I could talk about candles all day, I don't know what that says about me other than I have an extremely boring life and past times. On the plus side I have foolishly wasted enough candles to know what to avoid and on the flip side what to do to keep them in tip top condition. No-one wants to drop £40 on a candle (yeah some of us have more money than sense) for it to tunnel, or worse burn below its suggested time period. Let me school you with a few candle care tips before I sign up for y'know some real hobbies...I hear calligraphy is simply riveting. You think I'm being sarcastic but it is something I want to master.
- Avoid storing or placing your candles where they will be directly exposed to sunlight, much like personal fragrance this can affect and alter the overall fragrance. If the candle wax happens to be tinted this may encourage it to fade.
- Before burning your candle, be it for the first time or the tenth trim the wick (this does not apply if the wick is wooden) to as close to 1cm as possible.
- When using a candle for the first time allow for around two hours of burning time or until the wax has fully melted evenly on top before extinguishing. This prevents the candle from tunnelling and results in a longer candle life span (yep really a thing).
- Speaking of wax pools (doesn't that sound like a spa treatment?), attempt to keep yours clear from debris (dust, disregarded pieces of wick and so forth) to prevent fire hazards from happening. I realise it sounds strange and dramatic but it has happened in the past - at one point I nearly lost an eyebrow. Learn from my mistakes people ha!
- While we are on the topic of fire hazards, do not light your candle near any loose fabrics such as curtains and bed linens. In the same vain it is less than ideal to place a lit candle in the path of a draft or breeze.
- Some candles won't burn clean and may produce an annoying black soot, for that reason alone I don't burn my candles too close to a wall as it is a nightmare to clean up afterwards.
- I'm sure this is common sense but do not attempt to move a lit candle, especially if said candle is housed inside a glass container. It will retain heat and it will burn your hand.
- Another non-brainer is to of course place lit candles not only out of the reach of children and pets but to avoid places they will be knocked over easily in general. In the same vain do not leave a lit candle unattended ever, and I mean ever.
- Lastly to dispel any old wives tales, freezing your candle before burning will not extend the life.Yes it will burn a little slower to begin with (we are talking a few minutes at the most) but due to the heat of the wick, it will quickly heat up and burn as normal. The only time I freeze a candle is to remove any left over wax (it makes the job ten times easier) when cleaning to re-purpose the glass jar.
I apologise if anything above comes across a little preachy, sometimes I do scramble aboard my soapbox and there is no stopping me. I do hope that the points I raised can help answer a few questions or at the very least allow you to squeeze a few more hours of use from your candles. As always if you have any other tips please feel free to leave them below!
Great post especially for people who aren't used to candles. I always forget to let it burn and I always end up wasting candles! Plus the open flame one is true, I had a cat who once walked over a candle and set his fur on fire, luckily he only singed it and he was fine, good job we were watching him.
ReplyDelete--
prettymadthings.blogspot.co.uk xx
Thank you so much, I will definitely be keeping my candles on for two hours when I first use them from now on! And don't worry, I'm a bit of a candle enthusiast too - I have different scents for different moods and everything!
ReplyDeleteSteph - http://nourishmeclean.blogspot.com
Such an interesting and different sort of post, I really enjoyed it. I have recently got back into lighting candles, for a while I just stopped and I am not sure why. I have definitely wasted candles before, but I will make sure not to anymore.
ReplyDeleteBeth x
www.hellobeth.co.uk
These are some great tips! I'm always preaching to others about letting the candle burn until the wax has melted evenly on top. I'm not about those tunnels! Haha
ReplyDeleteX
Anjelique
www.anjelique.com.au
Thank you so much for this! I'm trying to get clued up on candles more as I'm attempting to make some at some point this summer.
ReplyDeleteI really hate candle tunnels, they're so annoying and ugly hahaha
Halestones // Starlight
Great guide! Especially when some people don't know much about candle care, nor that it even exists. I remember talking to my boyfriends brother and his girlfriend about candle care and they couldn't believe it actually existed. xD
ReplyDeletehttps://theremightbecoffee.wordpress.com/
Hmmm, very interesting points I would've never thought of! Thank you for this post! I have some BBW candles I have yet to burn, so these are so helpful! :)
ReplyDeleteHmmm, very interesting points I would've never thought of! Thank you for this post! I have some BBW candles I have yet to burn, so these are so helpful! :)
ReplyDeleteHmmm, very interesting points I would've never thought of! Thank you for this post! I have some BBW candles I have yet to burn, so these are so helpful! :)
ReplyDeleteI can never be trusted with candles but this will definitely help me when I do light one again!
ReplyDeletehttp://lxdia.blogspot.co.uk/
These are great. I learned about trimming and tunneling later in life and regret ruining a bunch of candles. x
ReplyDeleteI do agree with everything you said! I didn't know about the wax pools' dangers though. Now I'll pay more attention to that (you've probably saved one of my eyebrows there ;) ). One question, that might be considered ot: how do you remove the glue of the adhesive off the glass without scratching the life out of it? Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI can't tell you how useful this post is! I am the worst for candle care so will definitely be taking this into account :)
ReplyDeleteLorna | www.studsanddreams.com xx
Great tips! I've been trying to look after my candles better lately as I never seemed to be able to work out why they'd all tunnel or start to look a bit crap!
ReplyDeleteMegan x
London Callings
I'm really bad at trimming the wick even though I know I should! Great tip about freezing it in order to remove the wax inside xx
ReplyDeleteRamblings of a Beauty Bird | Beauty Blog