Are soy candles safe for your health?

The fashion for 'natural', made 'by hand' from 'organic materials' is at its best. We buy BIO food, natural cosmetics and clothing. We gave up on paraffin candles in favour of those natural, plant-based ones. But are they really friendly to our health?

On most scented candles we will see the inscription 'natural' or 'natural wax'. We have already established that paraffin is not healthy, but are there truly 'natural' candles?

The word 'natural' refers to the wax of which the candle is made. And we'll look at the wax first.

- The first serious question is whether all of the wax in the "natural" candle is vegetable wax or only part of it. Manufacturers are not required to tell you how much wax is soy or rapeseed wax, and how much is ordinary paraffin. Most often, small producers use 100% vegetable wax.

- Where does the wax come from? Most soy wax comes from the US or China. Due to more restrictive legal regulations regarding wax production, wax from the USA will be better.

- Does it contain 'enhancers / beautifiers’? This is not often mentioned, but even candles are sometimes embellished. Substances are added to the wax which, for example, allow the wax to absorb more fragrance oils, change the texture of the wax, or make the wax shine. These substances, just like paraffin, often come from crude oil. Obtaining an intense fragrance in a true soy candle is not an easy task. If we add the same percentage of fragrance oil to paraffin as to soy wax, the smell of the former will be much more noticeable (although the content of the oil does not always indicate the intensity of the candle). Therefore, if your 'natural' candle has a very intense smell, ask the manufacturer if there is no paraffin in it.


Let’s look at the rest of the ingredients in a candle

- Wick. A well-chosen wick is the most important component in regard to burning. Soy candles are said not to smoke. This is not entirely true. We will not see black smoke and dirty furniture if there is a proper wick in our candle. Just what does that mean?
The wick can be made of cotton, cotton with the addition of a metal core, hemp fiber or wood.
Good-quality scented candles can most often be found with cotton or wooden wicks. Those with a metal core (visible black dot inside) have a bad reputation because they were once made of lead, which burning is harmful. Here again it is worth mentioning the scented candles from China - despite the fact that in Europe and the United States there is a ban on the use of lead wicks, it happens that those imported from China have one.

- Essential oils. The ingredient that greatly affects the perception of the candle by the user as well as an ingredient which, if wrongly chosen, can have a negative impact on our health. Scented candles are a special product when it comes to choosing scented oils because their temperature varies. Each fragrance has its typical physical and chemical properties, which translate into how they will behave when mixed with wax. Candles made with incorrectly selected oils can release harmful substances.

Each chemical mixture, including candles, must be properly marked, i.e. it must contain appropriate pictograms. Even candles made of natural wax and essential oils are a mixture and are subject to this law. If your candle has not been marked with clear pictograms, it should not be allowed on the market. Thus, there is a good chance that the manufacturer is not familiar with the properties of fragrances, and this may affect your health. Small manufactories often have no idea about the behaviour of fragrance oils in the mixture and/or legal regulations.

As you can see, even "soy" or "natural" scented candles can be traps. Before you light a 'natural' scented candle check:
- where it was produced
- if 100% wax is of vegetable origin
- where the wax comes from
- if it contains petroleum derivatives
- if it doesn’t smoke
- whether the manufacturer is trustworthy, has extensive knowledge on candle production and your health and safety in mind

Check out the best soy candles