Safe Candles

There is just something about the warm glow of candlelight and filling your home with pretty smells. One of the hardest parts about making the switch to clean living for me was getting rid of all the products that contained harmful fragrances. Pretty smells make me happy and anything eucalyptus or tea tree just wasn’t going to cut it.

Candles can be a source of indoor pollution and can put off dangerous chemicals into the air you breathe. Most scented candles contain synthetic fragrances and are made of paraffin, a petroleum-based product, that contains volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The VOCs in candles are known to disrupt hormones, cause cancer, and asthma.

When burned, toxic candles can release phthalates, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, toluene, benzene, and acetone. Candles also release ultrafine soot particles into the air causing allergies and respiratory issues such as asthma, bronchitis, and COPD.

However, it isn’t all doom and gloom. There are some great clean companies out there making candles that are free of all these things!

What to Look for in a Clean Candle

The Type of Wax Matters

The first thing you want to consider when shopping for a clean candle is the type of wax used in the candle. Paraffin wax is commonly used and contains VOCs. Safer wax alternatives include beeswax, coconut, and soy.

Safe Fragrance is a Must

It’s important to take a closer look at how companies give candles their scent. Getting to the bottom of what’s in fragrance can be difficult as many candle companies get away without disclosing their full ingredient list because of a loophole that allows companies to keep their ingredients a secret.

Some companies use only the safest synthetic fragrances in their candles but you must do a lot of research to ensure that they are indeed safe and free of phthalates and ingredients on California’s Prop 65 list. Choosing candle companies that use 100% pure essential oils is the safest route.

Keep an eye out for greenwashing. Phrases like ‘natural fragrance’ or ‘perfume’ don’t mean anything.

Read more about the fragrance industry here.

The Wick

Wicks commonly contain lead. Look for candles that are labeled lead-free and use 100% cotton or wooden wicks.

Brands I Recommend

Sea Love Candles

Made with 100% soy wax. Scents are blended with fragrance oils infused with essential oils and are made with a lead & zinc-free cotton wick. 

Rooted in Collective

Clean candles made with safe synthetic fragrances. Some of the fragrances are too synthetic-smelling for me, but if you are new to cleaner scents and candles, this may be a good place to start. Finished with raw wooden wicks that give off a soft crackle. Because they use synthetic fragrances, they are able to achieve a stronger smell which is very desirable to some. While these candles do smell good, they do smell artificial to me.

Fontana Candles

A clean, reputable candle made with beeswax, coconut oil, essential oils, and a wood wick.

Follian

A sustainable vegetable wax blend candle that is scented with only essential oils and is hand-poured in the USA. I have had a couple of these candles and while they look pretty and are clean, they don’t put off much scent.

Glassybaby

Hand-blown glass candle holders that are so beautiful. They come in a variety of beautiful shades and make the perfect gift. When it comes to being toxin-free, these are a great option as you can choose your own non-toxic beeswax tealight candle.

If you are local, we have a couple of great safe candle options to choose from:

Point Unbroken

Point Unbroken makes only the cleanest, safest products. Their candles are made with beeswax, coconut oil, pure essential oils, and hemp wicks.

Gibbous Moon Naturals

These candles can be purchased online or at Willowtree Market and use great safe ingredients!

Salt House Mercantile

Salt House Mercantile has a whole bunch of “cleaner” and clean candles! Just look out for fragrance oils because there are some that truly are clean but most truly aren’t.