Pillar candles, are those cylinder candles that are wider than the usual dinner ones. Often, what comes to mind when we think of pillars are the white candles from church, but actually, pillars come in many sizes, colors and with all sorts of designs. They are often used to decorate weddings and special occasions as well as for home décor because they bring a beautiful glow and an elegant look to any area where we locate them.

When burning pillar candles, we can use a few tricks to make the process more even and uniform, so the lighting keeps the beautiful glow. We explain these tricks to you so you can get the most out of your pillar candles!

1. Burn pillar candles for long periods of time

Pillars are designed to burn for long periods of 3 to 4 hours at least. When lighting them for shorter periods, the candles don’t get enough time to burn properly and this causes an uneven burn and the possibility of tunneling. If you are planning to burn candles for a shorter period, choose tapers, votives or tea light candles which are smaller and designed for short periods of time.

2. Shop dripless pillar candles

When buying pillar candles, it is recommended to choose those that are dripless, to ensure the safety of the place where you are burning them, but also that they don’t damage any surface or area around the place they are burning on. This way, the enhancement to your home will only be added beauty to your décor, and not added effort in your cleaning!

3. Place your pillars in a holder or vase

Placing them on pillars holders or inside a vase, will not only make them look even more beautiful but will add a special ornament to your home. So, take the chance to include them as part of your decoration at the same time that you prevent the surfaces where you place the candles safe and clean from the wax.

4. Trim the wick

For the candles to lit evenly, it is very important to trim their wick every time before burning them. This is not needed the first time you lit them, but all the times after, it should be done to get the best out of them. For trimming it, take the time to do it every 4 hours of burn time, keeping the wick ⅛” at all times. This helps control the amount of fuel present for the candle to burn.

5. Use a snuffer to lit the candle off

When lighting your candles off, make sure not to blow them which can make the wax spread around the area. Try using a snuffer instead, this avoids the chances of the wax to spatter and also keep your fingers safe from burning!

6. Shop safe pillar candles

Some stores offer pillars that have a device which makes the candle extinguish itself when it is close to burning all the wax. This device makes the candles safer as it assures that the flame self-extinguishes at a certain point of the burning process. 

7. Buy the best pillar candles

To do this, just ensure you are buying good quality candles. Usually, German pillars and Danish pillars are recognized by their high-quality wax, which is highly refined paraffin in a process that at the same time guarantees a beautiful finishing. Apart from the wax, you can also take a look at the material of the wick which should be preferably cotton. If you are looking where to buy pillar candles, you can take a look at our collection of finely curated pillars.