Candles are associated with decadence and relaxation. They fill your home with different scents and warmth. Who doesn’t love to crawl up with a good book at the end of the night next to a lit candle? Or, what about lighting candles for a dinner with your loved ones?
What would you say if I told you that most candles are actually toxic and that when we burn them indoors, you pollute the air in your home? Candles contain paraffin wax, lead-core wicks, and synthetic fragrance, and this can all produce VOCs in your home.
Burning Conventional Candles in Your Home Cause the Following Health Concerns:
- First and foremost, the majority of a candle is made up of parrafin wax. What is paraffin wax? It is a petroleum waste product, and to top that off, it is chemically bleached during the process. When paraffin wax is burned, it creates carcinogens. These carcinogens are highly toxic, such as benzene and toluene. The soot released from paraffin wax candles is the same soot that is found in diesel fuel fumes. And all of that is as dangerous as secondhand smoke. Just writing this makes me want to throw up, but I think the toxicity of candles is not well known. So, I need to keep going and share the wealth of information on the matter so you all can protect yourselves.
- Not all wicks in conventional candles contain lead-cores. Most are cotton or paper these days, but lead-core wicks do still exist. It is definitely something to be aware of. If you are buying a candle that was manufactured in China or Taiwan, definitely take a double take at the source of the candle wick. A candle burning with a lead-core wick releases at least 5x the amount of lead considered dangerous to children and pets. Also, touching a lead-core wick can also expose you to lead. You will absorb the lead through your skin, because as we know, our skin is the biggest organ we have, and it absorbs everything.
- Like with any other product, the inclusion of so called “fragrance” is a problem. We know that fragrance is a catchall ingredient for petroleum, phtalates and other hazardous ingredients. The average conventional synthetic fragrance contains 14 chemicals that are not explicitly listed on the label, and this goes for any product, including candles. These chemicals are associated with effects such as hormone disruption, allergies, asthma, neurotoxicity, and carcinogenic poisoning. The phthalates in added fragrance can cause cancer, and hormone toxicity, among other issues.
Burning these candles with toxic ingredients in a confined space causes toxic air pollutants to accumulate in the confined space. These toxins will then build up in your home and won’t be able to escape or become diluted. If some of these pollutants are small enough, you will breath them in and they will enter your lungs and wreak havoc. Also, the scents and fragrance added to these toxic candles ruins indoor air quality aside from just damaging your insides. Synthetic added fragrance and scents emit large amounts of VOCs, which are considered toxic and hazardous to human health. The even scarier part is that when these VOCs are emitted in confined spaces, they can react with the ozone in the air and form secondary pollutants, such as formaldehyde. And that too causes cancer.
Luckily, there is a market for nontoxic candles. Beeswax, coconut or soy candles don’t contain these toxins, and even Trader Joe’s carries beeswax candles, so it is not that hard to find these nontoxic candles. You just need to make sure that these candles do not contain paraffins. Some candles are a “mix” of beeswax, coconut and soy with paraffins. If that’s the case, then you didn’t avoid the toxins at all. You gotta avoid paraffins full stop. Also, be sure to always look for 100% cotton wicks, and for natural fragrances (i.e. 100% pure essential oils, fruits or herbs). And, if you do have a hard time finding nontoxic candles in stores, you can always find them online in all shapes and sizes.
Here’s to being well preserved.
Always,
Taylor
