Always test burn your candles | DIY Candle Making
How to conduct a basic burn test:
1. Clear your schedule and find a comfortable place to set up.
It's crucial that your candle is not left unattended, so make sure that you'll be able to hang around for the entire burn cycle. Set your candle on a clean, flat, heat-resistant surface. Place candles three to six inches (7.6-15.2 cm) apart if testing more than one at a time. Ideally, your testing area should be free of drafts.
2. Clearly label your candles.
Note the type of wax, fragrance oil, fragrance load, dyes used and amount used, wick choice, and container choice and its diameter. You can use our downloadable burn testing notecards or jot this information down in a notebook. Try printing our notecards as labels for your candles to keep things simple!
3. Trim your wick to ¼ inch (6 mm).
Grab your ruler, and place it next to your wick. Trim the wick to ¼ inch (6 mm) with sharp scissors. Always trim wicks to ¼ inch (6 mm) before lighting!
4. Light your candle, note the time, and watch it burn!
Check back each hour to record your observations. Setting hourly timers is a good practice when initially lighting the candle. Always extinguish candles after four hours.
5. Extinguish, wait, and repeat.
After four hours, blow out your candle and give it at least five hours to cool. Repeat steps one to four until ¼ inch (6 mm) of wax remains. Each burn cycle will be different, especially as the wax level lowers and heat builds in the container. With burn testing, we're evaluating how the candle burns throughout the candle's life, not just during the first few burns. Testing the entire candle is arguably the most important step of the process. Your customers will be burning the entire candle, and so should you!
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