I love candles as much as the next individual. Covering your cousin’s birthday cake or filling the room with your favorite scents, candles are associated with many great memories but they’re not all good.
Many run of the mill candles are made with paraffin. Paraffin wax is the primary ingredient in most candles and is a petroleum by-product created from the waste of sludge waste when crude oil is refined into gasoline. Another danger of some candles is lead-core wicks. While they have been banned in the U.S. some of these candles are still in circulation coming from other countries. These lead wicks release dangerous toxins into the airs that are hazardous to both the environment and human health.
A safer option to these paraffin based candles is soy candles. Soy candles are created from the oil of soybeans and thus are vegetable wax. Not only is this a renewable resource, it also burns slower and less hot than paraffin wax meaning they’ll last longer. Another option is beeswax candles. These candles last even longer than soy candles! Another important characteristic to look for in your candles is 100% cotton wicks, which do not carry any of the chemicals found in other wicks.
So next time you reach for the matches, consider exactly what you’re putting the flame to.