Candle Terms to Know

What’s a hot or cold throw?  What is tunneling? These are just a few of the candle terms I’m sure you’ve heard but may not be too sure what on earth they mean.  You’re in luck, I’m going to breakdown some common candle terms that will help you in your future candle purchases.

Hot Throw

This is how your candle smells when it’s lit.  You may hear people say that a candle has a strong or soft or sometimes non-existent hot throw.  Hot throw in a candle can depend on the strength of the fragrance but the wick and wax that is used can also make a difference too.

 Cold Throw

This is how you candle smells when it’s not lit.  Some candles can have a strong cold throw and a soft hot through and vice versa.  From my experience, a candles cold throw isn’t the bet way to determine the scent of the candle.  It’s always best to burn it.  By smelling a candle when it’s not lit, you can determine if that is a scent you will like or not.   

Melt Pool

This is what forms when your candle wax has burned to the edges of the jar.  

Tunneling

This happens when the candle burns straight down the candles center and does not reach the edges of your jar or tin.  This can happen for a lot of reasons.  One reason is if when the candle is first lit didn’t reach a full melt pool and was blown out early.  Another reason can be the wick.  To prevent tunneling, on the first burn of your candle give it time to reach a full melt pool. 

Mushrooming 

This is the ball that can form on the top of you wick as it burns.  Mushrooming happens but one great way to ensure the longevity of your candle is to trim your wick.  If your wick has any mushrooming after it’s burned and you don’t trim it but light up your candle again, this can minimize the longevity of your candle as well as alter how it burns.  You may also experience smoking and shooting too.  Trim your wick, you and your candle will be happy that you did.

I hope this helps you to better understand your candle and also what to look out for as you’re burning your candles.  If you have any candle questions definitely send me a message.