burn your candle for a minimum of 3-4 hours to get the largest wax pool possible on the very first burn. What is a wax pool?.....a wax pool is the pool of melted wax. Don't worry if your wax pool doesn't make it all the way to the edge on the first burn, as it will catch up on the next time you burn your candle.

Why is the first burn so important? This will help to prevent tunnelling.....what is tunnelling? Have you ever had a candle that has burnt down through the middle and left wax up the side of the container....this is tunnelling. It has many negative impacts on your candle as you'll end up throwing away a large part of your candle. It also causes your candle to smoke as it disrupts the airflow to and from the flame. So virtually your first burn is setting your candles 'memory' to prevent this happening and is a very important part of your candle care.

NEVER BURN YOUR CANDLE FOR LONGER THAN 4 HOURS AT ANY TIME

Why you may ask? Burning your candle for long periods will cause carbon to collect in the wick, and increase the size of the mushroom. Your candle will become unstable and produce a dangerously large flame, producing smoke and causing it to release soot and does absolutely nothing for the scent throw. The mushroom on the wick gets larger the longer you burn your candle which is why we recommend you don't burn for longer than 4 hours at a time, as your candle needs extinguishing and the wick trimmed. We always recommend after extinguishing to let your candle reset before trimming, and never leave the trimmed wick in your candle, keeping your candle clean. 

KEEP YOUR WICK TRIMMED

Always trim your wick to 5mm before lighting your candle. A wick that is too long will cause the wick itself to burn, causing it to smoke. It will also make the flame too long and flare, again producing smoke.

SCENT THROW

We test and test and test candles prior to launching in any new fragrance, as each fragrance is different, to give you the maximum scent throw. Some fragrance however are subtle, and some are really strong. This has nothing to do with how much is added into the candle as all our candles are maximum fragrance load. This is just how it is......and partially to do with just the fragrance in general, some are just stronger scents than others. Just like bubblegum will always be more powerful than pineapple or jelly bean scent. 

Candles have a cold and hot throw. A cold is when the candle is not lit. A hot is when the candle is lit. A candle can surprise you, one that may not have a strong cold throw can have a really strong hot throw. After all a candle is designed to be lit!! 

Temperature also plays a BIG roll in scent throw. Candles near an air conditioner will not be able to heat correctly, which causes your scent throw to not be as strong. You may notice on a really cold winters day....your candle isn't thriving like it did on a summers day. Wax and fragrance all have a temperature sweet spot. 

"I lit my candle 2 hours ago, why can't smell it anymore?" Just the same as you can't smell your perfume an hour after you have put it on, well for me its 10 minutes...LOL..... your nose adjusts, and just because you no longer can smell it doesn't mean others can't. It's what I call frag nose. Your nose has adapted to the scent. This is why I like to mix it up daily with different smells. You can imagine if you burnt the same scent day in day out you would no longer smell it like you used to. 

DON'T BLOW IT OUT!

The greatest amount of sooting comes from a candle when it's blown out and just fills your room with smoke and potentially splashing wax everywhere. The cleanest way to do it is to dip/push your wick into the wax pool and then pulling it back up to extinguish it, by using a specially designed wick dipper, or a non flammable tool like a metal skewer. The added bonus of doing it this way is that your wick is now coated and primed for the next burn. 

You can also just place the lid back on your candle to prevent filling the room with smoke, but this can also affect the scent of your candle. 

KNOW WHEN TO STOP.

Never burn a candle till it's gone. Always stop burning your candle once the wax is down to 1cm. 

STORAGE

Always store your candles in a cool dry place, away from direct sunlight and dust. Always store them upright and with the lid on. 

NEVER EVER!!!! 

Never put anything in your candle!! This includes adding extra fragrance.....you're only asking for a major fire hazard.

Never throw any liquid on your candle to extinguish.

Never pour melted wax into a container to make your own candle. Every single candle maker goes through days, weeks and months to make sure your candles are safe. Fragrance, wicks, jars, wax....it all needs testing. A candle can literally explode if you have no idea what you are doing. 

NEVER LEAVE YOUR CANDLE UNATTENDED!!  

 

Knowing this care is super important to the life and maximum experience of your candle. And your own safety!!

Happy Candy Scent burning.