Cracked beeswax candle

Why did my Beeswax Candle Crack? And how to correct it

After hearing somewhere that those cheap paraffin candles you’d been burning were a petroleum product that was releasing toxins into your home, you did some research about the healthiest candles and found out that beeswax candles were best choice for your home. They also had the added bonus of being made sustainably, so you invested in a  large beeswax pillar candle. 

You waited for the right time to light it, maybe it was a special occasion or perhaps you just decided it was time for some deep relaxation and self-love (at Honey Candles we think it’s always the right time to light a beeswax candle!). You enjoyed it burning for 3-4 hours as instructed to avoid tunneling, dunked the wick in the wax pool so that it wouldn’t smoke when you extinguished it, and then continued with your day.

The next time you glanced at your beautiful, healthy, candle you noticed an obvious crack right through the middle of the candle top – so what went wrong?

Beeswax shrinks as it cools and occasionally, if cooled quickly, larger diameter beeswax candles will form a crack as the wax pool hardens. This is not a flaw with the candle but simply a reality of burning beeswax.

To avoid cracks, try to cool your candle gradually in a warm area of your house, but if they do happen to crack don’t despair! It is not likely to impact the performance of the candle and will almost always fill in again when the candle is next lit. If the crack is particularly deep it might be a good idea to tilt it sideways after relighting to try to melt some wax from around the crack to fill it up.

Published By Jill Anderson

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