What is Paraffin Wax, Soy Wax and Beeswax?
- Candles are made from many products and paraffin wax is the most common. Paraffin in petroleum by-product that is created from the sludge waste when crude oil is refined into gasoline. Healthy?? Um… No…
- 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 soybeans 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. I add therapeutic grade essential oils to my soy wax candles.
- My favorite type of wax is beeswax. Obviously, honey bees make beeswax. The wax is a secretion from the glands on the underside of their abdomens and is used for the construction of the honeycomb. It is natural, clean and healthy. There are not many things more beautiful than a honeycomb and watching the bees work together in amazing harmony.
The Unhealthy 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 candle wicks. What bothered me even more is that almost 50% of candles are imported from China, where the rules and regulations do not include strict adherence to the same standard as United States candle manufacturers. That is just a nice way of saying that there are many toxic substances in candles imported from China.
- According to EPA research, “Candles with lead wicks have the potential to generate indoor airborne lead concentrations to cause health concerns. It is also possible for consumers to unknowingly purchase candles containing lead wick cores and repeatedly expose themselves to harmful amounts of lead.” Regardless of the lack of lead, burning several paraffin wax candles exceeded the EPA standard and posed an increased risk of cancer because for the acetaldehyde, formaldehyde, toluene, benzene and acrolein levels found in the paraffin wax. All those chemicals along with many others are not healthy or good for our bodies and most especially our lungs.
- 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 continuous low-level lead exposure.