Is Paraffin Wax Toxic:The HOT Debate

[@ashleysmith3776]

This is a very underrated video explanation thank you😊

[@IsSalty]

Back in 2006, AECM, ALAFAVE, EWF & NCA (i.e. most of the world's candle federations) ordered the most comprehensive study on the emissions of unscented candles. An independent lab measured and compared the emission of relevant pollutants from filled glasses made of the five most commonly used candle fuels (beeswax, palm, paraffin wax, soy and stearin) with each other and with the strictest limit and guideline values available for health protection. The most important findings were that (I) the emissions of these different fuels were very similar both in composition and concentration, and (II) consumer exposure based on the emissions was far below any level of concern. The ECA & NCA had already started talking about a similar study for scented candles in 2010. But the objective was to get a representative assessment for scented candles in general rather than picking some candles from a certain manufacturer. This made it very complex and time-consuming. A task group with representatives of the NCA, ECA, and seven fragrance houses was formed that agreed on combining five fragrance mixtures (considered representative for all fragrances used in candles) with the four most commonly used fuels, ending up with 20 different scented candle types. The four unscented fuels came on top as controls so that there was a total of 24 different candle types to test. The independent lab Fraunhofer WKI measured all relevant emissions known to be emitted by burning candles and evaluated consumer exposure against the background data of published limit and guideline values in both the EU and USA. The final report of this - the most comprehensive study that has ever been made in this area - was available at the beginning of 2020. But it took another year to have its summary published in a peer-reviewed journal so that authorities, NGOs, and all stakeholders could verify and accept the findings. The open-source journal 'Environment International' finally published the article online on 6 May 2021. Please find the article here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412021002154 For the unscented candles it can be determined that the fuels palm, paraffin, soy and stearin behave very similarly in terms of emissions (see Table 4, Table 5). No individual wax was shown to have a consistently better emission profile than the others. Long story short, Paraffin is perfectly safe and no more toxic than any other wax when PROPERLY wicked (relative to the ingredients). Often big manufacturers of candles purposely overwick their candles to guarantee a good hot throw, properly wicked paraffin wax is perfectly safe. The only legitimate arguments I would have against paraffin is that it's non renewable and the BTEX compounds, but the amounts are perfectly safe. Stop listening to blogs people, read the science. Also sidenote, creating Soy wax etc required petrochemicals/petroleum products, for example to extract the soybean oil from it's husk it's left in Hexane, which is a petroleum chemical. I.e Petroleum products are used to manufacture Soy wax. Great video!

[@codypomeray4377]

IVE BEEN SCREAMING THIS FOR YEARS!!!!!! All the propaganda from the soy industry is heartbreaking.....misleading....ugh......

[@codypomeray4377]

I wish there were more studies and they were more widely pushed to be seen....

[@kim.in.nature.]

Thank you! You just saved me countless hours of watching videos on this topic.

[@mylittlecanvas9719]

Paraffin is toxic? Even (some) people are toxic! Lol 😂 I'd rather eat paraffin than having prolonged exposure to those people 😂 I make candles from vegetable wax and paraffin wax just for a hobby and I have asthma 😂 I prefer to make decisions based on objective information rather than fear mongering hearsay 😊 Thanks for the video! It's objective and informative ❤

[@Julie_77777]

Very good video. I may just add to never blow the candles, no matter what candle is made off, if you blow it with smoke and soot, you already doing extra harm for your rooms air quality

[@caitlyngarden7269]

Thank you so much for this very informative video. You don’t know how much this means to me and my 20 large Yankee candles that I bought over Christmas 👀🤣

[@Inapeartree]

What about using paraffin wax for therapy, arthritis? Hand wrap, heat, so on...

[@Snailmeaty2k]

This is an insanely comprehensive and concise make more video essays please ! 😩✋

[@mrsmacarena5850]

Where did you go? I love your videos but ever since you got engaged, 1 video. Please come back 😊

[@TheManofsorrows]

Votive candles from Walmart made me sick with breathing problems and dry stuffy nasal cavities

[@leiladasha]

agree

[@oraclepanda]

That dismay you're speaking on is in reverse for me 😂 I started with paraffin and am now very frustrated with soy. I would have stuck to paraffin 100% if not for all the emissions hate it's getting. The soy keeps cracking and snapping for me

[@DDTC73]

I like to think of paraffin wax as being upcycled 😆

[@joyride924]

Soy is sticky and tacky IMO. But a great video.

[@charitykelley4959]

What about it being used in food?

[@charitykelley4959]

It’s used in tons of stuff like chocolate, jelly beans, coating produce etc

[@oraclepanda]

I use a small cube of gulf wax paraffin in my melted chocolate to give it a nice shell. I've always got it in my cabinet

[@leiladasha]

dyes and artificial fragrance in candles are toxic

[@MeDominguez-in9gs]

Like Vaseline.

[@mikegLXIVMM]

Paraffin wax is an inert chemical.

[@renu5067]

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