How to Take Care of Candles
At Scented Designs Candle Company, we're passionate about creating beautiful, clean-burning soy candles that fill your home with delightful aromas.
But just like any treasured possession, your soy candle needs a little TLC to ensure a long-lasting and enjoyable experience.
It's easy to think we all know everything there is to taking care of candles (I mean, how complicated can it be, right?). But with just a few quick candle care tips and tricks, you'll get even more life and fragrance from your candle, which = more bang for your buck!
Here's our quick, helpful guide on How to Take Proper Care of Candles to get the most out of your Scented Designs candle:
Soy Candle Care Instructions
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Proper Storage: When not in use, store your soy candle in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight or heat sources. Sunlight can cause the candle to discolor, while excessive heat can cause the wax to melt or to expand, covering up too much of the wick for it to burn properly. A closed cabinet or drawer is a perfect spot!
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Wick Trimming is Key: For optimal burning, trim your wick to about ¼ inch (6mm) before each lighting. A long wick can lead to flickering, soot, and uneven burning. Use a designated candle wick trimmer or nail clippers to achieve a clean cut. Pro tip: Discard the wick trimmings to avoid them falling into the melted wax. Learn more about why wick trimming matters!
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The First Burn Matters: The first time you light your soy candle, allow it to burn for at least 2-3 hours, or until the melted wax reaches the edge of the jar. This creates a "memory pool" for future burns and prevents tunneling (uneven melting of the wax).
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Burn It Safely: Always place your burning candle on a heat-resistant surface, away from flammable objects like curtains or bookshelves. Some candles (like our travel tin candles) have raised safety feet to keep a hot candle off of your surface, but it's always a good idea to use a coaster or something under the candle to make sure it doesn't harm your table or other surface. Never leave a burning candle unattended and keep it out of reach of children and pets.
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Extinguishing Your Candle: When extinguishing the flame, our favorite tip is to avoid blowing it out. This can cause the wick to smolder and release smoke. Instead, you can use a candle snuffer or dip the wick into the melted wax pool (straighten it up before the wax solidifies).
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Recycle and Repurpose: Once your candle is finished, gently remove any remaining wax with a spoon (soy wax is actually quite a soft wax and can be easily removed) or by warming the jar with hot water (be careful!). Clean and reuse the jar for storage or get creative with DIY projects!
Soy Candle Care Bonus Tips:
- Listen to Your Candle: Soy candles burn cleaner than traditional paraffin wax candles, but if you notice excessive flickering or smoke, extinguish the flame, trim the wick, and relight. The soot is likely being cause by an untrimmed wick.
- Embrace the Fragrance: Soy wax holds onto fragrance oils quite effectively, so you might not need to burn your candle for hours to fill a room with scent. Experiment and find the burning time that works best for you. Generally, for optimal burning and to avoid overheating the wax, we recommend burning your soy candle for no longer than 4 hours at a time.
- Enjoy the Journey: Soy candles are made from a natural, renewable resource and offer a clean-burning experience. By following these simple care tips, you can extend the life of your candle and enjoy its beautiful fragrance for longer.
Happy Scentsational Living!
We hope this Soy Candle Care Guide empowers you to get the most out of your Scented Designs candles.
For more information or any questions, join our email list for more tips + tricks, or feel free to contact us - we'd love to hear from you!
Learn more about Candle Care on our candle blog:
Why You Should Trim Your Candle Wick (Really!)
How to Keep Candles from Tunneling
The Science Behind Candle Care
