Why You Should Think Twice About Your Candle Obsession

I am 100% guilty of adding to the modern-day candle obsession. Everyone wants their space to smell like heaven and nothing can replace the comfort from a candle. It's that soothing glow in a distant corner, that fragrant smell of cedarwood and bergamot, the beautiful glass jar that lights up a dark room. Nothing sets the mood better for a soothing bath, a romantic dinner, or even a cozy evening in reading your favorite novel.

It's no secret: we all love candles. But how much do you actually know about what you're buying?

Candles come in all shapes, sizes, colors, blends and price points. But no matter what you buy, you should always be double checking the company and the ingredient list. Today, candles are made to keep up with the ever-demanding market, and because of it, we are often mindlessly buying toxic materials and potentially poisoning our loved ones around us.

Instead of the fan favorite Yankee Candle, you should be going for candles with more, if not all, natural ingredients. Soy and beeswax are two of my favorites and two of the healthiest.

But even top-of-the-line candles can be marketed as soy and still contain considerable amounts of paraffin wax in them, blended with other ingredients. Candles loaded with paraffin in them often emit toxic fumes that you in turn inhale. These toxic fumes can be very harmful to your health.

To make sure you're not bringing something harmful into your space, do a simple touch test in the store before you purchase it. If it is soft, it's usually no good. There are rare exceptions as some types of soy can be soft, and some types of paraffin can be hard. But for the most part, you want a solid and hard-to-the touch, opaque wax. Generally, paraffin waxes are soft and have an oily, translucent feel, which is what you should avoid.

In addition, people often say fragrances give them headaches when it's actually the petroleum soot emitted from the paraffin.

One 2009 study from South Carolina State University even concluded that inhaling the dangerous pollutants can cause "cancer, common allergies and even asthma." Another study concluded that today's candles contain lead in their wicks, despite the voluntary ban years ago, in order to keep them up straight. Burning candle wicks (and incense) with lead in them has proven to contribute to indoor air concentrations of lead well above EPA recommended thresholds.

Your safest bet is to research the company and check their ingredients. Be mindful still, many ingredients are not disclosed, not proven safe and made of petrochemicals.

Your best candle resume:

100% beeswax with no artificial colors

100% cotton wicks

Fragrance: 100% essential oils

Candles made locally or within your country of residency

Take care of yourselves, 

Abi