Candle Dilemmas & Solutions
My wick won't light.
This usually happens when a wick is too short or a cotton wick has bent over and is buried in wax. Use a blow dryer or heat gun to gently soften the wax around the wick area, then carefully expose the wick and try again.
My candle is tunneling — there's a ring of wax on the sides.
Tunneling happens when the first burn was cut short before the wax reached the edges. Fix it by wrapping aluminum foil around the top of the candle (leaving a small hole for the flame) and burning until the wax melts fully across. Going forward, always allow a full melt pool on the first burn.
My candle is producing black smoke or soot.
Almost always caused by a wick that is too long or a draft. Extinguish the candle, let it cool, trim the wick to ¼ inch, and relight in a draft-free area. Wipe any soot from the glass with a damp cloth once cool.
My candle has white or chalky patches on top (frosting).
Frosting is a natural characteristic of soy wax — it doesn't affect the scent throw or burn quality. It's actually a sign you have a high-quality, natural soy candle. It can appear when exposed to temperature fluctuations during shipping or storage.
My candle's scent seems weak.
Make sure you're burning in a smaller, enclosed space to allow the scent to build. Also check that your wick is trimmed to ¼ inch — a wick that's too long can actually reduce scent throw. Give the candle 30 minutes of burn time before judging the scent strength.
My wood wick is hard to keep lit.
Wood wicks need a longer initial lighting than cotton wicks — hold the flame to the wick for 10–15 seconds. Also make sure the wick is trimmed to ¼ inch. If there's leftover ash on top of the wood wick, gently remove it before relighting.
There's liquid wax pooling but the wick seems small.
If the melt pool is deep but the flame is small, your wick may be too short. Carefully pour out a small amount of excess wax (when cool) to expose more wick, then trim to ¼ inch and relight.
