The Last Word: Are Scented Candles Harmful to Your Health?

If so, youre not alone.

Instead, it’s the person’s perception of how good that candle smells.

So, how safe for your health is it to burn scented candles?

Let’s shed some light on this subject.

One studyanalyzed VOCs emitted from six candle types, both lit and unlit.

Should Certain People Avoid Scented Candles, and if So, Why?

Those symptoms are your airways telling you that they are irritated, she says.

Certain ingredients may pose a greater danger to human health than others.

For example, there are VOCs known to cause cancer, says Dr. Parikh.

Many candles are made from paraffin wax, a by-product of petroleum.

According to theNational Candle Association, paraffin is the most-used candle wax today.

This wax may increase exposure to harmful chemicals.

Its possible that candles made from natural waxes release fewer harmful chemicals.

Astudythat compared paraffin and stearin candles found that stearin candles emitted fewer smoke particles.

Similarly, soy candles produced less soot than paraffin in anotherstudy.

This suggests that natural wax candles are less toxic.

These researchers noted that the natural wax candles were the least toxic.

Pets are also smaller than us and have a stronger sense of smell.

She recommends avoiding paraffin wax.

you’ve got the option to also opt for natural wax to cut down on soot.

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