Lindsay Ray
‘Tis the season for yummy-scented candles of vanilla, pumpkin spice, and crisp apple cinnamon. Of course, we want them to burn bright and clean, so we can enjoy them to the fullest. Luckily, there’s a way to make your candles burn brighter.
Trimming a candle’s wick will help it burn brighter each time you light it.
That’s right, you should trim the wick after every use to ensure it gives a cleaner and brighter burn. And by every use, we do mean every single use—so no skipping!
Start by trimming the wick so it’s between 1/8 and 1/4 inches long. You can use scissors, nail clippers, or invest in a wick trimmer.
This not only gives the candle’s flame a nicer, cleaner look but also prevents the glass jar from collecting those smoky black stains on the inside. That’s because a trimmed wick keeps the flame under control, stopping it from staining the glass.
Also, before lighting a candle, ensure that you can give it a few hours to burn before blowing it out. You want the melted wax to cover the entire surface of the candle before extinguishing it. Otherwise, only the candle’s center burns and melts, sinking the wick lower near the bottom while the rest of the wax is still formed at the sides. This makes lighting the wick more difficult and wastes perfectly good candle wax, which would have provided several uses!
Now that you know the proper way to light a candle, run to Bath and Body Works for their signature fall scents!
