Candle Care & Tips
You spent good money on a handcrafted soy candle. Maybe there's even a silver coin waiting inside. The last thing you want is to burn through it too fast, get an uneven melt, or end up with a tunneled jar that wastes half the wax. A little candle care goes a long way, and once you know these habits, they become second nature.
Trim Your Wick Every Single Time
Before every burn, not just the first one, trim your wick to about ¼ inch. A long wick creates a bigger, hotter flame that burns through wax too quickly, produces more soot, and causes uneven melting. A trimmed wick gives you a steady, clean flame and a noticeably longer burn life. You don't need a fancy wick trimmer. Small scissors work just fine.
The First Burn Is the Most Important
Soy wax has memory. The first time you light your candle, let it burn long enough for the entire top layer of wax to melt from edge to edge. This is called a full melt pool, and for most jar candles it takes two to four hours. If you blow it out too early, the wax remembers that smaller pool and will tunnel straight down the middle every burn after that, leaving wax stuck to the sides of the jar. A little patience on burn one saves a lot of frustration later.
Don't Burn for More Than Four Hours at a Time
Longer burns overheat the jar, can cause the wick to shift, and eat through your candle faster than necessary. Four hours is the sweet spot. Let it cool completely before relighting.
Keep It Away From Drafts
Fans, open windows, and air vents cause uneven burning and excessive flickering. A steady flame in a still room gives you the cleanest, most even burn every time.
Know When to Stop
When about half an inch of wax remains at the bottom of the jar, it's time to retire that candle. Burning below that level can overheat the glass. For our Silver Coin Candles, your coin will have fully surfaced well before you reach that point anyway.
Store Them Right
Keep unlit candles away from direct sunlight and heat. Soy wax can soften or develop a white coating called frosting when stored in warm spots. It's completely harmless, but a cool dry shelf keeps your candles looking and performing their best.
Follow these steps and your soy candle will burn cleaner, last longer, and smell better from the first light to the last.
Shop our full collection of handcrafted soy candles at Stars and Cents.