You love burning candles! That’s great...unless you are burning paraffin candles. That’s not so good. Paraffin is made from petroleum by-products and that means it is full of some pretty nasty chemicals. When you burn paraffin candles those chemicals are released into the air. Did you know some of the same toxins are in cigarettes that are in paraffin?
What is paraffin? Paraffin has been found to contain:
- acrolein
- benzene
- ethanol
- formaldehyde
- dibutyl phthalate
- diethyl phthalate
- toluene
- styreneethyl
- benzene
- naphthalene
- benzaldehyde
- didecyl phthalate
- acetone
We recommend that you skip the chemical concoction that is released into the air you breathe when you burn a paraffin candle. It is even worse if your paraffin candle is scented with synthetic fragrance. Go with a natural candle. Find out more about paraffin.
All natural candles are not the same. The most popular natural candles are soy wax, palm wax and beeswax.
Soy is grown extensively and in the last several years has become a popular wax for making candles. Honey Candles decided to not make or sell soy candles. The majority of the soy grown is GMO – so the wax must be. It is a soft wax so it limits the kind of candles you can make with it. It is best suited for container candles. If you mold soy wax then it must be conditioned with a hardener. We question if this makes soy any better than paraffin. Please read more about soy wax.
Palm wax is a beautiful wax that makes candles with lovely crystalline patterns. For several years Honey Candles did make palm wax candles but we chose to stop in 2009. There are too many questions for us about where palm wax comes from and whether it can always be bought from ethical sources. Many of our customers questioned us about whether palm wax contributed to the devastation of Asian forests. For more about palm wax and why we made the decision to abandon palm wax candle production please read here.
We have chosen to make candles from the purest of waxes – beeswax. It is the only candle wax still in its native state. It is naturally long burning. Nothing is added. A burning beeswax candle fills a room with the sweet natural scent of honey.
Here’s what our customers have said after switching to our beeswax candles:
“This is my first time using beeswax candles…I won’t be able to use any other anymore! Thank you very much! I will order again when I need more!” Joanie - Sorel-tracy PQ
“The candles arrived quickly and in fine condition. We are using them in a candelabra and they are perfect! I found your website one evening when I was looking for an alternative to regular petroleum-based candles. Your price and the size of the candles were better than any other sites I saw. For a candelabra, beeswax candles can be prohibitively expensive. We’re grateful to Honey Candles! Thank you!" Karin - Toronto ON
Want to check out the buzz? Here’s a shortcut to our on-line store.
If you like this article you might like to read:
Are You Confused about What might be the Best 'Natural' Candle?
Photo by Marlie Marchewka