Why you shouldn’t buy paraffin candles

What types of candles are available on the market?

There are many different candles on the market. All kinds of shapes, scents, and colors, as well as the wax used to make them. Candles you can buy in stores are generally made from paraffin. There is a lot to say about this wax. For example, a study has been conducted indicating that paraffin generally carries significant risks. The risk when burning candles is inhaling the smoke and fumes that are released. These substances are harmful to health.

On the other hand, the opposite is also claimed. That paraffin candles no longer cause harm because their composition is now supposedly different. In that case, it depends on the type of paraffin used in the candle, but you can imagine that this is not stated on the label. And that the manufacturer might not even know it themselves.

Fortunately, besides paraffin, there are also candles made from soy wax, rapeseed wax, palm wax, and beeswax. There are also combinations with coconut wax, such as our rapeseed and coconut wax candles. Coconut has the property of giving the wax a softer structure, which has advantages for how the candle burns. It ensures that the candle burns longer and that the chosen scent comes out better.

Why rapeseed and coconut wax candles?

Why we don’t make paraffin candles is, I think, clear after reading the text above. Despite the internet being full of differing opinions on whether or not they are harmful, there are plenty of natural options for candles available on the market.

We have chosen the combination of rapeseed and coconut wax because rapeseed comes from the rapeseed plant. This is widely cultivated in Europe, including in our neighboring country Germany. Our wax also comes from there. These rapeseed fields are abundant, and no other parts of nature need to be sacrificed for production, as is the case with obtaining palm wax. We also tried soy wax, but we were not satisfied with how the candle burned. Additionally, we chose a combination of rapeseed and coconut wax because coconut wax makes the wax softer and positively influences, among other things, the burn time and scent.

Besides having a natural plant-based wax, our candle assortment largely consists of rapeseed and coconut wax candles with organic essential oils. Because scents in candles also have an impact on us. We often hear from people around us that they experience issues with the (synthetic) scents used in candles, which is why we consciously choose to make our candles with essential oils. See also our blog on this topic.