I've been burning candles for years, on a cosy evening, whilst in the bath, when cooking and even at the breakfast table (try it, it brightens up a dull morning no end) but it's only recently that I have wondered about how toxic these candles might be and what harm they may be doing to me and my family and the air that we breathe.
After delving deeper into the subject, I found that these lovely scented candles were often not very clean burning at all. They (and this includes many expensive brands) are often made with mineral wax (otherwise known as paraffin wax) and loaded with synthetic fragrances and dyes i.e. chemicals. When burning paraffin wax it creates toxic benzene and toluene, known carcinogens. Paraffin wax can also cause headaches. Synthetic fragrances are known to cause asthma attacks and allergies and artificial dyes, when burned, can release harmful chemicals.
Um, not so good and best avoided then me thinks! And to top that off, when I looked at the ingredients label on my very expensive gift from my hubby it actually had a symbol of a poor dying fish on it as well as a long list of ingredients that I couldn't even pronounce. In effect I'd been creating my own indoor air pollution.
In a nutshell this was the start of my business, Cotswold Pure Botanicals. I went back to basics, removed all the unnecessary added ingredients and created simple, natural candles with no nasties and no more chemicals which would pollute my home and lungs. Cotswold Pure Botanical candles are like home cooked food, you know what's in them, just two ingredients, soy wax and essential oils, no more, no less. Made with love in the English countryside. Please check them out.
www.cotswoldpure.com