How long do soy candles burn, and how to make yours last

A soy candle burns for roughly 5 to 7 hours per ounce of wax. So an 8 oz jar gives you somewhere around 50 hours, a 4 oz travel tin around 25, and a 10 oz jar around 60. Those are the numbers we list on each product page, and they assume you look after the candle. Most candles that die early were not faulty; they were tunnelled in the first hour.

Why soy lasts longer than paraffin

Soy wax has a lower melting point than paraffin, so it burns cooler and more slowly. The same size jar in soy typically lasts 30 to 50 percent longer. It also releases scent steadily as it melts rather than throwing everything out at once, which is why a soy candle can seem quieter at first and still be noticeable two hours later.

The first burn decides everything

Wax has a memory. On the first burn, let the melted pool spread all the way to the edge of the jar before you blow it out. For an 8 oz jar that usually takes 2 to 3 hours.

If you put it out early, the candle remembers that smaller circle and burns down in a narrowing tunnel, leaving a wall of unused wax around the edge. It is the single most common way to waste half a candle.

Trim the wick, every time

Before each burn, trim the wick to about 5 mm. A pair of nail scissors is fine; wick trimmers are neater. A long wick produces a tall, flickering flame that burns hot, consumes wax faster and deposits soot on the glass.

If a flame is very tall or smoking, put the candle out, let it cool, trim the wick and relight it.

Burn it for the right length of time

Between two and four hours, then let it rest. Under two hours risks tunnelling. Over four hours the jar gets hot, the wax overheats and the scent burns off rather than diffusing. Longer burning does not make a room smell stronger; it mostly makes the candle shorter.

Where you put it matters more than people think

Keep it away from draughts: open windows, doorways, air conditioning and fans. A draught pulls the flame sideways, which makes it burn unevenly and soot the glass. Away from heat too, and out of direct sun, because warm wax loses fragrance while it sits.

For scent, room size decides what you need. One 8 oz jar handles a bedroom or a small living room. An open-plan space needs two candles placed apart rather than one large one in the middle.

Fixing a tunnelled candle

If a rim of hard wax has built up, wrap aluminium foil around the top of the jar, leaving a hole above the flame, and burn it for an hour or two. The trapped heat melts the rim level again. Foil off, then follow the full-melt rule from then on.

When to stop burning it

Stop when about 1 cm of wax is left in the bottom. Below that, the glass gets hot enough to be a risk, and there is not enough wax to sustain the flame properly.

The empty jar washes out with hot soapy water once the last wax is scooped out, and makes a good holder for brushes, matches or a small plant.

The safety part, briefly

Never leave a burning candle unattended. Keep it away from children, pets, curtains and anything that can catch. Put it on a heat-resistant surface, and keep burning candles at least 10 cm apart so they do not melt each other.

Ours are poured with soy wax and cotton wicks, in small batches, and each one lists its size and approximate burn time. Browse the candles, or the travel tins if you want something smaller to try a scent first.