Okay, we obviously all looooovee candles. But are we actually treating them nice?

Candles need love, too, and if we take care of our candles they will give us the best possible experience that they can offer us. So what are we talking about exactly? Well, as the title so riddlingly suggests, we're talking about candle care!

the first burn

As I'm sure most of you have heard, no one forgets their first time. Candles are no different, my friends.

When you light your candle for the first time and its all, "c'mon baby light my fire," you have to make sure you have a couple hours to spare. I know what you're thinking: hours!? You heard right.

We need to give our candle's first burn the opportunity for its wax to melt across the entire vessel so that we prevent them from tunnelling. If your first burn is even, the burns to follow will also be even.

wick trimming

Grooming is key. Best practice is to trim your wick prior to every burn. You want your wick to remain short so that the wick doesn't 'mushroom.' A mushrooming wick = soot. On that note, when your candle vessel adopts blackened edges it is a sign that your wick needs to be trimmed.

Grooming also extends the life of your candle by maintaining a smaller flame.

If needed, re-position your wick so that it remains centred. We all love to feel centred - help your candle channel this peaceful energy as well.

Pro tip: get a wick trimmer.

keep it clean

Try and keep your candle's wax pool free of debris. When you trim that wick make sure you don't leave it in your candle vessel to hang out - that guy's gotta go.

Before re-lighting a candle it is good practice to give it a little dust sweep to ensure any debris is re-homed somewhere else, like the trash.

If you have blackened edges on your candle vessel, remove this when your candle has cooled down.

stop the wind

Keeping doors and windows closed not only maximizes the scent throw of a candle, but it also extends its life. Wind can decrease your candle's burn time and cause it to burn unevenly. Think about it: the wind pushes around the wax in your candle as its burning and eventually, this can lead to some tunnelling. No thank you, wind. Not today.

This includes ceiling fans or any other current that exists.

store candles with care

Candles like to be stored in dry, cool and dark places. Hot temperatures and light (sunlight or otherwise) can discolour your candle and diminish its scent.

four hour burn rule

Legends tell us that a good rule of thumb is to burn candles for no more than four hours at a time.

This is due to wick performance (can mushroom your wick if it is burning too long), overheating of the candle vessel, and the likelihood of you forgetting your candle is burning and so you leave the house without extinguishing your candle rising.

let it burn (but not all the way to the bottom)

It's hard not to burn your candle to the very bottom when you love it so much (this is especially the case with dioden candles, we know). Once there is only half an inch ~ish~ your candle has reached the end of its life.

If you burn a candle with little to no wax, you can cause damage to the vessel as well as the surface it is on. Without a solid base of wax to burn the vessel will get super hot to touch and when you go to move it... ouch.

light safely

Light your candle out of the reach of children, pets and other living things that may knock it over, burn their hand in the wax pool or whatever else mischievous creatures get up to.

Light your candle away from anything flammable. Yes, this includes curtains, clothing, books....the list goes on. This goes for heat sources, too, which yes - include other beautiful burning candles (they need some space in between one another so that they are offered their own unique opportunity to shine...and to not overheat the vessel next to them).

Never leave a burning candle unattended! Ever! Yes, this includes when you go to sleep and are in the same room.

Read safety instructions and follow them. Candle safety is no joke.

Hope this was helpful, friends. Cheers to a relaxing February filled candles that are high-quality, high-performing, safe, and clean as fuck.

Caretaking my candles,

~Sage