Easier than you might think, hugging a candle is not about showing affection to your favorite illimnating devices - although many of us LOVE our candles! Most pillar candles require a little maintenance to burn properly. This maintenance, called candle hugging, keeps your pillar flat topped and burning evenly. This guide offers tips on the most effective way of doing it.

First, be sure you are burning your pillars out to within 1/4 inch of the sidewall (edge). Otherwise, you run the risk of "tunnelling" your candle. Most manufacturers recommend burning your candle for 1 hour per inch in diameter - thus a 6" three wick should burn for about 6 hours before extinguishing, and a 3" pillar candle should burn for about 3 hours. Our heavenly gems are not designed to burn completely, as the candle light glows through the sidewall of the candle, creating the gem like effect. Container candles (including tealights), votives and tapers shouldn't need hugging either.

Now the easiest way to hug your candles is to use a candle ring, or candle follower. This glass or metal ring device actually rests atop the candle for the duration of the candle's "life". The weight of the ring automatically hugs the candle as gravity pulls the ring down evenly across the softened wax. It gives the candle a more elegant appearance - many catholic churches use them on their altar candles. In lieu of a candle ring, you can manually hug your candles with the following instructions:

1. Extinguish the candle flame. The candle melt pool will still be liquid and may be hot, so use caution.

2. While candle sits on flat, level surface, gently press the sidewalls in toward the wick. The easiest way is to apply pressure at one point on the side of the candle and rotate the candle, pressing in evenly as you rotate. The objective is to make the sides of the candle slightly taller than the melt pool of the candle. As you press the candle sidewall in, the law of displacement will cause the melt pool to "rise".

3. If the candle has tunneled, it may be necessary to trim off the excess sidewall above the melt pool in order to begin again with a flat top pillar. Trim to roughly 1/2 inch above the melt pool, then hug as indicated.