Why trim your candle wick? Because it's better for your candle's health. I mean, if you didn't, your home would be a very dangerous place because of toxic gases and melting wax flying at you in all directions or maybe more likely something akin to an Indy 500 spectator disaster. Burning candles is a very soothing experience but only when the wick is trimmed and your candle is burning evenly. That way you get none of the downsides of burning a candle while getting all the upsides. It's like cake without the calories, or pork rinds without all the bulk. You just can't have one without the other!
Long wicks can lead to several common candle problems, so it's important that you're trimming them regularly. Thankfully, Wick Trimming is extremely easy — and most importantly, it's safe!
You're having a candle burning party, and you forgot the bottle opener. What do you do?
1. Wait for the wax to solidify: Before trimming the wick, make sure the wax has fully solidified. Attempting to trim a wick in liquid or semi-liquid wax can lead to accidents or damage to the candle. Who knew trimming the wick of a candle could be so dangerous?
2. Use the right tools: It can be tricky to decide what tools are best to trim a candle wick. But if you make the right tool choices, you'll have an easier time of it. The best tool for trimming a candle wick is a wick trimmer or a pair of sharp scissors (though the wick can be hard to reach with scissors once the candle has burned down into the container). These tools - especially a dedicated wick trimmer - allow you to trim the wick cleanly and precisely.
3. Trim to the appropriate length: The ideal wick length for most candles is around 1/4 inch (about 6mm). Use the trimmer or scissors to cut the wick to this length, ensuring a clean and straight cut
4. Remove the trimmed wick: After trimming the wick, carefully remove the trimmed portion from the candle. This prevents any loose wick debris from falling into the wax and affecting the burn. Another win for the wick trimmer, which catches the trimmed portion for you.