10 Candle Crimes you should NEVER commit!

A brand new candle is a beautiful thing isn't it?

It feels like a treat for the home, and has the power to instantly create calm, relaxation and a little feeling of luxury...

BUT

...a  candle requires care and attention if you want to achieve the best performance, use it safely AND achieve best value.

Every day we see horrible candle crimes being committed - most of which are done unknowingly we know - but still for us candle makers its a heart breaking thing to see - so please don't be a candle baddie, be a #lussolovely and look after your candles.

Here are the classic candle crimes to avoid:

1. Burning for too short a time
Every time you light your candle you should allow the candle to burn until the wax has melted fully to the edges of the container. If you don't do this the candle will burn unevenly leaving an outer ring of wasted wax (this is known as tunnelling). Do it repeatedly and you'll create a well of molten wax that will physically drown the wick and flame

2. Not trimming wicks
Finding the perfect wick for a specific blend of wax, fragrance and container is a science in itself as any candle maker will tell you. A wick totally dictates the success of a candle but that wick must be cared for. Wax will reduce down more quickly than the wick so in between each burn the wick should be kept trimmed to JUST 5mm. Any more than this and your candle will burn too hot - this will use your candle too rapidly, create soot or even in extreme cases create a fire hazard.

3. Burning for too long
In most instances container candles are designed to be burned for no more than around 4 hours at a time.This is for safety and also performance of the candle. If you burn a candle for longer than this the molten wax will get too hot and melt down your candle too fast and burn off the fragrance oil too rapidly. This can also potentially overheat the glass of your candle container leading to fractures or a fire. This is an extreme example - most candle glass is toughened and designed to absorb a lot of heat but cheaper supermarket candles are nearly always made with thin cheap glass - so be warned!

4. Blowing out a candle
Now this one upsets me a lot. Blowing a candle out completely undermines the scent you have created with a beautiful candle by replacing it with the smell of smoke. Not only this it also invariably adds small amounts of soot and smoke into the top layer of the molten wax in your candle leading to a muddy effect on that pure clean wax. Instead use a bell shaped candle snuffer, the candle lid or if neither are available a metal spoon will also work. This method deprives the flame of oxygen and extinguishes the flame rapidly and without smoke and soot.,

5.Melting down candle wax to make wax melts
Possibly one of the worst crimes I see being promoted online all the time. Candle wax and melt wax are two entirely different forms of wax and designed to work in completely different ways. The percentage of fragrance oil, the flash point (temperature at which it will combust) and the way in which the fragrance evaporates works so differently that using candle wax to make wax melts is literally a danger to you and your home. Please don't put yourselves at risk for the sake of a 1cm of leftover wax.

So my lovelies, candle lecture over!

Look after your lovely candles and they will look after you!

Take care and happy melting

Tara xx