Beeswax Candle Care

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Beeswax Candle Care

How to Care for Beeswax Candles

For the ultimate in beeswax candle care, please adhere to the following guidelines when burning any candle.

Never leave a candle burning unattended.
Keep candles out of reach of children and pets.
Ensure candles are placed away from flammable materials and overly crowded areas.
Burn candles in a draft-free environment, avoiding fans, open windows, and air ducts to prevent dripping or smoking.
Avoid adding foreign objects, such as matches or paper, to the melted wax pool.
Light the wick at its base, where it meets the candle, to allow the beeswax to absorb properly. Using a lighter is recommended.
Trim the wick to 1/4 inch before each use
Extinguish the flame properly to prevent splatters and smoldering wicks—avoid blowing it out

More Candle Burning Tips

To maximize the enjoyment and burn time of your Beeswax Candle Company candles, here are some helpful tips:

Avoid Drafts

Place your candle in a draft-free area. On the first lighting, allow the candle to burn until the liquid wax covers the entire top. This “breaking in” process ensures a more even burn throughout the candle’s life. For pillar candles, burn for 3-4 hours on the initial lighting. For future use, keep the candle lit for at least 2-3 hours to ensure a clean and efficient burn cycle.

Wick Dipping

To extinguish the candle, gently dip the wick into the melted wax with a non-flammable tool. This technique prevents the smoke often produced when blowing out a candle.

Hands Off the Cold Wick

It’s normal for the wick to develop a small black carbon cap as it burns. Don’t trim or touch the wick while it’s cold! After extinguishing the flame, remove any carbon deposits or debris from the liquid wax if possible.

Help Your Candle Heal

If your candle burns unevenly, gently push the wick toward the higher side. If this causes dripping, extinguish the flame, let it cool for an hour, and relight. Repeat as needed, and the candle will gradually correct itself.

Revive the Shine

To restore the luster of your smooth candles, buff with a soft cotton cloth or an old nylon stocking to remove dust and small scratches, bringing back its natural shine.

Clean-Up Made Easy

Votives are wonderful but cleaning the dish can be a hassle. To make it easier, place four drops of tap water in the base of the votive dish before lighting. After extinguishing the candle, let the wax solidify, then gently push on the wax to pop it out of the dish.

Custom Fit for Your Holder

If your candle stem is too large for the chosen holder, soften the outer wax by placing it in half an inch of hot tap water. Gently press the candle into the holder, and the base will mold to fit. You may need to repeat this process for a secure fit.

Use these tips for each type of candle

Follow our tips to get a cleaner, safer, and longet burn of your Beeswax Candles.

Glass Container Candles

To enjoy your Glass Container Candle safely and efficiently, follow these tips:

Placement: Keep your candle away from pets, flammable materials, and drafts.
Wick Maintenance: Before each lighting, trim the wick to ¼ inch.
Burning: Allow the wax to melt evenly across the top of the candle before extinguishing. This prevents tunneling and ensures a clean burn. If wax builds up along the sides of the jar, gently push it toward the flame to help it melt. The Wickman candle-burning tool is perfect for this task.
Managing Soot and Carbon Build-Up: If you notice a carbon deposit (a black “mushroom” at the wick tip) or black smoke (soot), extinguish the candle, trim the wick, and relight it. The Wickman Wick Trimmer tool is ideal for keeping your wick properly maintained.
Remember: When extinguishing your candle, use the Wickman Wick Dipper tool to dip the wick into the wax pool and then pull it out. This technique primes the wick for a clean, even burn the next time you light your candle.

Pillar Candles

To ensure the best experience and safety when burning your Pillar Candle, follow these guidelines:

Placement: Keep your candle away from pets, flammable objects, and drafts. Always burn pillar candles on a heat- and flame-resistant plate or inside a container designed specifically for pillar candles. Avoid using hurricane candle holders, as they can intensify the heat of beeswax candles, potentially causing the holder to crack or the candle to burn faster than intended.
Wick Maintenance: Before each lighting, trim the wick to ¼ inch. The Wickman Wick Trimmer tool makes quick work of this.
Burning Tips: For optimal performance and full wax consumption, allow the candle to burn for at least 4 hours each time, ensuring the wax pool reaches the outer edge. This prevents tunneling (a hole forming down the center). As the candle burns down, fold the edges of the wax inward toward the wax pool to maintain an even burn.
Managing Carbon Build-Up: If you notice a carbon deposit resembling a black “mushroom” at the wick tip, extinguish the flame, trim the wick, and relight. We offer the Wickman Wick Trimmer tool to make this easy and precise.
Extinguishing: Use your finger or the Wickman Wick Dipper tools to gently dip the wick into the wax pool, then lift it back up. This primes the wick for a clean and efficient burn the next time you light it.

Taper Candles

To get the best performance from your Taper Candles and ensure safety, follow these guidelines:

Proper Placement: Securely place your taper candle in a sturdy candlestick holder.
Wick Maintenance: Trim the wick to ½ inch before lighting. When burning, the wick should have a slight curve for optimal performance.
Carbon Build-Up: If a carbon deposit forms at the tip of the wick (resembling a small black “mushroom”), extinguish the flame, trim the wick, and relight.
Natural beeswax candles are typically dripless, but they can be affected by drafts. To prevent dripping:
- Keep your candle away from drafts caused by forced air, ceiling fans, or sudden movements.
- If dripping occurs, extinguish the candle, move it to a draft-free area, and relight it.
Safety Tip: Extinguish the candle before the flame reaches the holder, as the heat may crack glass holders.

Votives

To safely enjoy your votive candles and maximize their performance, follow these guidelines:

Placement: Keep your candle away from pets, flammable materials, and drafts.
Proper Holder: Always burn votive candles in a cup or container specifically designed for them, as they are intended to fully liquefy.
Glass Cups: Take extra care when using glass holders. The thickness of the glass can impact the candle’s burn quality. Thicker holders may draw heat away from the candle, leading to an incomplete burn. Remember, beeswax candles burn hotter than other waxes.
Wick Maintenance: Trim the wick to ¼ inch before each use to ensure a clean and efficient burn.
Removing Residual Wax: Once the candle has burned completely, place the votive holder in the freezer to make wax removal easier. Use a butter knife to gently pry away the cold wax.

Tea Light Candles

To safely enjoy your tealight candles and achieve the best burn quality, follow these guidelines:

Placement: Always keep your candle away from pets, flammable items, and drafts.
Use Proper Holders: Tealight candles must be burned in the provided tealight cups or other holders specifically designed for them. Using improper holders can cause the candle to burn too hot or create a fire hazard. Never burn tealights directly on surfaces or in holders not designed for tealights.
Lighting Tips: Do not trim the wick before lighting. Instead, light the wick at its base, where it meets the wax. Ensure that you melt some of the beeswax at the wick’s base while lighting. This creates liquid wax for the wick to draw up, ensuring a proper burn.
Burn Time: Tealight candles are designed to fully liquefy and burn for approximately 4 hours. For optimal performance, allow them to burn completely in one session. Extinguishing the candle prematurely, especially with less than half the wax remaining, may affect its ability to relight or burn correctly.
Holder Considerations: Avoid using thick holders, as they can draw heat away from the tealight, leading to an incomplete burn.

By following these steps, you’ll enjoy a safe and efficient burn from your beeswax tealights.

Wick Care

Some wicks are designed to curl and self-trim as the candle burns. However, a curled wick can sometimes cause uneven burning if one side of the candle requires more flame to consume the wax evenly. If this happens, you can use a metal tool to gently redirect the curled or angled wick. Be sure to warm the wick first to prevent breakage, and adjust it below the molten wax pool, where the wick is stronger and not yet charred. This should be done immediately after extinguishing the flame, or carefully while the candle is still lit.
Wicks may occasionally become clogged, which can cause them to curl and prevent self-trimming. This can lead to excessive flames, which can pose a safety risk. If the wick is curling and not trimming itself, or if it’s producing excess flame or smoke, extinguish the candle and trim the wick to ¼”. Allow the candle to cool completely before relighting.
In some cases, the wick may curl or flop into the wax pool and self-extinguish. If this happens while the candle is still warm, carefully lift and straighten the wick with a metal tool. If the candle has cooled and hardened, you may need to warm the surrounding wax until it softens. Once softened, gently lift and straighten the wick. If the wax and wick remain too hard, the wick may break, and you’ll need to melt additional wax to expose ¼” of wick before relighting.
A well-burning wick should not have excess carbon buildup. If carbon is present, it can increase the risk of blowouts, drips, soot, and smoke. To prevent this, gently extinguish the candle, trim the wick to remove the buildup, and clear any carbon debris from the wax pool before allowing the candle to cool.

Wickman Candle Accessories

We proudly offer unique candle burning accessories from Wickman Products. Wick trimmers, wick dippers, candle tools and bell snuffers are all available in our “Other Products” category. Check them out today!