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The first burn of your wick candle is the most important one. In order for your wick candle to perform at its best, you will need to allow the candle to burn until the wax has melted across the width of the candle. If you don't, it can lead to issues throughout the lifetime of the candle. Even if you burn the candle all the way across the next time, the candle may still suffer from tunneling.
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Candle wax has a kind of memory for how it burned in the past, and changing that will be very difficult after the first burn. Tunneling is a common reason why your candle struggles to stay lit. When a candle wick has dug a hole for itself in the wax, it can cut itself off from a steady oxygen supply. It will also be much harder to light the wick because the wick is down at the bottom of the hole.
