Are candles harmfull?

[Yin Yang]

Yesterday I was sitting in living room and staring into my lovely smelling candel and sudenly I thought to myself - what is candle? Since they don't even make those old fashion candles that drip all over the table as they burn down.......what are candles made from? These days candles evaporate as they burn and I suppose we are breathing it.......but is it safe for us? Yes, they do smell really lovely, but are they harmless? I personally love candles from Pier1import as they are one of the few candles that actually smell nice not only when you sniff them, but as well when they burn.
Does anyone have a clue? I know candles are made with wax, but what is WAX? Unless it's made with bee wax......
I have NO idea!! Are we poisening our bodies with some toxic material and thinking how lovely it smells?
Do you have the answer?: :

[Aster]

Some candle wicks contain lead, and that's released into the air when they burn.

Vanilla scented candles can be carcinogenic.

Anything that combusts consumes oxygen, so candles suck up available oxygen out of the air.

I think most candles are made out of petroleum products.

I used to burn candles all the time, but i dont very often anymore.

[JessicaS]

If you use a lot of candles you can find all natural candles easily. Usually there are a few local crafters who make them (they might not all make natural candles though there are many different kinds) You might see if you have a bee keeping supplier in your area. They generally deal with a lot of beezwax and candle crafters.

I dont know much about making candles but I have received all natural candles in swaps from soap boards or as a sample while ordering fragrances or essential oils for my soap and I couldn't rave enough about them. One I received as a sample of some lavender I had ordered. It was fantastic! I am not a huge candle person (FIRE BAD!) but if I still had some of these I would definately be lighting them.

Here is a supplier for all natural candle making supplies

http://www.candlesupply.com/natural.html

You really have to be excessivley careful when making candles. My cousin caught someone's kitchen on fire that way!! (someone was showing her how to do it and wasn't supervising her duh!)

I would just check and see if you can find anyone who makes them (maybe there is someone on the boards?) I am very clumsy and there is no way I am gonna try it. I make soap and I am clumsy enough with that I can't imagine handling flamable materials.

[JessicaS]

oh, this person has a banner on here.

http://www.flicker-n-suds.com/store/...sp?Cat=Flicker

They use soy candles and hemp wicks. I have used some of those scents in other things or received things in them. A lot of them are really good.

[Lucky Charm]

This is so sad to me. I love yankee candles apple rose candle, it smells so nice.

I always though the lead was in the wick, not the wax. how much petroleum is in candles anyway?

[EmsMom]

I just read that the wax in paraffin candles is a petroleum derivitive that is decolorized with bleach and creates dioxins during processing. The final wax contains toxins such as benzene and toluene which may be carcinogenic. Some candles also contain synthetic oils and wicks which contain lead. Candles have been recognized by the American Lung Association as a common cause of poor indoor air quality.

Beeswax and soya wax candles are mentioned as a clean burning and non-toxic alternative.

I switched to soy and beeswax candles last year because I realized that parrafin candles aggravated my allergies. I can't even go near the candle display in stores because it is so irritating. However, I never really knew about all these toxins that are released in my house when I would burn those candles. Pretty scary.

[veggiewolf]

A candle making resource?

Does anyone have a resource for candle making? It's something I've always wanted to try, but I thought a lot of space and/or nohow was required...

Thanks!

[JessicaS]

http://www.candlemaking.org.uk/