How to burn your wood wick candle:
Although a match will light a cotton wick candle, you should use a hot flame or barbecue lighter to light a wood wick candle.
The first time your light your candle, let it burn for 1-2 hours to prime the wick and prevent a build up of wax around the perimeter of the candle. Not everyone realizes that extinguishing your candle too soon may cause problems like "tunnelling". It’s important to let the candle form a full melt pool across surface of the candle to avoid a buildup of wax around the perimeter of the jar. This will optimize all future burns and your candle will last longer.
Always trim the charcoal off your candle wick before each burn so it doesn't impede the flow of wax to the flame. A wood wick should be trimmed to 1/8 inch – 3/8 inch before each burn. Scissors, wick trimmers, or nail clippers work great!
Why soy wax?
We use 100% soy wax in our candles with no additives or preservatives.
Soy wax is derived from soy beans, while paraffin wax is derived from petroleum (a refined gasoline product) - Ew!
Soy wax is a natural, renewable resource and is much better for us and the environment. Soy wax candles burn with zero toxins, carcinogens, or pollutants and are much less likely to trigger any allergies.
Soy wax candles typically last longer than paraffin candles as well due to the slower burn time of the wax. Soy wax is more expensive than paraffin wax so you may pay more for a soy wax candle initially, but the longer burn time means you won’t have to buy more candles as often! Soy wax is also biodegradable, which makes it an investment that benefits you and the environment.
Soy wax candles hold onto the scent from the fragrance and essential oils really well and because it burns slower, the scent is gradually released. This means there won’t be an immediate wave of strong scent, but creates a more enjoyable candle-burning experience.
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If your candle wax looks imperfect or bumpy after burning it – this is completely natural for soy wax and won’t affect the performance of your candle. It’s a result of using 100% natural soy wax with no additives or preservatives!
Wax Tunnelling
Wax tunnelling occurs when the melt pool from the candle flame doesn’t reach the rim of the candle. This can happen from extinguishing your candle too soon. It’s important to let your candle burn long enough for the melt pool to reach the entire diameter of your candle. "Candle Memory" means that your candle won’t ever burn past the buildup of unmelted wax around the perimeter of the jar which will eventually form a tunnel which will greatly diminish the life of the candle. As the candle tunnels the wick will begin to suffocate. The flame needs oxygen to burn and as it tunnels down, the flame will diminish and eventually go out.
How to fix Tunnelling
If you have a candle that has already tunnelled, we have a trick for you to try! This trick is called the Tinfoil Method. Light your candle like you normally would, but wrap tinfoil around it and leave an opening at the top so the flame can breathe. The tinfoil helps by warming up the wax surrounding the tunnel, and helps to melt it down. Check on the progress every half hour. Once enough of the wax has melted down you can extinguish the flame. If you are using the Tinfoil Method on a candle with lots of tunnelling, your wick may drown in wax. If this happens just pour out some of the excess wax so that your wick is 1/4 inch above the wax. This should fix any tunnelling.
If you are still having problems please don’t hesitate to reach out to us by email!
amblesidehandmade@gmail.com