Handmade Scented Candles - Top tips and hacks for taking Care of soy wax gifts

 

Yes we all love a beautifully crafted, awesome smelling candle - but they're also an investment for you and your home or a special gift for someone you care about. 

There's nothing worse than lighting up that gorgeous candle and a few hours in find there is a hunk of wax left around the sides of the jar or seeing black soot shoot up your wall. Sometimes this is down to the quality of the candle, an incorrect choice of wick or, it might be totally fixable.

Have no fear, that sexy AF candle can be redeemed! 

 

Top tips for candle care

 

If you want to get the best out of your candles, there are a few simple things you can do which will make them last longer and burn better - ultimately getting you that scent throw you've been dreaming of.

1. Always trim the wick! 

Possibly the most important thing you can do with any candle is make sure you trim the wick to around 0.5cm each time you use it - including the first time. A wick that is too long will smoke, the flame will likely be an unsafe height and it won't melt the wax correctly - leaving you with wax hang up around the edges. You can trim a wick with nail scissors or if you're uber fancy, a proper wick trimmer (classy scissory type things found in our homeware section).

2. Let it burn for long enough

Soy wax has a melt memory. Yes, honestly, that's a thing. So the first time you burn it, you need to wait until the wax has melted across the whole top so that the next time you light it, the wax will spread across rather than just melting down the middle. This usually takes around 1 hour per inch of the candle's diameter. Usually it's a good idea for a medium-large size candle to let it burn for around 4 hours on the first go.

 

3. Always keep your candle safe

A candle is, after all, an open flame inside your lovely home, so it's important to make sure it won't set the whole place on fire. All Impolite Design candles go through rigerous burn testing to make sure they are as safe as possible, however you should keep in mind that candles shouldn't be lit by open windows or draughts. When you're done, try not to blow the candle out as it will likely smoke quite heavily. Instead, try putting it out with a spoon or again for you fancy types, a candle snuffer.

4. Bring your candle back to life

If the worst happens and you find your candle has tunnelled, don't give up! Tunnelling is when the wax melts down the centre, leaving a load of wax hanging up around the edges of the jar that will unfortunately be wasted. Sometimes tunnelling can happen on the first couple of burns but as the candle melts down, the increased heat will catch that extra wax and all will be well in the world. If this doesnt happen, a quick and easy way to fix it is to pop your candle (unlit of course) in the oven briefly. 175 degrees for around 5 minutes and you'll see the wax melt back into a flat pool. Scoop out any wax that is covering the wick and let it reset - leaving you with a nice smooth top and *hopefully* a nice smooth burning experience.

5. Finally, reuse your jar

Some companies offer a refill service for their candles to help reduce waste. We don't offer this as we can't guarentee the state of the glass jar after the first candle has burnt, meaning it may not be safe to reuse. Instead, we thought of a prettier way to reuse the jars - grow stuff in them! Every one of our large sized candles comes with a free dust cover which has been pre-seeded with British wildflowers. So once your candle is burnt, you can discard any left over wax, pop the dust cover in along with some soil, water and sunshine, and watch your lovely flowers grow.  

Positive Message Candles 

It's no secret we love classy swearing, we feel it's an endearing way to send a heartfelt message in our language of love. Free delivery when you spend £50, here's the Impolite Designs best selling slightly rude messages:

Let all that shit go
Organised AF
Yes you fucking can
Keep your shit together

You are fucking lovely
You beautiful bitch
Chill the fuck out
It's time to be happy