Proper Candle & Wax Melt Etiquette

When I first decided to get into candle making, I had no idea how much work went into it! Truly, the more I learned, the more questions arose, and the more I ended up learning. It seemed like a never ending educational rabbit hole! Turns out, pouring candles is highly scientific, dependent on many variables, and if just one of those variables is not exactly right, it can throw off an entire candle system. Who knew?!

Upon all my research before actually executing anything, I came across a lot of information on why it is so important to perform Proper Candle Etiquette as you burn your candles. Honestly, I didn’t even know such a thing existed! I assumed you just lit the candle and let it burn. However, there are various actions every person should take to ensure that the variables within each candle are maintained. This post is going to cover all of those actions to help you have a better candle experience!

Wick Trimming - 

First and foremost (and probably the most obvious), is that you need to trim your wicks between each burn cycle or when the wick exceeds ¼ of an inch in length. 

When wicks are too long but lit anyway, several problems can occur (check out my post on Candle Problems and Solutions for more):

• Excess Soot floating into the air or collecting on the inside of the candle jar.
• Development of Mushrooming on the wicks.
  
• Fragrance Burnout - when the wicks are too long they burn too hot, which burns off the fragrance faster. This causes future burn cycles to be less and less fragrant.
• Large, high flames, which can be dangerous if the candle is lit near children, pets and flammable objects, or if there is a draft that increases the flame size.
• Melts and evaporates the wax faster than it should.

The basic Rule of Thumb is as follows - always maintain a ⅛ to ¼ of an inch wick.

Below is a photo of the wicks in my 8oz candles after a 4-hour burn cycle. These wicks have begun to form a slight bend and some mushrooming on the tip of the wicks. This is normal “wick behavior” while they burn. 

However, the wicks in my candles can get out of hand if not trimmed between each burn cycle. Below is a photo of 1 wick that has been trimmed to between 1/8th to 1/4th of an inch to show comparison in size.

And here is a photo of both wicks having been trimmed.

Wick trimming is vital to ensure you get the most time out of your candle, get the best fragrance performance throughout its lifespan, and keep any adverse outcomes at bay. A pair of scissors usually works for a while, but as the wax gets below half the candle's height, a wick cutter will likely be needed to get the best trimming outcome.

Honestly, other than wick trimming, the rest of what consists of Proper Candle Etiquette is pretty self explanatory! It is as follows -

1. Allow the wax to melt fully to the edges of the container during each burn cycle to prevent tunneling, but do NOT exceed 4 hours of burning per burn cycle.
2. Keep a lit candle away from all drafts, open windows, fans, and anything flammable.
3. Always keep lit candles in sight and away from the reach of children or pets.
4. Do not leave a candle burning unattended.
5. Do not add oils, water, or any other additives to the wax.
6. Stop burning the candle when about ⅛ to ¼ of an inch of wax remains at the bottom of the candle’s container.

Wax Melts

Yes, there is such a thing as Proper Wax Melt Etiquette. However, due to the nature of wax melts, they do not require as much attention as candles unless you utilize a wax warmer that requires a candle for heat. 

To properly take care of your wax melts and your warmer, please abide by the following -

1. Depending on your warmer size, only use 1-3 cubes of wax at a time.
2. Only melt wax cubes in an approved wax warmer.
3. Turn off electric wax warmers after 4-6 hours to prevent the warmer from an electrical burnout and to allow the wax melts to “rest.” The fragrance within wax melts evaporates faster the longer a wax melt is in liquid form.
4. If using a wax warmer that requires a candle as a heat source, follow the same Proper Candle Etiquette written above.
5. Do not add oils, water, or any other additives to your wax melts.
6. Allow the wax to fully cool before removing or replacing the fragrance. Pro Tip - If you have a removable wax cup, place it in the freezer to quickly cool and change the fragrance or discard of old wax.
7. If your wax warmer does not have a removable cup, purchase lined wax cups that sit on the top of your warmer or underneath a warmer lamp. Do not place more than 2 cubes in a cup to ensure all wax melts thoroughly. Line wax cups also help with exchanging fragrances faster and limit clean up.

Summary

Thankfully, Proper Candle and Wax Melt Etiquette is fairly simple and does not require that much energy to execute! As long as you keep your wicks trimmed, don’t keep candles/wax melts lit/warming for more than 4 hours, and use common sense about placement, you will likely get the most out of your products! 

One thing to keep in mind (also mentioned in my Candle Problems and Solutions post) - sometimes, candles are just not made correctly. No matter where you purchase them, you could be stuck with a candle that just doesn’t burn right, smell strong, or perform well. Following etiquette is helpful to maintain your candle and assist it in performance, however, sometimes, no amount of etiquette can make a crappy candle better. All that to say, it's still important to your part, but we can only control what we can control. 

I hope this post was informative and gave you some attainable actions to execute when you purchase your next batch of smell goods! As always, if you have any questions, submit your message through our Contact Page and I will get back to you within 24-48 hours!