Quick takeaways

• ✓ Pets and children are more vulnerable to airborne particles and can’t always remove themselves from fragranced spaces.
• ✓ “Fragrance” can hide undisclosed synthetics linked to allergies, migraines, and endocrine disruption.
• ✓ Safer use tips include ingredient checking, trimming wicks, limiting burn time, and maintaining airflow.

When choosing fragrances for your home, it’s essential to pay close attention to the contents. When it comes to candles, anything you burn in your home will contribute to air pollution in your space. This is inevitable, whether you have a non-toxic candle or a conventional candle.

The focus should be on choosing candles that release harmless substances, and then focusing on good air flow to ensure there is minimal risk to inhabitants. Air pollution from candles is a risk for all inhabitants, but some are more vulnerable than others.

Why are pets and children more vulnerable?

There are a few reasons that pets and children might suffer more from the effects of toxic candles. These include:

• Children and animals may be more sensitive to particles in the air due to their enhanced sense of smell (animals) and underdeveloped airways (children).
• Children and animals are more likely to spend time crawling around on the floor, which could lead them to ingest these particles. They’re also more likely to put objects from around your home in their mouth, which will increase their exposure.
• Animals don’t wear clothing to protect them, so any particles in the air will settle on their coat. They can then be ingested through cleaning, or absorbed into the skin.
• Children and animals often can’t choose to leave environments if they are uncomfortable. They also don’t get a vote in home conditions, such as blowing out a candle that is bothering them.

From all these reasons listed above, it’s clear that we need to advocate for children and animals in the home. If they are unable to voice their concerns, it’s our responsibility to ensure that there are no fragrances in the home that could bother them.

How does fragrance harm health?

The main concern when it comes to home fragrance is the use of synthetic fragrances. The main problem is that you won’t know what is in it, but it could contain a range of harmful chemicals that you wouldn’t ordinarily choose to have anywhere near you.

If you look at the ingredient list of a candle, you might see the nondescript use of “fragrance” as a catch-all for any synthetic ingredient used to create the scent.

How exactly do companies get away with not disclosing their ingredients more clearly?

It’s all down to non-compete laws which treat fragrance as a trade secret. This means that companies don’t have to share their formulations, as it could enable other companies to replicate their scents.

What does this mean for the consumer?

In short, it means that any artificially fragranced candle could contain any chemicals, and you’d be none the wiser.

The dangers of artificial fragrance

This wouldn't be so bad if all artificial fragrance was completely safe, but we know that this isn’t the case. Many artificial fragrances are linked to health problems like eczema, allergies, migraines and breathing problems.

Some people are more sensitive than others and will have an obvious and outward reaction. They might complain of headaches, skin irritation or shortness of breath when they are in a space that is artificially fragranced.

There is also the risk that you could be impacted by artificial fragrance in less obvious ways. Many artificial fragrances are known to be endocrine disruptors. This means that they can interfere with the way your hormones work by mimicking the hormones in your body.

This can lead to reproductive issues, a drop in immunity levels and it can even increase your risk of cancer.

Despite these dangers, artificial fragrance is still widely used and accepted by those who don’t yet know any better.

Why choose non-toxic scents for your home?

Switching to non-toxic scents like essential oils will allow you to enjoy the benefits of home fragrance without the risk to the health of inhabitants.

Since essential oils are not as strong as many artificial scents, you’re less likely to find the scent overpowering. It can also help you to avoid using scents to mask bad smells in your home.

Non-toxic scents often go hand in hand with a range of other benefits, such as being clean-burning and utilising non-toxic wax bases like coconut oil. The product is also likely to have a clean-burning wick, and to avoid using animal products or unsustainable problems like palm oil.

How to make home scents safer

You don’t have to say goodbye to beautiful scents in your home. Even if you have young children and pets in your home, you can still enjoy fragrance that won’t risk their health.

There are a few simple steps you can take that will help to safeguard the health of inhabitants while using fragranced candles.

• Pay close attention to the ingredients in your candles. Don’t just trust a “natural” label, as this could mean many things. Instead, look for honest disclosure of the ingredients and avoid things like “fragrance”, paraffin wax, bleached wicks, dyes and preservatives.
• Don’t leave candles burning indefinitely. Set a timer for 1-2 hours and then blow out your candle. You won’t intensify the fragrance the longer you burn the candle, all you do is increase the risk of releasing volatile organic compounds.
• Keep your wicks trimmed. Excessive wicks will release more soot, which can contribute to breathing problems. You’ll know if your wicks are too long as you might notice black marks on the edge of your candle jar.
• Maintain good airflow while burning candles. This could mean leaving a window slightly open to ensure you get some fresh air into the room.
• Keep candles out of reach of young children and pets. If you know that your cat or dog is likely to jump up on surfaces, find another safe space where they are unlikely to knock the candle. You can also put candles on a tray so they cannot roll off surfaces.
• Teach young children to stay away from candles so they grow up with an appreciation for the potential dangers.
• Pay close attention to signs of irritation or allergic reactions in your children and your pets.

At a glance: Safer choices for families & pets

Prefer family- and pet-friendly options? Explore our non-toxic candles for cleaner-burning scents.

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