I have enjoyed making and giving away quite a few candles over the last few years.  Candles always make a lovely gift. They can also work out to be so much cheaper to make yourself if you have time to enjoy at home.

I started making beeswax ‘wrap’ candles with lemon eucalyptus essential oil when I was a kid and then didn’t really make them again until in my 30’s when I discovered soy candles.  These candles, which are more popular now and wildly available, have many fragrances that you can chose from. The soy wax candles were easy enough to make (after some trial and errors!) and I knew it was a better option over paraffin wax, which is a petrochemical derivative.  At the time I thought that I was chosing a more ‘healthy’ option in making natural soy candles.

However, I realise now this is not the case and there are a few reasons for this explained below.

Why all Soy Candles are toxic to use

However, I started to learn about chemicals a bit more in our everyday lives about a year ago (during my research into low-tox and healthier living) and discovered that all candle fragrances oils are a combination of synthetic chemicals which off-gas VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) into your home environment.  You then breathe these chemicals in as you burn any soy candle in your home.  I started to look at using essential oils however these are not stable in candle making and become dangerous when burnt releasing toxins (as the combustion apparently changes the molecular structure of these oils).  So this was also not a good option.

As well, avoiding any additives into the soy wax, like general ‘stabilising additives’ or ‘colours’ was important to avoid any added toxins in these home-made, ‘natural’ candles. So when you look at what actually is in a typical ‘natural’ soy wax candle, there is a toxic concoction of chemicals to create the ‘fragrance’, some more in the additives in the wax and colour and possibly some more depending on the quality of wax used. Best to avoid where possible!

Parafin vs. Soy wax candles

Paraffin wax is even worse than Soy wax and starts as the sludge at the bottom of the barrel of crude oil and refined using bleaching and treatments by more chemicals (think cheap $5 tealights- we’ve all bought them!).  We then go on to burn these in our home and breathe in the air thinking they smell wonderful…its hard to smell another fragrance candle the same way when you’re aware that its purely chemical toxins being burnt. The toxic smoke from paraffin candles covers your walls, furniture, carpet and curtains as well as the inside of your lungs and skin.  The soot given off from the burning of paraffin candles is the same as that given off by burning diesel fuel. It contains numerous chemicals similar to those found in paint removers and some are known human carcinogens.

Both Paraffin and Soy have environmental concerns in their making, paraffin being derived from fossil fuels and soy being largely a genetically modified (GM) crop.  GM crops are largely sprayed with toxic pesticides causing harm to both the harvester and soil and unless your candle is noted otherwise, you’re likely supporting the production of GMO’s.

Creating a healthy home with Beeswax Candles

I then re-discovered the humble Beeswax Candle, which is not only beautiful with its naturally honey-scented wax but can actually clean the air in your house too!  Beeswax Candles are said to reduce allergies, asthma and hay fever by naturally releasing negative ions into the air when burned (which are also found around a waterfall, beach or rainforest).  Pollen, dust, dirt, pollutants and other particulates in the air all carry a positive charge and that is how they are suspended in the air.  The negative ions released from burning beeswax negate the positive charge of air contaminants and the neutralised ions are sucked back into the burning candle or fall to the ground.  Many air purifiers and water filters utilise this negative ion technology.  As well, they release no toxins or chemicals in the air like soy or paraffin wax candles do as they contain no artificial fragrances or additives, which compromise indoor air quality.

Some people burn beeswax candles in rooms where allergic kids sleep or play and say they have no allergic symptoms whilst in this space. Its important that you trim the top of the wick to clean out the wick on occasion as this can get blocked from all the work its doing filtering out particulates in your air.  Whilst a beeswax candle is more expensive than others, they do burn for longer making them good value for money.

So I feel like I’ve almost come full circle and at this point in time, Beeswax Candles feel like the better, healthier choice for my home.  They clean the air whilst creating such a beautiful ambience and create good feng shui in my home that there really is no comparison to the other types of modern candles out there.

I have also enjoyed the art of candle making and creating some lovely beeswax candles for use around my home and in my Sacred Space Clearings and highly recommend giving it a try one day!