Candle care is actually really easy and doesn’t take much time or effort, but it can make a huge difference to you and your enjoyment of them. Luxury candles are gorgeous especially the plant-based ones like the Illumine candles, that will be clean burning and soot free. However, the great quality and natural ingredients are just the starting point to really enjoying your candle. If you’ve paid for 40-hours of lush fragrance around your home, there are just a few simple candle care steps you’ll need to do take.
A candle’s first burn is the most important
Firstly, always trim the candle wick before the first use. Trim it to 3-5mm, so pretty short. A decent pair of nail scissors or clippers will do fine. You can double the life of your candle, just by keeping the wick trimmed and doing it before you burn your candle for the first time will really help.
Secondly, for the first burn leave the candle alight for at least 2 hours, but no longer than 3 for Illumine candles. It’s important that for the first burn of your candle, you let the wax melt right to the edge of the glass. If you don’t have time to burn your new Illumine candle for 2 hours, wait until you do. This is because the wax pool you get for the first burn will be the wax pool you get every time you burn your candle. So it really does need to go right to the edge. Otherwise, you will get tunnelling and that will mean your candle won’t last long.
After the first burn, extinguish the flame, make sure that you centre your wick back into its original position before the wax sets again. Then let the candle come to room temperature, (this will take about an hour for the Illumine Candle) and at that point trim the wick to 3-5mm again. Don’t trim the wick once the candle has gone totally cold. After you have done this remove any debris left in the candle. And voila that is how you do your candle's first burn!
Candle First Burn Do's
- Trim the wick
- Burn the candle for 2-3 hours
- Make sure that the wax has melted all the way to the edges
- Extinguish the flame
- Centre the wick
- Trim the wick again before it goes completely cold. (about an hour after you put the candle out)
- Remove debris
How to care for your candle and get a long, clean burn
Always trim your wick
When wick trimming, always extinguish the flame, let the candle come to room temperature, and then trim the wick to 5mm before relighting. Never trim a wick when it is cold. Cold, charred wicks are brittle and can break off at the wax surface which will leave nothing to relight. All candles smoke if the wick is too long. The scent throw comes from the melt pool, which is the amount of melted wax that forms around the flame. You do not require a blazing flame to produce a good sized melt pool.
Allow your candle to Pool
To assist your candle in a clean and even burn, allow it form a complete melt pool each time you light it. The melt pool is the amount of melted wax that forms around the flame. You want the melted wax to go right to the edge of the glass in a nice even layer. To create a full melt pool, burn the candle for a minimum of 2 hours. If you keep extinguishing your candle early, such as after 30-40 minutes you won’t get the best fragrance from your scented candle. A 2-hour burn will be one that will linger for longer.
Don’t burn for more than 4 hours
All burns should be no longer than four hours no matter how old or new your candle is. This is because the fragrance of the candle will start to weaken at this point, and also you might start to get some soot.
Don’t relight it again too soon.
Leave it for about 24 hours before lighting the candle again as it will prolong the fragrance from the candle.
Keep your candle and glass clean
Remove dust with a moist cotton pad and generally just make sure to keep the candle free from foreign materials. If the glass turns black due to the candle having been left to burn for too long, then use a wet cotton pad with lightly soapy water. Keeping your candle clean will help it to burn in well. Make sure to dry the area before lighting your candle again.
Choose the location of your candle carefully
Burning your candle in a draughty area will make it burn too quickly. Not trimming the wick, burning it where there's a draft, and not allowing the wax to pool to the edges are the top 3 no-nos. Also, make sure to place your candle on a level. fire resistant surface.
For the best results, burn your candles within 12 months of purchase.
Luxury Candle Care Don’ts
- Don’t forget to trim the wick
- Don’t trim the wick when it’s cold. Do it about 1-hour after the flame has gone out
- Don’t burn for more than 4 hours at a time.
- Don't place your candle in a draughty area
- Don’t let your candle get filled with debris
- Don’t let your candle get dusty
- Don’t burn your candle too soon after the last burn. A 12-24 hour break is ideal
- Don’t burn your candle on an uneven surface
- Don’t leave your candle unattended
- Don’t burn your candle near flammable things
- Don’t store your candle in direct sunlight or intense light
Beware of the candle no-nos
- Tunnelling - you haven't burned for long enough
- Leaving black on glass - burning for too long
- Mushrooming - burning for too long
- Long wicks - trim, trim, trim!
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