Tips For The Perfect Candle Flame

There are few things as captivating as the soft flickering light and the warm glow created by a candle, but there is a science to ensuring your candles burn perfectly.

Candle Light

Usually you can tell if your candle is burning properly just by looking at it, some of the things to look for to check your candle is burning properly are;

A steady flame; a steady flame from your candle means that the flame is balanced, i.e., the heat from the flame is efficiently liquefying the candle wax allowing the wick to draw up the correct amount of wax to continue feeding the flame.

No flickering or smoking; a steady flame forms the classic “tear-drop” shape, when the flame flickers, the “tear-drop” shape of the candle flame is disturbed and small amounts of carbon particles, formed as the wick is not fully burnt, escape from the flame. These soot particles then rise in the heat of the flame as smoke.

Generally candle flames flicker as there is too little, or too much, air reaching the flame; moving air disturbs the candles flame causing smoke. To prevent this, always burn your candles in well ventilated rooms, away from drafts or strong air currents.

No flaring or jumping flame; if the wick of your candle is too long it can cause the candle flame to grow too high and flare. To help avoid your candles flaring always trim candle wicks to about 1cm to 1.5cm before every use and always keep the wax free of wick trimmings, match heads and other debris that could catch fire in the flame.

If you like to position your candles close together, make sure they are at least 10cm apart when they are burning. When positioned to close together, candles can create their own draft and cause adjacent candles to flare or smoke.

Candle Safety

To ensure you burn your candles safely and responsibly, check the safety instructions printed on your candles, to help, we have included some general safety instructions on our webpage; candle safety.