My Candle Only Burns In The Middle, What's Wrong?
Burn candles long enough and more than likely you will run into a situation. Your candle wax melts in the middle, but nowhere else. This phenomenon is called "candle tunneling".
Candle tunneling occurs when only the center of the candle wax right around the candle wick melts, but the outside of the wax remains hard. Candle tunneling can occur in any candle, regardless of the quality or type of wax, but is certainly preventable in most cases.
There are usually two reasons for candle tunneling. Sometimes, candle tunneling is caused by a wick that isn’t large enough for the size of the candle. This is seen when candle wicks haven't been tested by the candle manufacturer - typically lower quality candles suffer from this issue. However, more often than not, it's caused by too short of a first burn.
Why you want to avoid candle tunneling
You want to avoid candle tunneling because it reduces the overall burn time for the candle. It also makes it harder and harder to light the wick as the candle continues to burn down. Candles are an investment into an experience! You want to make sure your experience lasts!
How to prevent candle tunneling?
Buy quality candles
So, how can you prevent candle tunneling? Start by buying quality candles from quality manufacturers. At Lark Candles we test every our candles extensively before we sell them to get the candles just right. Don't believe us? Our first collection took over 3 months to development and 54 tests before launch - we take candles very seriously!
Burn your candles for 3-4 hours on the first burn
Burn your candle until it reaches the edges of the container and at least 1/4" deep. When you burn wax it helps reorganizes the wax in a way that makes it easier to burn the next time - some people call this "wax memory". When you haven't burned long enough on the first burn, the melted wax "remembers" being burned, while the areas that haven't been melted don't "remember" being burned. The next time you light the candle, it will melt the wax that "remembers" being melted, while the other wax doesn't melt. This begins the process of "candle tunneling". As you make additional burns, the tunneling gets deeper and continuing to leave unmelted wax around the edges.
Before your first burn of your candle, make sure you have 3-4 hours before burning it. Once you have the time to burn your candle, place it in a safe area. After lighting it, keep an eye on the candle every hour. Our candles are tested to ensure that the first layer of wax has completely melted in the first two hours. But, don't blow it out yet! Let the candle melt more, the deeper the layer, the better. That's why we recommend burning 3-4 hours on your first burn. 
How to Fix Candle Tunneling
We all live busy lives, and maybe you don't have 3-4 hours for your first burn, or you decided to buy a poor quality candle. Here are some tips to save your candle.
1. Heat the top of the candle with a hairdryer until it creates a pool of wax across the container. During the next burn, make sure the wax melts all the way to the edge of the container.
2. You could also try the top of the candle with a heat gun until it creates a pool of wax across the container. During the next burn, make sure the wax melts all the way to the edge of the container.
3. Warm your oven to 185 F and place your candle for a short amount of time in the oven. Keeping a close eye on the candle, watch the top of the candle until the wax melts to the edge of the container at the top. During the next burn, make sure the wax melts all the way to the edge of the container.
Sometimes you won't be able to save your candle. In which case, you can either pull the candle wax out using an instrument or place a wax melter underneath the container. While the scents won't be as strong, you can still make the most of your candle!
- Matt and Ashley