[ Candles go a long way in adding atmosphere, mood soothing scents, and soft lighting into our homes and lives. ]
Candles have come a long way with the quality of ingredients they're made with. This includes the use of pure essential oils instead of artificial fragrances. However, those of us with asthma and or other allergies continue to look for even better than what's touted as safe and natural on the markets. Now, not everyone needs to be as diligent as some of us, but for those of us who need to step up our scent game, we have to look outside of what's given to us as natural instead of the current soy wax scents.
Let's start with soy based wax scents [candles, wax melts...]. Most soy wax is GMO which contains artificial additives, colorants and pesticides. Because soy is cheap to produce, as it's a by product of the soybean oil industry.
Parrafin wax is petroleum by product and has super scent throwing abilities. Since paraffin has to be chemically bleached and deodorized to be made into a wax, when it's burned as a candle it releases toxic volatile organic compounds ( VOC's ) into the home air, that includes acetone, benzene, and toluene all of are known carcinogens. These same chemicals are also found in diesel fuel emissions and are known to cause and ignite allergies, skin issues and asthma attacks. Some studies show that even unlit paraffin wax candles still emit low levels of benzene.
[ Beeswax Rolled candles ~ A pleasure for the eyes and nose! ]
Beeswax one of my favorites hails from the honeybee hives; with it's characteristic honey scent output and sustainability this wax makes for sweet mildly natural scented candles not to mention they're beautiful to look at. Bleached beeswax it also available but it takes away most of the natural honey scent, not to mention the bleaching process removes some of the 'natural' in the beeswax. It's best to stick to unbleached candles of any sort.
Palm wax is made by burning through forests by the thousands. There have been some palm plantations have been created for making responsibly sourced palm wax (RSPO) -responsibly sourced palm oil. It's a shame though that so much damage has already been done from foresting palm oil for candles... :/
Last but not least, my latest discovery, Coconut Wax candles and scent melts!! Coconut was burn clean and slowly so the candles last longer. Coconut wax also throws scent very well. I can't think of any reason not to buy coconut wax based scents, though they may be a bit more costly because coconut wax is more expensive for candle industries to purchase. I feel it's so worth it, especially if you live with asthma or other allergies that may be effected by soy or other candles.
The same goes for wax melts. These melts can be found anywhere and are reactively inexpensive because they're made from soy wax. I've only recently found a company that makes coconut oil wax melts. Other venues for these type of melts is Etsy. It seems there is an open market and a need for clean melting soy free wax melts!
www.islandblustudio.com
If the options for candles is freaking you out :() there are other ways to safely scent our homes. One of my favorites, that I've talked about in other posts is Simmering Stovetop Potpourri! What could be easier than tossing fruits/or fruit rinds herbs and spices into a pot and allowing it to simmer and scent your home beautifully. Stovetop scents make nice anytime gifts too.
[ Lemon and Thyme, Sage or Rosemary with added Vanilla is my go to home simmer scent! ]
Essential oils [ pure oils otherwise there will be added artificial fragrances and chemicals] ] are a staple in our home with so many uses. For scent just add a few drops to a diffuser, or if you don't or can't buy one simply drop some essential oil into a bowl of warm water, I like adding tea tree and citrus oils to my dishwadh liquid for a better brighter dish washing expierence! Of course you can buy naturally scented dish was liquid these days, but, my additions are just brighter and fresher. [ adding oils into a warm bath or shower makes for an instant spa like experience! ] and allow those scents to permeate your home.
Make your own dried potpourri from dried herbs, fruit rinds, spices and flowers and place it into pretty fabric bags, or into a nice bowls around the home for beautiful and natural scent! I like sprinkling a few drops of essential oils onto the dried potpourri for an even stronger scent, or for a larger room!
Keeping on top of what's more in step for better asthma and allergy management is a win - win for our whole health! Scent your home with better products that don't clog up your in home air and lungs.
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