Know how to look after your candle
Give your Beeswax candle a bit of extra TLC
White Bloom
If your candle is looking a little dull its because over time it will have developed a fine white powder on the surface it's called a bloom and is a sign of a pure beeswax candle. Simply polish the surface of your candle with a clean duster to restore the shinny surface.
Wicks
Not all wicks are self-trimming.
To ensure an even burn with good flame size with no flickering, trim the wick to 5mm or 1/4inch long, do this when you first light it and throughout the candle’s life.
In general, the smaller candles like tea lights and votives do not need to be trimmed.
Time
Pillar candles - before you light a candle make sure that you have enough time to ensure that your candle burns cleanly across the top, rule of thumb is one hour for each inch in diameter or until the wax pool extends from edge to edge.
Example - burn a 2″ wide pillar candle at least 2 hours.
Tunnelling
Amazingly wax has a sort of memory, which is why we get what's known as "tunnelling"
To avoid this ensure that on the initial candle burn you let the wax pool reach to the outer edges of the candle before you extinguish the candle. You will have a soft wax edge which will need hugging.
This can be anywhere from 2 to 4 or 3-5 hours depending on the width of the candle.
Hugging your Pillar Candle
Hugging preserves the life of your candle so that it burns better and uses all the wax, although leaving the outer shell will give the flame a container effect but this outer wax will have to be removed at some point to give the candle wick oxygen to burn.
Once the wax pool reaches the candle edges it can be hugged. The candle will have an outer wall of a soft pliable wax and will be welled in the middle of the candle. Gently push the soft edges inward and downwards toward the wick level with the wax pool but making sure you leave at least 1/4" of the wick exposed, do not cover the wick.
If the wall of the candle is rather thick and firmer to the touch, then the candle needs more burn time before hugging.
To set the candle for the next time extinguish the candle if not already done by dipping the wick in and out quickly into the wax pool.
How to extinguish the flame
Ideally, you should push the wick into the pool of wax and then let it stand up again this coats the wick ready for the next burn.
Alternatively you can snuff it out using a candle flame extinguisher but this will tend to smoke.
If you blow out a candle this strips the wax from the wick making
the wick harder to re-light.
Wax running down the side of the Candle
An easy fix by plugging and hugging your candle
This can be a beautiful cascade of wax and an endearing feature although to
prolong the candles life follow these simple steps.
Plug - Extinguish your candle, wait until the candle has cooled but is still warm and pliable, then take some of the wax that has escaped or any extra wax and fill in the hole in the candle's outer wall.
Hug - the candle with your hands by squeezing the candle's top outer wall gently and slightly inwards, trim the wick if needed and relight the candle.
Flame to tall
If the flame gets too tall and starts to flicker then the wick will need to be trimmed, extinguish the candle as above and re-trim the wick back to 5mm and re-light.
Flame to small
This could be to much wax pool and not enough wick. Extinguish the wick as above and then pour off some of the wax and remove any excess wax and relight the candle.
Bee aware
Burning in a glass container, such as a hurricane lamp, will increases the heat so the candle will burn faster.
Tea lights
Always burn tea light candles in their containers on a heat resistant surface.
Tea lights are meant to burn continuously until burnt out, usually 3 to 5 hours.
Warning - Remember the basics
Never burn candles unattended.
Keep away from children and pets.
Burn in a draft-free environment.
Burn on a level heat resistance surface.
Keep away from flammable objects.
Keep lit candles a minimum of 10cm apart.
Any questions please get in touch with ruth@celticbeeswaxcandles.co.uk
