Candle Care Tips

Keep your home safe with our candle care tips. Learn how to properly care for your beeswax candles and ensure candle safety. Discover Hive To Home Candle Co's top candle burning tips.

Quick-Care Cheat Sheet 

  • First burn - let your candle melt to the edges
  • Snuff your candle, don't blow
  • Trim your wick to 1/4 of an inch
  • Cover or store away from light
  • Stop burning with 1/4 to 1/2 inches of wax left
  • Clean, reuse, or refill

  • (CANDLE) SAFETY FIRST

    A burning candle jar gets burning hot. You won't want to touch it once it's going so choose your location before lighting. It should be a good distance from anything that could catch fire and also clear from open windows, or any other air flow show offs. You won't want any curtains, lose papers, or your hair blowing into the flame. Plus, think about toddlers, cats on counters, and dogs that hit everything when they wag their tail; plan accordingly. Don't light it and leave it, light it and forget it, light it and fall asleep, or light it and get preoccupied. Your candle needs attention. Imagine worst case scenarios and be proactive.

Amber and Oak moss scented beeswax candle burning. Perfect size candle 9 oz.

First Burn - Start your candle off right.

The first time you light your candle, make sure to burn it until the wax melts all the way around the edges.

The first burn sets the "memory" of the candle, which is the tendency for the wax pool to only melt out as far as it did the first burn.

This should take about 2-4 hours. Otherwise that unmelted part will have a hard time catching up. The wax will keep melting deeper instead of wider and you get a tunneling candle.

Tunneling means wasted wax and a candle that doesn't live up to it's potential, so let us know if you ever have one.

The ideal burn time to make your candle last as long as possible is usually about 2-3 hours every time but it depends on the candle.

The type of wick, wax, and size/diameter can make a big difference.

Here's how your candle should look when you go to blow it out.

The video above is our perfect size beeswax candle, about 9 ounces, and we burned it for about 4 hours before blowing it out. Really you should snuff the flame but we wanted you to see the wax cool.

Example of how to use candle wick trimmer, candle wick trimmer being used on a beeswax candle.

Candle Maintenance - Keeping it nice

Give your candle wick a trim.

Every time.

Sure, maybe it's not life of death, but it does do good things for your candle, like keep the flame reasonable for a slow burn.

 If you do your candle wick trimming with candle wick trimmers, you can keep all that nasty ash from falling in (unlike regular scissors 💁🏼‍♀️). It's also a lot easier reaching inside the jar.

A wick that gets too long can become top heavy and then there's a chance of it tipping. It might just get off center, it might fall all the way into the melted wax, or even burn too close to the jar wall making dangerous hot spots.

Get the burn you deserve, trim your wicks.

So how do you properly use a Wick Trimmer?

Alway's trim your wick to 1/4 of an inch. Cutting to this length each time reduces soot and helps get the best burn.

Step by step wick trimming

1. Open your wick trimmer and align the blade just above the wax surface

2. Snip the wick straight, try to get a clean cut without frayed ends

3. Lift away the debris & discard

4. Enjoy a cleaner burn and a longer candle

Candle Wick Trimming - Burn Better & Longer

Additional Maintenance - Next Level Care

1. Extinguish Smartly

  • Use a candle snuffer or wick dipper to put out the candle, preventing wax splatter & smokey residue. Alternatively put a flame resistance material and set it on top of you jar, such as another candle, it's lid, ceramic dish, etc.

2. Burn Time Guidelines

  • Burn your candle in 2-4 hour sessions and allow at least 2 hours to cool before lighting your candle again.

3. Protect & Store

  • Cover or tuck away your candle if don't plan on burning it for a while, this will help preserve the scent and prevent dust from settling on top of it.
  • Store upright in a cool, dark place, avoid leaving the candle in direct sunlight. This will preserve the color & wax integrity.

4. Know when to retire

  • When the wax drops below 1/2 inch it's time for retirement. burning the candle too long can harm the jar and the extra heat isn't worth the risk.

Keep your candle (jar) around.

After the burn, the easiest and safest way to remove the remaining wax, is to put your candle in the freezer overnight, or at least for a few hours. This will cause the wax to shrink up and you should be able to use some type of kitchen utensil to knock it loose. Extremely thin areas might need to be scraped with said kitchen utensil. Rub any kind of cooking oil on the inside of the jar to remove the waxy residue, then just wash with soap and water as usual. Any leftover wax is perfect for wax warmers. Damaged your label? We’ll send you a new one.

Where to next?

Find your next scent | The answers to your candle questions | Get a candle refill | Checkout our wick trimmer

Candle Scent GuideCandle FAQ's
Candle RefillsCandle Wick Trimmer

Blog posts

View all
  • Illustrated grocery bag overflowing with produce beneath the words ‘Here’s why YOU should buy LOCALLY!’

    Here's why YOU should buy locally!

    Feel stuck in capitalism? Like one person can't move the needle? Spoiler alert—you can! You might need items but you can choose where your money goes, you choose who your...

    Here's why YOU should buy locally!

    Feel stuck in capitalism? Like one person can't move the needle? Spoiler alert—you can! You might need items but you can choose where your money goes, you choose who your...

  • Have Candle Questions? Here are Candle Answers.

    Have Candle Questions? Here are Candle Answers.

    Candles bring light, warmth, and fragrance to your space, but using them safely and effectively is key to getting the most out of them. This guide answers common questions like...

    Have Candle Questions? Here are Candle Answers.

    Candles bring light, warmth, and fragrance to your space, but using them safely and effectively is key to getting the most out of them. This guide answers common questions like...

  • Where to Get Candle Refills and How to Refill Them

    Where to Get Candle Refills and How to Refill Them

    Candles have long been cherished for their ability to create a warm and inviting atmosphere. However, the environmental impact of single-use candle containers has become a growing concern. Refilling candle...

    Where to Get Candle Refills and How to Refill Them

    Candles have long been cherished for their ability to create a warm and inviting atmosphere. However, the environmental impact of single-use candle containers has become a growing concern. Refilling candle...

1 3
View all