Capricorn Candle Shoppe

Candle Care & Burning Tips

Candles are completely safe to enjoy but should be used with care and attention so that they do not lead to an accidental fire or injury. We urge consumers to be careful when burning candles and recommend the following rules below for burning candles safely. Each metal tin includes lighting and care instructions on the label as do the tea lights and wax melts.

- Trim candle wicks to ¼ inch each time before burning. Our metal tins come with a wooden wick which can be trimmed if needed. In most cases the wooden wick is self-trimming and may not need to be trimmed, however, if the wick is longer than 1/2" after extinguishing the flame, allow it to cool completely and trim the wick to roughly 1/4". Always make sure to remove all wick trimmings as it could discolor your wax.

- For the initial lighting allow the candle to create a full and even burn pool across the entire candle. Soy wax has what is called a memory - this means that when you burn a soy candle and then extinguish it, the next time you burn it the wax will melt across as far as it did the first time. This is why it is important to burn all the way across to the edge of the container the first time you burn it before putting it out. This ensures that your soy candle does not "tunnel" as it burns (leaving wax along the sides of the container). A good rule of thumb is to burn the metal tins for 1.5 - 2 hours to get a full melt pool. NEVER burn the metal tin candle for more than 4 hours at a time!

-When lighting a wood wick candle, the best technique is to tilt it on an angle and let the flame draw across the length of the wick (kind of like how you tilt a match after lighting). It may also take several tries to get it lit! The heat from the flame needs to draw the wax through the wick before it will really start burning nicely. When in doubt, give it another try - once you get it going once, it should light up more easily.

- Do not leave a burning candle or wax warmer unattended.

- Never burn a candle or use a wax warmer on or near anything that can catch fire.

- Keep candles and wax warmers out of the reach of small children and away from pets.

- Always burn candles and wax warmers on a heat-resistant surface. The travel tins may get a little hotter because of the container and should not be touched.

- Keep the wax pool free of wick trimmings, matches and debris at all times.

- Keep burning candles away from drafts, vents and ceiling fans to minimize smoking or a wick blowing out causing the candle to burn unevenly.

- Never touch a burning candle or move a candle when the wax is liquid.

- Make sure the candle is completely extinguished and the wick ember is no longer glowing before leaving the room.

- The body of wax warmers will become hot during use - never touch a burning warmer. Be careful with night lights and tea lights which get hot enough to melt plastic.