One day Alyssa came home and said, “Don’t ever burn another candle unless it is soy.” Being an avid candle burner, I looked at her like she was an alien from another planet. She swiftly defended her statement.
“Mom, I’m serious. Today I learned that candles like we buy are really bad and they are going to kill us.”
“Where did you learn this, Alyssa?” I calmly asked almost knowing what her answer would be because lately she keeps bringing home an abundance of this type of information.
“The ladies at work. You know they are very into the natural and organic stuff,” she replied matter-of-factly.
Without saying a word, I thought, “Ohhhhhh, THOSE women!” I’m pretty sure that the women at Alyssa’s job have no idea how they are changing our lives. Alyssa takes every one of their tips to heart and wears me down until I comply.
“Okay, tell me why I should not burn paraffin wax candles.”
At a rate of about five million words a minute, Alyssa proceeded to tell me all the reasons that we were never going to burn another paraffin wax candle. After her presentation, because it was a full blown presentation, she had convinced me that I needed to look into this matter further. Of course, what I have learned, I’m going to share with you.
The research facts can be found by downloading the document at the Environmental Protection Agency website, but since it is rather long and I have read it all (yes, I read the WHOLE document), I’m going to post a few of the key points that I think will pique your interest.
What Is Paraffin Wax, Soy Wax And Beeswax?
Candles are made from many products, but predominantly paraffin wax is the most common. Paraffin wax is a petroleum by-product that is created from the sludge waste when crude oil is refined into gasoline. Sounds a bit gross.
There are also soy wax candles which are made from the oil of soybeans, so it is a vegetable wax. Soy wax is a renewable resource. Most of the world’s soy beans are primarily grown in Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana. Soy wax candles burn slower and not as hot as paraffin wax candles . Actually, soy wax candles burn up to 30 to 50 percent longer.
Another type of candle that is a renewable resource is made from beeswax. Obviously, beeswax is made by honeybees. The wax is a secretion from the glands on the underside of their abdomens and is used for the construction of the honeycomb. That’s kind of gross sounding too if you don’t like bugs, but at least it is natural and clean. Besides, there are not many things more beautiful than a honeycomb, you know? Anyway, the beeswax candles last up to three times longer than paraffin wax candles and twice as long as soy candles of the same size.
The Facts About Paraffin Wax Candles
From the United States Environmental Protection Agency Research and Development in the January 2001 article titled, “Candles and Incense as Potential Sources of Indoor Air Pollution: Market Analysis and Literature Review,” I learned that “most” manufacturers in the United States have agreed not to use lead in the wicks of candles. “Most” bothered me. What bothered me even more is that 34.8 percent and 13.4 percent of candles imported are from China and Hong Kong respectively where the rules and regulations do not include strict adherence to the same standards as United States candle manufacturers. That is just a nice way of saying that there are many toxic substances in candles imported from China and Hong Kong.
According to the EPA’s research, “Candles with lead wicks have the potential to generate indoor airborne lead concentrations of health concern. It is also possible for consumers to unknowingly purchase candles containing lead wick cores and repeatedly expose themselves to harmful amounts of lead through regular candle-burning.”
They also go on to say that regardless of the lack of lead, burning several candles exceeded the EPA’s standards and posed an increased risk for cancer because of the acetaldehyde, formaldehyde, toluene, benzene and acrolein levels. All those chemicals, along with many others are not healthy or good for our bodies and most especially our lungs.
Paraffin wax candles also produce soot – that black stuff caused from the flickering flame. “When soot is airborne, it is subject to inhalation. The particles can potentially penetrate the deepest areas of the lungs, the lower respiratory tract and alveoli (Krause, 1999).” Alrighty then! That pretty much scared me because I truly value the fragility of lung tissue after watching my great grandfather, Daddy Cecil, die of emphysema.
Not only are people with asthma more susceptible to the effects of burning paraffin wax candles, but also the elderly and children. Science has proven that a child’s tiny body is negatively affected by chronic low-level lead exposure. Burning paraffin wax candles that contain lead wicks is definitely in the category of low-level lead exposure.
Low-level exposure to lead mainly affects the central nervous system and can cause:
- neurobehavioral changes
- hypertension
- kidney disease
- increased depression
- phobic anxiety symptoms
- mood and personality changes
- irritability
- aggressiveness
- changes in sleep patterns
- hyperactivity
- learning difficulties
- difficulty concentrating
- memory loss
- lethargy
- loss of appetite
- difficulty breathing
Are you looking at those candles sitting on the shelves of your home a little differently now?
How To Set The Mood Without Paraffin Wax Candles
Obviously, I love candles especially when I’m trying to relax. As much as I have initially bucked against all the changes that Alyssa has introduced to me because of the women at her work, I am actually thankful for the information and have incorporated most of it into our home.
I still have a few paraffin wax candles left, but I haven’t lit them since I read about the harmful effects they can cause to my body. The part about penetrating the deepest areas of the lungs with harmful chemicals just doesn’t thrill me much, so the candles just sit and look like pretty colored globs in glass containers. (rolling eyes)
Soy and beeswax candles are wonderful alternatives to lighting paraffin wax candles.
Think about it…is that tiny flickering paraffin wax flame really worth the risk to your health? Maybe it is time for a change.
I'm in the process of writing a couple books. Because I was diagnosed with a 
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Oh my…factor in the fire hazard concerns and those battery powered candles are begnning to look good.
Yep, Carol. Obviously, all that information completely changed my mind.
Help. I cant make the sharing work and ihave alll thoose candles everryday &. Symptoms galore.
Virginia, All you have to do is click one of the options on the sharing bar, let it connect to your account and then another box will pop up allowing you to share. You can change what is already written in the share message too. Does that help?
Great post. I stopped burning paraffin candles years ago for these reasons. Thanks for sharing.
Years ago Stéfan? Then why didn’t you tell me to stop?! LOL
Great information, thanks!
I started using soy candles about a month a go, but didn’t have all this info to hand…just we live in a duplex where whatever I’ve cooked seems to hang in the air and candles + oils clear it.
Will be sharing this article – more people need to know about this (by the way Febreze is also REALLY bad for you…read about that a little while ago…it’s especially aggravating for people with asthma and breathing difficulties – I stick to natural oil cleaners in my house).
Cheers
Sarah
A Mom On A Spiritual Journey
Sarah,
Yes, I read all about the cleaning products and the ones that are made just to cover up odors. They are all adding chemicals to our air and are not good for our lungs. I actually try to open my windows and let the air rush through at least once a day to refresh the air. It seems to help.
I’m glad you enjoyed it and thanks for sharing it with others!
Woah – I always wondered what the scoop was on the beeswax, soy, paraffin candles.
ty for condensing it for me!
Glad I could help, Kathy!
Thanks as always for your clear distillation of a lot of information into a precise, clear statement of facts. It’s good that we can discriminate between safe & harmful wax, & at least hope that the wicks are lead-free.
When I lived in Ethiopia, I got used to hand-made beeswax candles. On top of their warm color, they smell wonderful!
Skip,
Thank you.
I need to find a good source of beeswax candles around here. I would like to have candles that are made from local honey. Surely there has to be some benefit from that because I know eating local honey is great for helping with allergies. Don’t you just love the honeycombs?!!!
Yes, honeycombs are great! I love honey, & wish I could keep bees! I’m fortunate to have a local honey supplier a block (yes, *1* block!) from my apartment! I think they have candles for sale too… & I may see if I can get wax & dip my own!
That sounds fun and how lucky are you to have local honey soooooo close!!! I made candles when I was a teen, but I don’t remember a thing we did. LOL
I was rereading this post and noticed the comment about Febreeze. My dog’s groomer told me that even though it is advertised for use on bedding, particularily where pets lie, many pets are allergic to it. My springer has recently developed an allergy to something and I’ve stopped using air fresheners too. I never thought about all that perfume being spritzed at her, everytime she walked by, until now.
Love what you’re doing here…I find myself checking in every day now!
I’m so glad you visit every day! Thank you very much.
I haven’t used air freshener for a long time because of my allergies. They are just too strong and I knew they couldn’t be good for us either. I’m so glad Alyssa tells me all this stuff. LOL
Well daughter, I am not going to give up everything in life because you prove I am going to die. The other candles hurt my purse. I love Yankee Candles! LOL
Today you told me that you wanted me to give up my only vice – Coke. I’ve got to die sometime of something! LOL
mom
Mother,
You drive me nuts LOL
Of course you have to die, but you don’t have to hasten it!
Quit using those candles and stop drinking the Coke. LOL LOL LOL
I don’t burn candles at all presently. In an emergency, I have homemade ones that are made with beeswax (which comes from local bees). This is good information for you to share. I think you are probably glad that your daughter made you aware of this issue with the paraffin candles. Especially since you have health issues of your own. Better to be safe than sorry.
Katlupe,
Yep! I sure am glad she told me and we aren’t going to do the paraffin wax kind any more. Why doesn’t it surprise me that you use locally made beeswax candles?
We have a neighbour who makes barbecues in his very small garden from old oil drums which he burns with paraffin to clean them. He then cooks burgers to sell to the public. If our windows are open, the paraffin smell permeates through the house making us very sick and head achey and causes breathing difficulties. My husband also suffers with migraines which have increased since we have lived in this house and seem aggravated by the smell. We are both in our seventies. The local Council has not taken any notice of our claims. Can you tell me what health disorders this is likely to cause.
Jo Evans (Mrs)
Ewwwww! That sounds terrible! I would think that smelling the fumes from his barrels would cause the same effects as burning the candles. Of course, if it is super strong, I would think it is even worse than the candles. I’m sorry! Surely your city council can help. Don’t give up!
Hi,
I own a small candle company. We hand make our own candles from paraffin wax and use lead free wicks. I don’t think paraffin wax is bad nor has it been proven. Based on the EPA recommendation it states the products that are shipped in from China. Soybeans are hydroginally manufactured and have chemicals in them as well that have been approved by the EPA. A lot of the EPA officials are from companies that manufacture soybeans, hence the promotion of soy. Soy isn’t as ‘natural’ as some would want.
The fact still remains that paraffin wax is a petroleum by-product that is created from the sludge waste when crude oil is refined into gasoline.
I just prefer not to have that floating around me if I can help it.
I totally agree. I’ve been burning paraffin candles for YEARS and have been making paraffin candles for about 10 years. I use food grade paraffin. My candles do not smoke unless I don’t keep the wicks trimmed, but any candle will smoke if you don’t trim the wick…including soy. My wicks are lead-free (fyi: Lead wicks have been banned in the US). I just think this is all a bunch of “hype”. Check out the National Candle Associations website – they compare paraffin, soy and beeswax and they VERY CLEARLY STATE THAT PARAFFIN WAX IS NOT DANGEROUS OR AN INFERIOR WAX! I know folks will believe what they want to believe, but I encourage you to do your own reading and not just jump on the “paraffin is bad” bandwagon because someone tells you it’s bad.
Thanks Roberta for your opinion!
Hi from Germany!
I believe this is all scaremongering as there as many websites saying paraffin wax candles are fine as there are saying that they are not.
For example the NCA (National Candle Association – http://www.candles.org) say that the amount of toxins/soot produced by candles made from other waxes is no less harmful than those made from paraffin wax. OK, so maybe they are biased.
There are so many other places paraffin that wax is used that one would have to a have a complete change of lifestyle to avoid it. It is used in:
o Cooking and sweet preparation
o To make fruit (apples, etc.) appear shiny and more appealing
o Wax used for removing leg hair (!!)
o Wrapping cheese (Dutch Edam is a good example)
plus many more to numerous to mention.
A properly trimmed candle should produce no smoke/soot at all. Even when it does, unless it is smoking continuously then the amount of soot it produces is substantially less than you would inhale walking to the store to buy your soy/beeswax alternatives.
Anyway, I think it’s up to the individual to decide, but the evidence/research/information shows that on balance there is precious little difference between burning paraffin wax/other wax. There are so many other places that paraffin wax is “hidden” that it is difficult to avoid.
Happy New Year!
Thank you for you opinion John. I’m glad that you admitted that the NCA was biased. LOL
Paraffin wax is created as a byproduct of petroleum sludge, treated with carcinogenic chemicals and even after processing it still contains up to 11 toxic compounds and chemicals. Two of those toxic substances are benzene and toluene.
Beeswax candles, however, is an all natural product with no additives or fillers. It’s non-toxic and clean burning.
Even from a lay person’s point of view, with all the chemicals in paraffin wax it seems obvious that breathing it all into my lungs could prove quite harmful.
As far as the wax being used on other things, well, I try to use as much natural/organic things as possible. I’ve slowly been changing more and more habits as well as eliminating products with lots of chemicals. My new motto – Less is more. So I’ve downsized, eliminated and am working on being an all around healthier me in a healthier environment. Yes, it has been a total lifestyle change. After my allergy diagnosis (grain allergy) it was yet another huge change, but life is change. Right?
I hope you have a marvelous New Year filled with good health and happiness!!!
This is great information. Thank you so much for researching and posting about it. I’m looking into the toxicity of fragrance oils because I really have no idea what’s in them, but had heard that they, too, are usually petroleum based. I am creating my own line of aromatherapy vegetable wax candles and I use only pure essential oils. It’s challenging, because EO’s can be very expensive, but they have great therapeutic properties that the fragrance oils don’t. Wish me luck
Oh yes! I do wish you luck! When you start selling, make sure you come back and tell me. I would love to try them!
The statement that paraffin is made from the “sludge of the refinery process” is an absolute lie. Can anybody really believe that a product certified by the FDA for use in and on food would contain benzine? Pure paraffin is used in many food and pharmaceutical applications. The beeswax for making candles is not purified and is certainly not approved of use in food. The purified food grade beeswax is white and completely odorless, like the food grade paraffin.
When the pure paraffin is made into a candle and burned the combustion products are carbon dioxide and water. There are no toxic chemicals present because they were removed during the purification process. The same cannot be said for beeswax.
North American candle makers use this grade of paraffin for their candles. Offshore manufactures often use crude paraffin to make their candles. That wax contains many toxins and solvents and should never be made into a candle. Those candles should be banned in North America. Not only are they toxic but they are a fire hazard because they can flash up like burning grease because of the solvents present.
I make pillar candles from pure food grade paraffin wax. I sell them to gourmet restaurants who are very fussy about having extra odors in their restaurants when food is being served. I have a large following of people who have allergies and cannot burn scented or even beeswax candles without getting headaches. They can burn mine without any problems.
ALL candles produce soot when they burn. Soot is carbon. When a candle burns the carbon in the wax combines with oxygen to make carbon dioxide. The hydrogen combines with the oxygen to make water. There is not enough oxygen to burn all the carbon immediately so it heats up to 2000 degrees and glows bright yellow. That is the flame.
Pure paraffin burns with the cleanest and brightest flame because it is a pure aliphatic compound that has no double bonds between the carbon atoms. Because of this there is more hydrogen available which burns the carbon more fully producing a bright clean flame.
Beeswax and vegetable wax contain chemicals known as aromatics that contain double bonds that give them their odor but also lead to a higher ratio of carbon to hydrogen. As a result they burn with a duller flame and produce more soot. They also produce other chemicals when they burn which can leave a heavy odor in the air. Scented candles contain even more aromatics and produce even more soot. It is these chemicals that affect people’s allergies. Men seem to be more affected than women by these chemicals which is probably why they are rarely seen at candle parties.
The bottom line is that a paraffin candle made from purified wax is the best for your health and your ceiling and walls.
Jim,
Thank you for your comment and point of view!
Paraffin = a product of petroleum refining = crude oil, thus the reason I called it sludge of the refinery process.
Paraffin is a crude oil derivative.
A lower grade paraffin is commonly used for manufacturing candles and does release harmful chemicals in the air such as acetaldehyde, formaldehyde, toluene, benzene and acrolein and they have all been shown to cause cancer.
Purified paraffin in its “purest” form is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in food, cosmetics, and medical applications. Do you honestly believe that the majority of candles sold in the USA are made from purified paraffin or that the wicks are always lead free? No. Don’t forget that 34.8 percent and 13.4 percent of candles imported are from China and Hong Kong respectively where the rules and regulations do not include strict adherence to the same standards as United States candle manufacturers per the United States Environmental Protection Agency Research and Development. Yes, it is the same thing I said in my post.
Paraffin wax candles produce A LOT more soot than a beeswax candle. Soot inhalation has known health hazards, so I keep the wicks trimmed on my beeswax candles and get almost ZERO soot.
When you wrote, “Can anybody really believe that a product certified by the FDA for use in and on food would contain…” I just stared. I do not have that much faith in the FDA. Period. I know that many things the FDA has said are “safe” turn out not to be safe at all. So to answer your question, yes, I do believe that the FDA allows things in our environment, food and other products that cause us harm. Furthermore, when they make a mistake, they try to hide it or ignore it. I won’t even get going on my thoughts of the FDA’s ethics or lack of ethics AND all their secrets.
A “pure” paraffin candle is still a petroleum based candle. Beeswax candles without any fragrances added are totally natural. So if the choice is a petroleum based candle (that may not burn as bright per your explanation) or one produced by buzzing bees, I’m always going to choose beeswax candles because they are the most natural product.
By the way, I can’t do candle parties either. The strong fragrances kill me. Same thing happens if I linger too long in the fabric store. All the dyes and chemicals really get to me – eyes water, lungs ache and head starts to pound. I’m really trying to have the most natural things in my environment. Now that I have a grain allergy, I’m also eating EXTREMELY healthy too. All that coupled with my very low blood pressure (80/60) may mean that I live to be 1,000. LOL