Most candles are made from paraffin from a combination of paraffin, stearic acid (a derivative of beef or sheep fat) and beeswax with chemical additives to raise the burning point, increase hardness, and add colour and scent. These candles are toxic and add to the positive ions already polluting your indoor air. One alternative to toxic paraffin is less toxic soy wax. However, soy wax is not a natural product, either. Made from GM soy oil that has been expressed from GM soy beans through chemical extraction, then hydrogenated, as well as other vegetable oil additives like coconut oil and palm oil. Burning it releases hydrocarbons into your indoor air, as well as soya’s endocrine disruptors that affect your thyroid gland and promote carcinogenic estrogens. Remember estrogen, is fat soluble. Additional chemicals are added to soy wax to increase hardness for taper candles and change the scent from icky rancid fat to pleasant perfume. Bleach and chemical colourants, another known carcinogen, are also added. You don’t want to burn that in you home.
Beeswax is the only naturally occurring wax. It comes from the top wax of the honey comb and is part of the honey production and reproduction of bees.
