What is paraffin wax?
Paraffin wax (also known as mineral wax) is made from by-product of Petroleum (same used to make oil and fuel). Discovered in 1850, paraffin wax is made by removing the waxy substance from crude oil.
Are paraffins harmful to you?
It depends on the quality of the paraffin that’s in your candles, you may find that those fumes cause itching, tearing, and sometimes soreness to your eyes. You may experience rubbing your eyes to relieve irritation not long after lighting a candle however this won’t affect everyone in the same way.
Whenever you light a paraffin candle, you’re accidentally releasing dangerous chemicals into the air. When paraffin candles burn, they emit black soot and toxic fumes, this is similar to in chemistry to diesel exhaust those chemicals are associated with asthma, the exacerbation of respiratory conditions, and allergy-like reactions.
The paraffin that exists in beauty products is likely safer to use on your skin than the paraffin you find in candles. And all depends on the quality of the paraffin that’s in your candles, you may find that those fumes cause itching to your skin too.
However there are plenty of natural candle alternatives available such as 100% soy wax candles. What is 100% soy wax? What is the benefit of 100% soy wax candles?
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]]>The first burn establishes the candles "memory" and determines how well the candle will perform throughout its use. The memory burn in the candle sets a pattern made by the candle wax on its first lighting and marks the edge of where each future burns will reach.
Therefore, we highly recommend for the first burn, that the melted wax pool reaches the edges of your vessel with at least 1cm deep before extinguishing. The candles needs to stay burning for approximately 2-3 hours (depending on the size of your vessel ) for the first time you burn it.
By not allowing the wax pool to reach the edge on its first burn, a small memory ring will be formed and tunnelling will begin.
]]>This is how you can tell whether your candle is 100% soy wax candle or not.
These bumpy surfaces is a common characteristic of 100% soy wax and is not caused by anything in the process. These bumps do not affect the performance of the candle.
However, if your candle resets perfectly smooth after burning, its not 100% soy wax candle but most likely a paraffin wax blend candle.
What is paraffins? Are paraffins harmful to you?
Discuss these questions on my next blog post....stay tuned!
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