I was once the candle queen. I mean MEGA DOSE orders of Party-Lite candles and all the little burners and pretty decor. Every color, every scent, every season. (I scared my hubby daily into thinking I was gonna burn my house down lol).
I LOVED them. Burned them every night! I loved the soft glow and scent. It made me feel special and happy. A scented candle feels like decor: a warm light and a nice smell. And if you've switched to soy, it probably feels like you've already made the better choice......
What the Flame Puts in the Air
When a scented candle burns, even soy candles, it puts formaldehyde and fine particles into the air of your room. The candle industry actually paid for the tests that found them. The World Health Organization sets a limit for formaldehyde in indoor air because it irritates the eyes and nose. The fine particles are small enough to reach deep into your lungs. However, the W.H.O. is not going to test your home daily, and many homes often will max out this limit. Many of us worry about pollution, but did you know that most homes have levels 2-5x higher than outdoor pollution levels? It's comes down to what pollutants you voluntarily place is your homes, and one of the biggest culprits is fragrance. Fragrance is actually an environmental toxin. info link
When I began my essential oil life, I was still very hardcore candle—and Scentsy plug-ins too. I wanted to smell those scents the minute I walked into my home, and I wasn't about to give up my luxury either. At that time, I was more concerned about what I was putting in me, not on me or what I was breathing into my lungs.
But the more I learned, the more I knew I needed to pay attention to this. Finally, probably a year into oils, I started to fully accept that everything I put on me and everything I breathed in actually went in me. By then I was diffusing far more than candling , so it didn't seem like it was going to be that hard to switch, but I still wasn't totally there. So I looked at soy candles instead.
Why a Soy Candle Is No Better
In the candle industry's own tests, paraffin, soy, palm, and stearin candles all came out about the same, and no wax was consistently cleaner than the others. The emissions come from the flame, not the wax. So a nicer candle changes the wax you buy and leaves the air you breathe the same. And it adds up: a candle most evenings in the room you use most is a little more of it every day. Soy candles with essential oils make you feel like you are conquering this battle, but sadly, most of those are made with junk oils, and the burning reduces any effect from a good oil that may have gone into that candle, and you still are polluting your air. I'm so sorry if this is bad news for you. Candles are lovely, but really should just be an occasional special event.
It was finally time for a change
The day finally came for me to pull the plug on polluting my indoor life. I gave away or sold every scented candle I had, save for a few to burn if the power went out. I Got rid of all the Scentsy wax and burners too. That was eleven years ago, and those saved candles are still in the drawer. I Guess I found other methods for when the power went out!
Once I detoxed my lungs—with the absence of fake scents—I began to understand just how hard this was and is on our lungs. Now, when I am around scented candles and plug-in scenters, my eyes burn. I also get headaches, and honestly it's a bit hard to breathe in a home maintained the way I used to maintain mine. I'm not alone in this either. Every single person who has cleaned these items out of them own homes now report the exact same thing.
This is a habit that is harming you—how much longer will you keep it up?
Scent Without the Flame
A diffuser scents a room without burning anything. It turns water and a few drops of essential oil—the concentrated oil that gives a plant its scent—into a fine mist.
What I Do Instead
I diffuse essential oils. Real ones. Not the ones from stores that are just perfume with a drop of plant extract surrounded by formaldehyde. That's just a liquid candle, greenwashed to make you think you're helping yourself. Diffuse oils that are ONLY oils, with Latin names of plants on the bottles and nothing else. You won't find them in stores.
A diffuser sends every drop of an oil into your room, so what's in the bottle matters. "Pure" on a label isn't a standard anyone has to meet. I buy mine from a company that oversees every step from the farm to the bottle.
What's your favorite candle scent? Send me its name, and I'll match it with an oil or blend you can diffuse instead.
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