By Barbara
Albuquerque de Sousa
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Candle memory
What is candle memory? Candle memory is when a candle “remembers” being burned.
Technically, If during the first burn, wax only creates a pool across half the surface, then on future burns only that same area will easily melt. But be careful as a pool too small will cause the candle to tunnel the more you use it.
This is why the first burn is the most important.
On the first burn, and each time you burn your candle thereafter, make sure the liquid pool of wax covers the complete diameter of the candle and reaches the edges of the candle.
The amount of time this will take really depends on the candle.
Candle Memory Is Affected By The Following Things:
-Size of the candle.
-Number of wicks.
-Type of wax.
-Type of candle.
-First time of burn
For our candles, for example, we recommend 2 hours on first burn and no more than 3 hours on next burns.
If you do not let your candle burn all the way to the edges, then a memory ring will form. This means that the next time you go to burn your candle, the wax will remember where it was burnt up to on the first burn and only burn up to this last point, not past it, which is how tunnelling occurs.
Once tunnelling occurs, it is incredibly difficult to fix. However, this can easily be avoided by taking great care with our candles, especially on the first burn.
Conclusion
In conclusion, candle wax memory problems and wax tunneling issues are not fun for anyone. It all comes down to burn practices and how long you let your candles burn before blowing them out.
If you always let your candle burn until the surface wax has completely melted from one side of the container to the other then you will never experience candle memory problems. However, if you like to light a candle for 15 min while getting ready for bed or when you get home from work, then chances are you are going to have issues.
Just do the best you can to burn your candle for at least 1 hour every time you light them, keep the wick trimmed to about 5mm or 1/4 of an inch and never let your candle burn longer than 3 hours at a time and you should be in good shape.