Who doesn't love the sensory soothing glow from a sophisticated scented candle?
Candles evoke romance and relaxation and can be found burning in millions of households across the United States and abroad. But do you know exactly what you're emitting into your home each time you light a candle?
If you can't answer this question, don't feel bad, I didn't know either until one day when I lit my very popular big box store candle and my granddaughter had a reaction to it. Knowing that it had to be the candle that was causing the sudden onset of coughs and the barrage of sneezes, I immediately blew out the candle and removed it from the room.
About an hour or so later, my granddaughter stopped coughing and sneezing. Just. Like. That.
So I googled and this is what I found...
I'd heard the term paraffin before, in fact, my feet and hands had been immersed in it during my mani/pedi visits so 'how bad could it really be?' I thought. Well what I discovered was horrifying to say the least:
1. Paraffin is a sludge. The process of making paraffin wax starts at the bottom of the an oil barrel. After petroleum is processed into diesel gasoline, motor oil, kerosene, and other fuels, the waste that has been rejected by the gasoline industry is then whitened with industrial strength bleach. Next, a few additional ingredients are added and finally you have the very wax that is burning inside your homes. The soot created by paraffin wax contains the same toxins found in diesel fuel.
2. Paraffin wax emits 11 known toxins while burning, including toluene, benzene, and formaldehyde, which are known carcinogens. Toluene and and benzene are found in the black soot that's left on your candle container, walls and ceilings after burning your candle. Toluene affects the central nervous system and can cause headaches and drowsiness. Benzene has been identified as a cancer-causing agent. Benzene is also a natural part of crude oil and gasoline (and therefore motor vehicle exhaust), as well as cigarette smoke.
Needless to say, I have never burned another store purchased candle. NEVER! In fact, it was the sole motivator for why I started making safe, non-toxic and paraffin-free candles in my kitchen. Little did I know, family and friends would also fall in love with them and start placing "orders" for free candles. Soon after, I introduced our soy candles to others who loved them as much as we did and I hope you too, will #lovenavabella.
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