Tunneling happens when candles are not burned thoroughly, causing only the wax close to the wick to melt. This results in what looks like a channel in the middle of your vessel. This could happen any time you light a candle, but the first burn is essential to keeping wax levelled. You can avoid this from happening by waiting until the melted wax pool has reached the edges of your candle vessel with every burn. If you catch tunneling early enough, there are three easy ways to fix your candle:
1. If you notice wax rising quickly towards the wick, blow out your candle, and try to absorb some of the melted wax with a paper towel. This will get the wick above the melting pool again, ready to be relighted.
2. Less than 1/2" tunnel: Take some foil and use scissors to cut out a large square piece. Fold it in half, and cut a half moon at the center of the fold. Unfold your square piece and wrap it on top of the vessel where the wick is centered and can be seen through the hole. Burn your candle regularly and let the retained heat help melt the wax that has risen.
3. 1/2" tunnel or higher: You can take a butter knife to cut out the wax that has risen above the wick to level out the candle.
Remember, be patient with your first burn! Spending more time with your candles the first time around can leave you enjoying them for longer moving forward.