The primary cause of black smoke is an overly long wick. When a candle burns, the wax near the flame melts and the liquid wax is pulled up the wick to feed the flame. If the wick is too long, the balance of heat and fuel will be off. This throws off the chemical reaction and can produce excess soot and smoke. Make sure to keep your wick at 1/4" for cotton and just a little above for a wooden wick. Why Does the Candle Jar Turn Black? When you have been burning a candle for a while and begin to notice that there is black creeping up the sides of the jar, this is carbon in action.The black that you see in the jar is due to a lack of oxygen. The jar only gets that carbon production without the necessary oxygen flow and it combusts and the updraft of those hot gases from the combustion starves the flame of oxygen and hinders diffusion of air. This results in that burnt, black look that can become prevalent on the interior of a candle. To clean gently wipe off the inside of the container, when cooled, with a damp cloth.

NO!! If you notice any cracks in the vessel DO NOT BURN THE CANDLE. The repurposed liquor bottles have been cut and polished and although we check every bottle between steps an unseen, small fracture can occur. When dealing with glass and fire there is always a possibilty of the unknown so make sure to always burn your candle within sight on a firesafe surface.

You need to burn the candle for the first time for two to four hours or the entire top layer of the candle is melted. This promotes even burning when you light it next so that you will get the full life from your candle.