Paraffin candles: benefits, harms and difference from wax

Today on sale you can find various candles - household, decorative, scented. You can choose any shape and color. The composition of the products is also different. The most affordable are paraffin candles. At the same time, they are beautiful, have a pleasant aroma. However, many question whether paraffin is safe for health. Let's figure this out.

Today paraffin is considered the most demanded material for the production of candles. Due to its cheapness, it seriously pressed stearin and wax back at the beginning of the 19th century. Such products look attractive, are lightweight, and can be painted in any color. Artificial fragrances give the candles a rich aroma. Many people buy such light sources to decorate the house, create a festive atmosphere, and aromatize the room.

However, it should be understood that unlike wax, which is an environmentally friendly product produced by bees, paraffin is far from natural... It is a synthetic wax-like substance that is obtained from petroleum. By itself, paraffin is colorless and odorless. The melting point of the material is + 45– + 65 ° С.

Due to its low thermal conductivity, the paraffin easily takes the desired shape. In addition, it lends itself well to coloring and goes well with flavorings. Modern manufacturers produce various versions of such candles. These are teapots in sleeves, ordinary products, scented figured variants and models in glass. In addition to the attractive appearance, the advantages of paraffin candles include a long shelf life.

As for the disadvantages, they are also present and even override the advantages. The burning time of paraffin candles is 2-3 times less than that of wax analogs. And also paraffin cannot maintain its shape for a long time when heated. If you burn such a candle for a long time, it may begin to deform. That is why the material is often poured into glass molds. Sometimes natural wax, stearin, ceresin are added to paraffin products in small doses. This allows you to increase the density of the product and its resistance to high temperatures, but does not fundamentally change the situation.

Important! A more significant disadvantage of paraffin is the black smoke that sometimes occurs during combustion. This sign indicates the use of unrefined material in the production. Moreover, long-term use of paraffin products can cause serious harm to human health.

Paraffin candles are undoubtedly harmful to the health of users.

During combustion, they release dangerous toxic compounds.

• One of them is benzene. It can enter the lungs of a person while breathing. When large doses of such a substance enter the body, weakness and dizziness may occur. Due to the frequent use of paraffin candles, a person may experience sleep problems. If the toxin is regularly exposed to the body for several years, it can lead to diseases of the liver, kidneys and other organs. The substance can adversely affect the functioning of the nervous and circulatory systems.
• Toluene is the second dangerous componentreleased into the air during the combustion of the type of candles under consideration.It also enters the human body through the respiratory system. Sometimes a skin effect is also possible. This toxic substance also badly affects the blood and leads to disruption of the nervous system.

To protect yourself, you need to limit the use of such candles to several times a month. And also do not burn them for hours. If you want to create a pleasant aroma in the room, a few minutes of burning the product is enough (unless, of course, you opt for a safer method of aromatizing the space). If candles are used to create a romantic atmosphere, for example at dinner, place them as far away from yourself and your partner as possible.

Paraffin products have no useful properties. Although recently scientists have made an interesting discovery. It turned out that when a certain dose of essential oils of thyme and eucalyptus is included in the candle, an antiseptic effect is achieved when the product burns. Vapors released into the air eliminate pathogenic bacteria in the air. However, in this case, it's all about healing oils, not paraffin. The same result can be achieved in another, absolutely safe way - by dropping oil into an aroma lamp and using a wax candle to heat the oil mixture.

Most candles today are made from paraffin wax. A small part of the total volume of production is made up of products made from stearin, beeswax and soy wax.

Stearin is derived from stearic acid and processed fats. During production, only 4–5% of paraffin is added to the product, which is an acceptable safe concentration. Stearin candles are more environmentally friendly and practically not hazardous to human health. They do not smoke, do not emit unpleasant odors. They burn much longer than their paraffinic counterparts.

The cost of such candles is higher, but the level of quality and the advantage in the form of long-term operation fully justify the price. The only caveat is that it is not easy to find stearic products in stores. However, if you turn to the Internet, you can find various options for candles from this material - from ordinary to decorative.

Soy or beeswax products are another alternative. First of all, the difference between such candles and paraffin wax patterns is the price. Wax products are significantly more expensive. And also, unlike paraffin, which manufacturers enrich with artificial flavors, beeswax products themselves emit a subtle honey aroma. Based on this, wax candles can be considered natural aromatic agents. On sale you can find wax models enriched with propolis.

Wax candles can take any shape. On sale there are both traditional options and curly models in the form of angels, Christmas trees, various animals and so on. However, as a rule, they are not dyed, so the color of the products remains deep yellow. Soy candles are often stained. They are also enriched with various essential oils, placed in beautiful forms. Coconut wax has also been actively used lately. It is a natural, safe product derived from coconut oil.

You can distinguish paraffin candles from wax candles not only by the inscription on the label.

Even just by examining the object or having performed some actions with it, one can draw a conclusion about its composition.

• Colour. As already mentioned, a beeswax product has a dark yellow color. Undyed paraffin is white or even translucent. Soy and coconut wax is also white (here you should pay attention to other characteristics of the product).
• Smell. Scented paraffin candles have a strong synthetic scent even when unlit. Beeswax products smell like honey. Coconut and soy foods are often fortified with essential oils. At the same time, natural flavors are distinguished by an unobtrusive light aroma.
• Density. Paraffin crumbles. The wax is easy to cut and bend without losing its integrity.
• Smoke. Smoke and black carbon deposits form only paraffin patterns.

Apart from the harm to health, paraffin products can be used in a variety of situations.

• Candles are often used as sources of soft, subdued lighting for romantic dates and various holidays. To do this, they are placed in beautiful candlesticks. And also models sold in decorative containers are suitable for creating a holiday mood.

• Sometimes scented candles are placed in the bathroom to create a relaxing environment and scent the room. For such cases, container options are more suitable.

• Candles can help out in the event of a sudden power outage. They can also be useful for those who spend the night in a country house until late autumn, even after the end of the electricity supply season. For household purposes, as a rule, ordinary cylindrical products without color and odor are used.

• Mysterious lighting is an integral part of the furnishings of the boudoirs of fortune tellers, magicians, psychics. Many people save money and use cheap paraffin products.

• Thin small candles are placed near icons in churches.

• Meditations are often performed in the flickering dim light.

To learn how to make candles from paraffin with your own hands, see the video below.