To Trim or Not to Trim

To Trim or Not to Trim…. That is the question.

That’s not the question. 😉

A beautiful candle experience starts before the match ever strikes. The most important habit you can build is trimming your wick—every time you light your candle.

Keeping your wick trimmed to about ¼ inch helps control the flame, prevents soot, and allows the wax to melt evenly across the surface. For cotton wicks, snip away any mushrooming before relighting. For wood wicks, gently break off the brittle, charred edge so only ⅛–¼ inch remains. If a flame ever feels weak or unruly, trimming is usually the fix.

There’s one more detail that makes a surprising difference - candles burn best in chapters. We recommend extinguishing your candle every 3–4 hours, letting it cool completely, then trimming the wick before relighting. As a candle burns lower, heat builds and airflow changes, which can cause the flame to grow hotter and less controlled over time. Giving the candle a pause allows the wax to reset, the wick to refresh, and the burn to stay steady.

A few simple habits—trimming the wick, allowing a full melt pool, and giving the candle time to rest—will reward you with a cleaner burn, a steadier flame, and the longest possible life from your candle.

Candles aren’t meant to be rushed. They’re meant to be tended.