“Girrrllll that smells so good!!!” This is what I hear every time my home girls or friends walk into the house. I always love having my house smell good with different scents in each room. I’m sure you do as well. But did you know that candles can be toxic? I’m a candle fanatic and have always known this, but not many people do. If you’re interested in learning about how candles can be toxic keep reading this blog.
Candles can be toxic in various ways: from the wax, fragrance, and down to the type of wick used in each candle.
Candle Wax
There are different types of wax (synthetic and natural) one can use to make candles. The most common natural waxes are soy, coconut, beeswax, rapeseed, and palm. The most common synthetic waxes are paraffin, gel, wax blend, coco apricot cream, and hemp soy wax.
It’s best to use natural wax which is harmless to you and your environment. Natural wax can bring multiple benefits such as smokeless burn, strong scent throw, longer burn time, and eco-friendly clean burn. What’s a scent throw? A scent throw has two aspects to it, cold and hot throw. Cold throw is the fragrance you smell when the candle is not melted. A hot throw is a fragrance that is released from the melted candle. Most candle makers or manufacturers add paraffin or additives to the synthetic wax to make the scent throw stronger or improve the quality of the overall product if using a low-grade wax. Paraffin is not the best to add to the wax because it has petroleum and releases tons of toxic chemicals when the candle is burning. Paraffin wax produces soot (a black substance released from the flame), which is harmful to inhale. Adding additives to the wax is just as toxic because it discharges the same toxins as paraffin wax.
Types of Wicks
There are different types of wicks (cotton, lead, zinc core, and wood). The lead and zinc core wicks typically are cotton braided outer piece that surrounds the metal core, and they both are toxic wicks to use. Lead is toxic to use because it’s a heavy metal and burning it is extremely harmful to inhale. Inhaling harsh chemicals can mess with your respiratory system and cause health issues. The wood wick is an all-natural wick. You receive some of the most impeccable benefits using a wood wick. The wood wick allows your candle to burn evenly, clean burn that is soot-free, eco-friendly, and toxin and phthalate-free. When using a wood wick, all one needs to do is trim off the burned part every time you re-light your candle.
Types Fragrance Oils
Fragrance oils can also be harsh due to the chemicals being used in them. There are synthetic chemicals in fragrances that are petroleum-based. You want to use natural fragrance oils without any phthalates and paraben-free and are more on the high-end luxury side.
I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post as much as I enjoyed writing it. Stay tuned for more topics! Cheers till next time besties.
Xoxo,
Dahlia Blanc & Co