We love candles and before we had children a trip to a very well known candle store was a weekly thing. Then the babies came and kids and open flames do not mix - as any parent knows. So candles became a thing of the past. Then the plug in wax warmer came on the scene. Next a direct sales company took the wax melt industry by storm. All those amazing scents for every mood and occasion. Yes please!!!
Then a friend (not the margarine = yoga mat friend) starting going on and on about how we (and the kids) were breathing in petroleum or some such fuel derivative. That most candle and wax melts are paraffin (a product of petroleum refining from the waste when crude oil is refined into gasoline). Lovely right??!! So once again I really did not want to hear it - I love my wax melts!! more than I loved my margarine.
However the voice of reason raised its ugly little head and I did some research. Ever wonder why when you blow out a candle in a jar there is black soot and residue left behind - remember that very distinguished "just blew out a candle" smell? Well that is what happens when one is burning a crude oil by product. Melting paraffin in a warmer is also releasing all that unhealthiness into the air for the family to breathe in. I encourage everyone to do their own research and draw their own conclusions. That direct sales company I eluded to before is doing some serious damage control so there can be some confusing information on the net so check your sources.
So that brings me to my alternative -I did not want to give up my love of scents. So we switched to soy melts. The scent lasts so much longer than paraffin wax and my family can breathe easier with a natural product. We love soy melts so much we now make our own.
Have you made any lifestyle changes after learning something was harmful to your health? Please share - I might learn something that causes another change here too!
