It went out right after I lit it
Wood sometimes needs more heat to catch than cotton. Relight it with a lighter and hold the flame at the base of the wick a little longer, five to ten seconds.
Candle care
Tending the flame
Here you'll find a comprehensive guide on how to care for your candle so you can maximize its lifespan and ensure effortless, continual burns (plus a troubleshooting section if something seems off.) Wood wicks need a little extra love sometimes, but the crackle is so worth it!
No. I · Your candle
Coconut wax & wooden wicks
Our candles are made of a coconut blend wax with crackling wooden wicks for *peak* ambiance. The wax melts easily, burns slowly and cleanly, and carries its scent beautifully.
Wooden wicks burn with a wide flame and a soft crackle, like a fire on the hearth. Wood can sometimes take a little more coaxing to light than cotton, and it performs best when kept trimmed to around 1/8 of an inch (otherwise you can end up with a flame that is too big). Keep scrolling for tips and troubleshooting to help your candle burn well from the first night to the last.
Lighting a wooden wick
Don’t worry if it goes out on the first try. That’s normal for wood.
- i.
Use a lighter
A long-necked lighter works better than a match. Wood needs a few seconds of steady heat to catch, and a match usually burns down before the wick is ready.
- ii.
Tilt and hold
Tilt the jar slightly and hold the flame to the base of the wick, where it meets the wax, for five to ten seconds. This warms the wax so it can draw up the wood and feed the flame.
- iii.
Give it a minute
The flame often starts small and flickers while the wax around it melts. Within a minute or two it should settle into a steady, wide flame.
- iv.
Try again if needed
If it goes out, simply relight it and hold the flame a little longer. A wick that won’t stay lit at all usually needs a trim. See the troubleshooting tips below.
Why the first burn doesn’t need to reach the edges
First burnMost of the way across
A few burns inThe edges catch up
Lower in the jarFull and even
You may have heard that a candle’s first burn must melt all the way to the edge of the jar, or it will tunnel for the rest of its life. That’s good advice for harder waxes, but our soft coconut wax works a little differently.
Burn your candle for two to three hours the first time. The melted wax should spread most of the way across. If a ring of wax remains around the edge, that’s all right: over the next few burns, the pool should widen until it reaches the glass.
There’s a good reason not to rush it. As a candle burns down, the flame sits deeper inside the jar, and the glass and wax around it hold more heat, so the candle burns hotter the lower it gets. A wick that melted the whole surface in its very first burn could run too hot near the bottom. Our candles are wicked to burn well for their whole life, not just the first night.
Give it a few burns before you judge it. If the edges still haven’t melted after three or four long burns, see A tunnel is forming below.
Each time you light it
- i.
Trim the wick
Before lighting, trim the wick to about ⅛ inch and remove the charred tip so it doesn’t fall into the wax. Once the candle is cool, the char breaks off easily with your fingers or a tissue. Nail clippers work well too.
- ii.
Burn for two to four hours
That’s long enough for the melted wax to spread, but no more than four hours at a time, so the jar and wick don’t overheat.
- iii.
Let it cool completely
Wait until the wax has set before relighting, trimming, or moving the candle.
- iv.
Mind the drafts
Open windows, fans and vents make the flame flicker and smoke, and can make it burn unevenly. A still spot is best.
If something seems off
Most candle troubles have a simple fix.
The flame is tiny, or it’s drowning in wax
The wick may be too short, or sitting in too deep a pool of melted wax. Put the flame out, blot up a little of the melted wax with a paper towel, and let it cool. Then trim away any char and relight.
The flame is too big, or it’s smoking
The wick is too long. Put it out, let it cool, and trim it to about ⅛ inch. A draft can also cause smoke and flickering. Once the jar is cool, wipe any soot from the glass with a dry cloth.
A tunnel is forming
In the first few burns, a ring of unmelted wax is expected and should catch up. If it hasn’t after three or four burns of two to three hours, wrap a collar of aluminum foil around the top of the jar, leaving a wide opening over the flame. Burn it for an hour or two and keep an eye on it. The foil reflects heat back onto the edges.
The jar gets very warm near the end
That’s normal. As the flame sinks lower, the glass holds more heat. Always set your candle on a heat-safe surface, don’t touch or move it while it’s lit, and stop burning when about ½ inch of wax is left.
It isn’t crackling
The crackle is loudest when the wick is freshly trimmed and the flame is steady. A long or charred wick, or a draft, can quiet it. After a proper trim, you should hear the crackle.
There are wet-looking patches on the glass
Those are spots where the wax has pulled away slightly from the glass as it cooled. It’s common in natural waxes, purely cosmetic, and doesn’t affect how the candle burns.
I can barely smell it
The scent fills a room best once a good pool of melted wax has formed, usually after the first hour. A smaller room with the door closed helps too.
No. VI · Safety
A few good habits
- Never leave a burning candle unattended, and never burn it while you sleep.
- Keep it out of reach of children and pets, and away from anything that can catch fire: curtains, books, paper, and greenery.
- Set it on a heat-safe surface.
- Don’t burn it for more than four hours at a time.
- Stop when about ½ inch of wax remains in the bottom of the jar.
- Put the flame out with a snuffer or by gently blowing out the flame.
Light it for a feast.
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