If you’re like us, you love burning candles for the lovely fragrance and the calming effect they offer after a long day, but have you ever wondered what’s really in them or if they are toxic? Honestly, I have to admit that I hadn’t really thought about toxins much until my doctors informed me that I needed to try to avoid them as much as possible to ease my many symptoms brought on by my health conditions. They also warned me that there are many hidden toxins in our everyday lives.
This warning led me on an eye awakening journey and over my many years of researching scientific studies and literature, talking with many doctors, specialists and other people with first hand experience with toxins, it became obvious that there is a clear connection between many everyday products and most health issues we face today. Unfortunately, this includes candles. That is unless they are 100% pure beeswax candles that are either unscented or scented with only 100% pure essential oils.
As you probably know, most candles are paraffin based. Question is, do you know where paraffin comes from? Paraffin comes from the sludge at the bottom of the barrel of crude oil and is a by-product of petroleum refining. Yikes! We already know this can’t be good for our health and is toxic, but they aren’t done yet! They then go on to bleach and treat it with carcinogenic products like benzene and/or toulene. As if that process wasn’t toxic enough, the candle makers then add toxic fragrances and colors to the wax to make them look and smell good! Can you say toxic cocktail?
Note: Soy candles are also toxic offenders because they typically contain paraffin and because soy has been shown to disrupt hormones in many scientific studies.
Unfortunately, the toxic exposure doesn’t end there because when you burn paraffin candles it results in a highly toxic product that is literally poisoning the air and is not environmentally friendly in any way. Paraffin candles, on average, release at least seven known toxins, two of which are known carcinogens when burned. Then when you add in the fact that black soot is released from burning the candles that stains anything from walls, carpet, drapes, furniture, clothing and leaves microscopic particles of soot in the deepest parts of our lungs, we can definitely say we have a disaster. Lovely, isn’t it?
Lucky for us, 100% pure beeswax candles are not only safe, but they actually clean the air! How do they do this? To sum it up, when beeswax is burned it releases negative ions into the air and most toxins and allergens such as dust, pollen, pollutants and other toxins have a positive ion charge. So when you burn 100% pure beeswax candles it releases the negative ions that attract the positive ions and traps and neutralizes them. They typically fall back to the ground, instead of being suspended in the air. This process greatly reduces allergies, hay fever, asthma, skin irritations, respiratory irritations and more. This is much healthier and safer for ourselves, our children and our pets.
Many people forget to check what the wicks and candle holders are made from when purchasing candles and yes, it really matters if you’re truly trying to live a toxin free life. Unfortunately, if the wick contains metal, it will allow metals to be released into the air as it burns which of course isn’t good for anyone. Also, many candles and/or candle wicks are imported and tend to contain lead despite lead being banned here in the USA. The best choice for wicks is to use unbleached 100% organic cotton or hemp. It also makes sense to use glass instead of plastic for the candle holder if you really want to avoid toxins such as BPA.
Now you know why everyone should switch to 100% pure beeswax candles and we really hope you enjoyed this article. Here at The Herb Forest we offer only 100% pure beeswax candles, beeswax pellets and sheets, and candle making kits. We also offer non metal organic wicks along with glass candle holders. You may view and purchase all of these awesome products below. The Herb Forest thanks you all so much for your support!
Candles and Wicks
Wicks, Candle Making Kits, Votives, and More Candles
