How Your Scented Candles Could Be Harming You

They’ve been taking over the news in recent weeks. From The Independent to MSN News; scented candles are apparently causing harm to our health and the environment. Hang on, before you run and blow out your candle burning in the kitchen, read on. There is good news that may just stop you stubbing out that flame. It’s not all scented candles that are the bad guys.

Soya wax is still classified as a clean wax

The key to all the hype comes down to two main things, led in the candle wick (yup, I did say led) and paraffin wax (also called mineral wax): a wax which is literally the by product of crude oil. Its the sludge left behind after the shiny slippery stuff is distilled. Pretty gruesome right?

Paraffin wax has two particularly toxic chemicals, benzene and toluene, which they’re concerned about. They are both found in the sooty residue from burning candles, it’s the black soot you see coming off your wick and landing on your ceiling!

EPA concludes paraffin emits harmful toxins

In 2001, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) concluded that burning paraffin candles emit harmful amounts of toxins in the air that are considered above the excess risk, with multiple exposures. Fast forward to 2019 and here in England Michael Gove has introduced The Clean Air Strategy and will be telling firms that they need to reduce their emissions in scented candles.

And, if you’re like us – you love nothing more than to come home after a hard days work, kick off your heels, let the kids get on with whatever they want to (because you’re so tired you need ten minutes alone to relax and really don’t care what they get up to), go into the kitchen, light your scented candle and wait for the gorgeous aroma to fill the room and send you into a much needed bliss while pouring a well deserved cuppa tea or glass of wine if the PM time has arrived. Isn’t it better to light a candle you know is safe?

You have a right to know exactly what’s going into your candles, what wax, specifically, and that the wick, does not contain led? So before you buy your next candle, simply ask the company what goes into their candles.

Soy wax and cotton candles both make Willow and Tea candles a good burn

Our entire range of W&T scented candles all have cotton wicks and do not contain led or any baddies. Our soy wax is 100% natural and is not a mixture of soy and any other wax which produces a clean burn and burns longer than paraffin. And the natural cotton wicks we use helps maintain the life and burn of your candle right until the very end.

If you’re nerdy like us and like to know what goes into the things you buy, here’s the article from The Independent News (which lists soy as the cleanest wax to use) and the article regarding Michael Gove and The Clean Air Strategy.