More About Non Toxic Candles and Healthier Incense

Click on bolded statements for links to research.

What makes a candle non toxic?

Home fragrances— like candles, incense, and diffused aromatherapy— can be thought of in three parts: what the scent itself is made from, what it is blended with, and how it is dispersed into the air in your home. For example, the most non toxic candle would have 100% organic essential oil for scent, blended with beeswax and undyed, and have a cotton wick for releasing scent into the room.

I like my unhealthy candles. What should I do to make them less toxic?

If you already have a candle, incense, or fragrance oil you like, and it isn’t very healthy, there are a few things you can do to minimize harm:

• Use candles as decorative objects, and don’t burn them. Or, burn them very infrequently or on special occasions only. I know this won’t work for everyone, but it is what I do— I burn my Christmas-scented incense cones once a year, and enjoy most of my fun-shaped and perfectly-colored candles just as decoration year-round.

• Open the windows while you burn candles or incense to let out harmful fumes while still enjoying ambience.

• If scent is important to you, use an air purifier that captures PM 2.5, and not VOCs, while burning. This will reduce the PM 2.5 released, without removing aroma. Or, use an air purifier that removes both after you’re done. See the ones I recommend for each option here.

• Switch to a candle warmer that heats the candle and releases scent without burning. The Ozarke one listed above is a great option.

• Finally, if you must use a synthetic scent or combustion on a regular basis, just take good care of your health in other ways. Regular exercise, good nutrition, and not worrying too much are also healthy.

Is incense really toxic?

Incense, despite its association with spirituality and health, is surprisingly toxic when it burns. So much so that research groups have spent time and effort quantifying exactly what chemicals, and in what amount, are released upon burning incense sticks. Most incense sticks are proprietary, meaning they won’t disclose what the exact ingredients are. Typically, they are made of a combination of the following: 21% (by weight) of herbal and wood powder, 35% of fragrance material, 11% of adhesive powder, and 33% of bamboo stick. When they burn, they release 4 times the amount of Particulate Matter as a cigarette, several poisonous gases (carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide), polylcyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH’s), formaldehyde, and phthalates. Wow! If you must burn incense, I recommend using ones that have 100% ingredient disclosure and don’t use synthetic fragrances or adhesives. Use sparingly in a well-ventilated room and use an air purifier rated to remove smaller Particulate Matter afterward.

Why is combustion (burning a candle or incense) bad for you?

Combustion — AKA, burning candles, incense, palo santo, sage, etcetera — exposes you to smoke over minutes to hours, and is filled with fine particulate matter (PM 2.5), carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide. Depending on whether or not the scent you’re burning is organic or synthetic, it also releases other gasses, VOCs, and phthalates into the air. PM 2.5 is related to heart and lung disease, cancer, and is increasingly associated with developing dementia. It is the primary reason wildfire smoke and outdoor air quality warnings are issued, and is best kept to a minimum inside your house. If you do decide to burn scents indoors, choose 100% organic and plant based when you can, ventilate well, and consider doing it for special occasions only.

Where can I buy non toxic candles?

The best non toxic candle companies are Primally Pure, Slow North, Cave Glow Studio, and Mountain Rose Herbs, because they’re very transparent about all of their ingredients and don’t use any synthetics or petroleum-based ones. If you look elsewhere, you can ask the company what the scent is made of, what the wax is made of and what’s blended in (dyes, paraffin), and how the scent is released into the room (what kind of wick).

What is a non toxic candle scent?

The best non toxic candle scent is 100% organic essential oils. If you consider the faint aroma of beeswax to be a scent, that counts too!

Why are non-organic essential oils less healthy than organic ones?

Non-organic plants are typically grown with pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. These chemicals can remain in the final product.

Are natural fragrances healthy?

No. Natural fragrance, aroma, parfum, luxury scenting, fragrance oil— these are all innocent-sounding words for the same thing: they’re synthetic fragrances, made from chemicals, in a lab. The word “natural” isn’t defined or regulated in personal care products and fragrance in the United States, so it can be mis-used to make the product seem healthier than it is. Unless a fragrance’s ingredients are “100% essential oil,” it is not truly natural.

How do I know if a fragrance is synthetic?

Unless it is labeled “100% essential oil,” it is probably synthetic.

Why are synthetic fragrances toxic?

Synthetic fragrances are notoriously bad for your health. They are associated with reproductive harm, asthma, heart disease, neurotoxicity, and more. There are 3,600+ synthetic fragrance chemicals currently, and dozens can be combined into one candle. These chemicals are often phthalates, which are endocrine disruptors.

What is IFRA certification?

The International Fragrance Association (IFRA) created its own Research Institute for Fragrance Materials (RIFM). This sounds good, but it’s entirely self-regulating. Its operations are opaque— they decide what chemicals are “safe” for use in fragrance (rather than requiring disclosure of ingredients, so consumers can make their own informed choice about whether its healthy enough for them or not.) Many of the IFRA-approved ingredients, like benzophenone, methyleugenol and styrene, are known carcinogens. When a company claims its scents are safe because they are IFRA-approved, it’s just not true. However, because they do limit some of the most harmful chemicals, I still consider IFRA-certified fragrance slightly better than uncertified fragrance.

What does substrate mean?

The definition of a substrate is, “an underlying surface or layer.” For home fragrance, this is whatever the scent is mixed with or attached to, or what the scent travels along for release into the room. This could be a candle’s wax and wick, the stick that incense scent is attached to (typically bamboo coated in adhesive), water, resin, a Palo Santo stick, sage leaf, or pinecone. It also includes any dyes mixed in with the wax.

How is water a substrate?

Reed diffusers, electric evaporative diffusers, and regular spray bottles (non-pressurized) are all examples of delivery methods that rely on mixing a scent with water and releasing it into the room. These are generally the healthiest way to move scent around a space.

What are plant-based substrates?

Examples of substrates that are100% plant-based include: hemp or cotton candle wicks, 100% coconut or soy candle wax, Palo Santo sticks, sage, or pinecones. This differentiates from substrates that are not plant-based, like regular candle wax, which is made of paraffin (which comes from petroleum), or the glues used to adhere scent to incense sticks.

What is petroleum-based wax?

Usually called paraffin, standard candles are made with this. It is extracted from petroleum as a part of the oil refining process, mixed with solvents, distilled, and then further processed — making it softer or harder, or adding dyes to make it colorful. Burning petroleum, solvents, chemical additives, and dyes pollutes your indoor air and is associated with many health problems. Formaldehyde and aromatic hydrocarbons like toluene and benzopyrene may be released in large quantities from commonly available scented candles, especially the less expensive ones made from paraffin wax. Some candles are labeled “coconut wax blend” or “soy wax blend.” When you see the word “blend,” it is likely blended with paraffin.

What dyes should I avoid in candles?

In general, candle waxes are still colored using toluene derivatives and benzidine-based dyes, which have been associated with urothelial cancer development. Look instead for undyed wax, natural dyed wax, and even better, for the list of ingredients the dyes come from (like madder root, which makes red or pink candles).

What is evaporation or manual diffusion?

Evaporation is when a liquid scent is naturally drawn into the air by evaporation over time, much like a puddle evaporates on a sunny day. This happens with reed diffusers, or after using a regular spray bottle (not pressurized aerosol) to spritz a scent into the air. Manual diffusion, like an electronic evaporative diffuser, promotes the same process, just faster. Think of using a small fan to encourage the scent to evaporate into the air. Evaporation and manual diffusion are the two ways in which scent moves into the air with the least manipulation, and the least change in its properties.

What is nebulized or ultrasonic diffusion?

These are common diffuser types that have the potential to change the molecular size of the scent. Some claim to make scents “nanoparticles,” and while I can’t verify that’s truly what happens, I view them with some caution. Nanochemicals are so small, they can cross through our cell walls and even through our blood-brain barrier. The technology as a whole is very new, so while this may turn out to be a safe delivery method for scent, I still think regular evaporative diffusers are healthier options until we know more.

What are aerosols?

Think about spray paint, or a Febreze air freshener spray, when you think about what aerosols are. An aerosol is technically a suspension of particles in air, and requires a fancy can with a compressed gas to propel it out of the can into a very fine mist. Aerosol scents are typically room fresheners. A variation of these is plug-in air fresheners — these use a tiny electrical circuit instead of your finger to “press the button” and release scented aerosol. (FYI, regular spray bottles are not aerosols.)

What are propellants?

Propellants are compressed gasses in aerosol cans that force the scent out in its powerful, misty form. In the “olden days,” this gas was CFCs, or chlorofluorocarbons. However, CFC’s were banned because they were contributing to a big hole in the ozone layer. Now, other gasses are used instead. These are released along with the scent, so it’s important to use safe ones.

What is the difference between nitrogen and other gas propellants?

Harmful gasses are still used as the propellant in aerosol scent sprays. Benzene, a well-known human carcinogen, of which there is no level of safe exposure to, was found in many personal care aerosol sprays in 2021, forcing a major recall of those items. Ethanol may be a propellant that contains trace amounts of benzene (a carcinogen). Some home fragrance aerosols use acetone and propane as propellants. Nitrogen gas is currently considered the safest gas propellant. It is generally considered non-toxic and safe as part of an aerosol can. So, avoid aerosols as scent delivery systems whenever you can. If you read the Safety Data Sheet and it specifically shows Nitrogen is the propellant, it is less dangerous than other options.