Here at Creative and Brave we love supporting small businesses. One of our most recent additions Crushes is a favourite. Female owned and big on sustainability it was a no brainer to introduce their products to our customers. Rose Hope (Crushes owner) has put together a whats what when it comes to purchasing scented candles.
Are Scented Candles Bad For Your Health?
Scented candles can be extremely toxic. Cheap brands churn out troublesome products, using questionable components that we then breathe in as it burns in our immediate spaces. That's why it is super important to choose from mindful brands (like Crushes)and check all of their ingredients are safe!
What To Check For When Buying a Scented Candle:
- choose clean, natural wax. Paraffin is made from petrol, oil and coal, so when burnt, you are breathing nasty, ultra-fine soot particles which can cause really bad health concerns. Instead choose soy or beeswax which has been proven not to contain soot. - look for "100%" of your natural wax. That is because some companies simply just say 'Soy Wax' but still cut it with Paraffin in secret. - look for 'natural fragrances' and/or 'phthalate free'. If it is not explicitly natural, you could be breathing 'synthetic fragrances' which have a bad case of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC), such as formaldehyde. This can cause havoc to your respiratory system and health. - look for a metal-free wick. That is because some candles had used hazardous lead and zinc to keep wicks standing tall. Thankfully it's now illegal in (most) countries to make wicks with metal as it was creating lead-poisoning. You can check this by fraying the wick to check if it is cotton through-and-through.
Now you know what not to do, look for mindful brands that are choosing quality natural products, like Crushes.
Crushes Candles use:
✔️ Soy wax or Beeswax. You will never see any Paraffin made by our in-house brand! It's also a renewable and biodegradable material, which we love. ✔️We use 100% (or a blend) of only Soy wax or Beeswax ✔️We only use fragrances that are guaranteed to have no phthalates and are certified 'natural fragrances' which is made from sustainably grown plants. We use fragrance isolated from a single chemical isolated from a plant. This is done by distillation and extraction, much like essential oils. ✔️We use un-bleached, cotton wicks. You won't find any trace of lead and zinc in our wicks.
The Crushes candles are all hand-poured here in Aotearoa New Zealand, because who doesn't love to support local, and create better opportunities to grow local industry.
