Soy wax is a 100% natural wax derived from the vegetable soybeans. After the beans are harvested, they are then cleaned, cracked, de-hulled and rolled into flakes. Paraffin wax, one of the most popular candle waxes due to its cheap costs, is derived in a contrasting way. Paraffin wax is the product of the oil purification process from petroleum, coal, or oil shale. When you remove the waxy substance from crude oil, you’re left with paraffin wax. Soy wax is made from environmentally friendly, renewable resources; whereas classic paraffin wax is made from petroleum and is non-renewable. Not only are there “green” advantages to choosing soy wax over a different type of candle wax, but soy wax also burns slower than paraffin wax, meaning you get a candle that lasts longer. While all candles emit some black soot while burning, candles made from soy wax burn cleaner, therefore resulting in less soot.

These are NOT flaws in the candles but natural characteristics of pure soy wax and are actually, a testament to the lack of paraffin and preservatives in soy candles. Neither of these characteristics, in any way, affects the scent throw or burning properties of the candles.

Believe it or not, your jar candles have a kind of “wax memory,” and once a burning pattern has been established, it can be hard to change. Give your candle enough burning time to develop a melted wax pool that goes all the way to the edge of the container on the first use - this can take anywhere from 2-4 hours.

If you don’t allow your candle enough time to form a full melt pool on the first burn, a little depression or “tunnel” may start to form around the wick. This will make it more difficult for the wax around the edges of the jar to melt, causing the tunneling effect to continue with each burn. Eventually, the tunnel will become too deep for fresh oxygen to flow in, and your candle will have trouble staying lit for more than short periods of time.

A wick that is too long can cause the candle to burn too hot, leading to the production of soot. Soot buildup can damage your candle and negatively impact your indoor air quality. Trimming the wick to 1/4" helps keep the wick from getting too hot and creating soot. So you will want to make sure that you use a wick trimmer or your fingers and remove the old black char from the wick before EVERY re-light.

YES! Doing so will result in carbon collecting on the wick, which can cause your wick to become unstable, the flame to get too large, & your candle to smoke.