Use a specialized tool to trim the wick. “The wick trimmer is designed to smoothly clip the wick and fit nicely inside even a narrow vessel,” explained Valadez. Many wick trimmers have a basin to catch the trimmings (like Bliss Home and Designs Wickman trimmer), or hold your candle sideways so the snipped wicks fall into the garbage, not onto the candle.
You can use a really good pair of scissors, but you want to avoid chopping at the wick and creating frayed edges, which will result in a bigger flame.
One tool to stay away from: wick dippers. “It's a tool that encourages one to dip a burning wick down into the wax to put it out. This will cause the carbon buildup on the wick to be pushed down into the wax and will clog the base of the wick as you continue to burn it,” warned Rossi.
