Revisited

Revisited

How to burn a container candle. This is a little lesson that I am calling Candle Burning 101. The most important thing to remember when burning you candles is to trim the wick.  The wick needs to be less than ¼ inch long.  You can purchase a special wick trimmer or just use nail clippers.  In a pinch scissors will work just fine.  Almost all candles will smoke if the wick is too long. 

Did you know that candles should be burned for no longer than 4 hours at a time?  After around 4 hours you wick may need to be trimmed again. Blow out your candle, let it solidify, trim your wick and then you can relight you candle for 4 more continuous hours.  

Now, for cool candle terminology.

•     Cold throw - this is the strength of a candle’s aroma when it is unlit.
•      Hot throw - this is the strength of a candle’s aroma when it is burning.
•      Burn pool – the amount of melted wax present in a burning candle.

You ideally want a candle with both good cold and hot throw.  You want an even burn pool.  A quality candle should burn evenly across and not leave any waxy residue on the jar.  Candles have a memory so the first time you burn you candle you need to let it burn evenly across the container before you blow it out.  The next time your light you candle it will remember the way it should burn.

Cheap candles are cheap because they either have very little fragrance or poor quality fragrance. They are best used as a light source.  If you’re purchasing a candle for its fragrance, you should purchase the best quality candle in your budget range.