Why I Stopped Buying Candles?

I do not buy candles anymore!

One of my internet friends sent me an army of shocked emoji to this statement of mine.

I sent her laughing emoji.

She asked why would I do that?

And this is pretty much how I ended up writing this blog post.

What I have to say here might not be enough of a reason for some of you to stop buying candles at your local shops but I am sure a lot of you, my wonderful ecology fighters and health oriented readers, will understand the purpose of this blog post and change their attitude to the cozy vibe of buying candles.

Candles had always been a part of my life, so what the hell happened?

It was a painful breakup I am not going to lie.

It took me a few months to actually scoop all the candles I owned and throw them away.

But as it turned out later, that decision was a right one.

Just like many of us, I was buying my candles in local cosmetic shops and in the decorative sections at supermarkets.

The only thing that mattered was the fragrance. If it smelled good, I would not think twice to grab it and add to my already big collection of candles.

Lavender candle, salted caramel cake candle, orange candle, pine candle, cinnamon candle—I can keep on and on. I had them all.

By that time, I already knew all about essential oils and how most of them presented in the stores were synthetic and even toxic. But I was what, 14, so yes I saw no connection there.

What had synthetic essential oils to do with candles, right?

Two-three years and 5-6 dozens of candles later, I started noticing that the smell of candles stopped being enjoyable. Each time I lit a candle, I felt like hands of four grown-up men were locking around my throat suffocating me.

Naively, I thought the problem was in the fragrance. Maybe, orange or lavender candles were not the right smell for me anymore.

That sounded reasonable, so as any highly intelligent person, I went and bought a few new candles.

A few weeks later, I started experiencing fatigue and nausea.

Another few weeks later, I got a nasty rash on my neck and on the inside part of my elbows.

I have never had an allergy reaction to anything so it took some time for me to realize that I had to see a doctor.

Turned out, the candles I spent so much money on for a few years were toxic and caused all of that.

How was it even possible?

Paraffin wax candles – cheap poison you breathe

Honestly, I have never seen beeswax candles in the shops where I used to buy candles.

NEVER!

Instead, they use paraffin wax (cheap as hell which brings a lot in revenue because all the fancy candles I have seen in the shops are 80%+ higher in price than their actual cost).

Paraffin is a waxy ingredient derived from petroleum. The main toxic chemicals that the paraffin candles give off are toluene and benzene which are known to be carcinogens (cancer causing agents.)

In other words, IT IS DANGROUS.

I was angry because something that I liked and invested my money into turned out to be a slow killing machine I willingly brought home.

Right now, the mere smell of paraffin wax candles makes me want to vomit. Thankfully, I returned my attention to natural (100% highly refined) essential oils which by the way helped me to get rid of that awful allergy reaction that was caused by a pile-on of toxins that I was breathing all those years using candles.

So, this is why I do not buy candles anymore.

Because I care about my life and my health.

I have seen a few handmade shops where girls make beeswax candles, but the problem with it is that most of them use cheap, chemical essential oils which makes their natural at first sight candles just as toxic as those paraffin ones.

Aromatherapy can be a great, natural and healthy replacement for candles, or if you still want a bit of fire in your room, you can create your own handmade beeswax candles using high quality essential oils.

If you want to know more about essential oils I use, feel free to contact me or sign up for my newsletters to not miss future blog posts on essential oils and aromatherapy.

This is all I have to say today. Stay healthy and take care. Thank you for stopping by today. And see you soon.