Got a wood wick candle that just won't stay lit? Hello, you have just met the High Maintenance Girl version of candles: the wood wick.

You were so excited to find this amazing smelling candle, that looks great in your home and BONUS - it has a chic, crackling wood wick! And then you got her home and weeeeellll the challenges began. The first burn was good but when you came back a second time to burn your candle, the wick lit but then slowly the flame got smaller and smaller until there was hardly any flame left and maybe it even went out. FROWN.

While you might think your candle is defective, or want to dig around the wick thinking that it isn't long enough to keep a flame, but most likely neither of those are the issue. The answer is much simpler... 

YOU NEED TO TRIM THE WICK!

Right now you might now be thinking, WAIT-the wick is already short and it already won't hold a flame, why would trimming it help?! That just sounds crazy-dumb! The simple answer is because a wood wick needs fresh wood to burn properly. It's the wood that keeps the flame lit, not the wax.

A wooden wick should be trimmed before each use to about 1/8”. It's going to feel like you're making it too short but all you need to do is pinch off the burned part of the wood wick between your fingers usign a paper towel. Whatever easily breaks off has been already burned and won't wick up fresh wax, therefore it won't stay lit. 

All that said, there are a few common issues with wood wick candles. Here are the most common ones and how to fix them.

1. Wood wick won't stay lit on first burn

The wick may be too long. While we try to trim the properly in production, they are hand-trimmed and our team is made of imperfect humans. If your wick looks longer than 1/8", please trim it down and re-light it.

2. Wood wick won't stay lit when I re-light it

Tip the candle 45 degrees to light it, and wait until the flame has caught before turning upright.

The flame draws the wax up through the wick, so if the wick is too long or has black, charred bits on the tip, the wax cannot make it to the flame and you may find your candle goes out continuously. If this happens, trim the wick, cleaning off any charred bits by pinching between your fingers with a paper towel and re-light the candle.

3. There is a lot of extra wax around the edge (tunneling)

This usually happens if you don't burn the candle long enough on the first burn. We always recommend to let the wax melt all the way to the edges of the jar on the first but - this usually takes 2-4 hours. However, it you don't you can still fix it, using the foil scarf method. Use a piece of foil and wrap it around the top of the candle like a scarf, making sure to leave a 2" opening for the flame in the center.

These are usually the best ways to burn your wood wick candle. If you are still experiencing issues, reach out to our team!