The vast majority of these beautiful, colourful, scented candles you can buy in the shops are made from paraffin. As the name implies it, paraffin candles are made from paraffin wax, a by-product of petroleum.
The result? A highly toxic product that literally poisons the air you breathe. And environmentally unfriendly needless to say!
HOW IS PARAFFIN WAX MADE? It starts as the sludge at the bottom of the barrel of crude oil. Even asphalt is extracted before paraffin in the refining process! The black sludge, which is filled with numerous toxins, undergoes bleaching and treatment by carcinogens benzene and/ or toluene.
And this is not the end of chemical process!
HOW DO CHEMISTS MAKE COLOURS AND SCENTS? They mix in toxic concoctions of colours and fragrances to make paraffin candle more marketable and appealing. The final result is an innocent-looking candle which actually releases documented toxins, some of them being carcinogenic when they burn.
And these toxins are not the only problem when burning paraffin candles. In the long run, repeatedly burning paraffin candles will eventually leave invisible stains on walls, ceilings, furniture.. everywhere in your home, and you will breath the toxins at all time, even when the paraffin candle does not burn. These tiny particles are easily inhaled and get trapped in the deepest part of the lungs, which may cause respiratory irritation.
The microscopic soot particles at fault for the cosmetic damage can also cause serious health problems.
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