If you are a fan of scented candles, you may marvel at all the scents available out there these days. It seems there is a scent that can bring back every great memory of your past and also just brighten your day.

If you burn soy candles, you are even luckier because soy candles are more open to the idea of being scented and often have a much richer aroma than other candles made of other materials.

So, have you ever wondered just how they get all those scents into your candles? In order to get to the bottom of this question, you have to understand a little more about how soy candles are made in the first place.

You may know the basics – soy candles are made from soybeans. You’re right. Once the beans have been picked they are heated in a machine where they can be crushed and pressed flat during the heating process. The pressing pushes any oil that is inside the beans right out and into a waiting vat. All that soy oil is then cooled and becomes a substance that is called soy wax.

While the soy wax is still in a liquid state scenting will be introduced into the mix. Drops of essential oils or scents are added to the wax until the concentration of scent to wax is the right amount to give off the scent that is desired.

If you have purchased regular candles in the past, you may have noticed that some of those candles have light to no scent, even when they are supposed to. That’s because paraffin and other waxes are not as friendly to scenting and take much more scent to make any smell come from the candles. This is not the case with soy wax. It seems to like the partnership with great scents. This leads to better smelling candles.

From this point the candles are poured into molds to create the candles you will purchase and bring into your home.

Getting the Scent

When you burn soy candles, the scents that have been trapped in the soy wax will be released, filling the air of your home. Soy candles are much better at this job than other candles. Since the soy wax was receptive to the scents, it doesn’t take too much burning to get the smell to come out.

Longer Lasting Scent

Another benefit of scented soy candles is that they burn slower than other candles do. This means that while it is easy to get scent from the candles as they burn, you will also have up to 50% more burn time with these candles. It’s almost like getting an extra half of a candle for free because of the slower burn time!

Safe For the Air

The best part about scented soy candles is that while they do give off great scents, they don’t give off things that will be damaging to your body. While paraffin candles will give off black soot, which can be a carcinogen, scented soy candles are all natural and will only give off a white soot, which is safe to breathe.

What do you think about when you go candle shopping? Do you think about the shape of the candles that will be best for your plans? What about the color of the candles? Maybe you think about what type of scents have been added to the soy candles you are considering? All of these are common questions that people ask when they are going candle shopping. But, what about how healthy are those candles for your family? If you don’t ask that question, you should.

While you may think candles are just beautiful and decorative accents to your home, the kind of candles you have in your home could be lending themselves to risk the health of you and your family.

Dirty Air

Most of the economy candles on the market are made of paraffin. Paraffin is a petroleum product. This means that as soon as you light those candles and they start to burn you are not just getting a flame, but also soot.

Black soot that is released as paraffin candles burn has been found to be a carcinogen. That means it could contribute to the formation of cancer in the body.

While you may think that just lighting one candle now and again is not a big problem, you have to understand how black soot works. Once you have lit the candle and the soot makes it’s way into the air, it doesn’t go away. Soot is actually a sticky substance that will start attaching to everything in your home – walls, ceiling, tables, furniture, drapes and anything else around.

The black soot will essentially pile up in your home and be constantly in the air, being breathed in by you and members of your family.

Remember, coal is a petroleum product. Would you burn that in your house? Do you really want to take a risk of putting hazardous materials into the air of your home?

One more thing to keep in mind with paraffin candles is not only that it is a petroleum based product, but also that there are a number of other chemicals that are used in the making of paraffin candles that also may be released into the air as you burn them.

You may be wondering what your option is. Do you have to give up candles altogether? No. The better option is to use soy candles.

Soy candles are completely natural. This means when you light soy candles you are not going to be releasing carcinogenic black soot into the air of your home. Everything that is coming off of the candles is natural and safe to release into your home and the environment.

This is not to say there is no soot from soy candles, there is. It is just a different kind of soot. It is called white soot and is not known to be the negative health threat that the soot from paraffin candles can be. Additionally, there is much less of the white soot released in the burning of soy candles than there is of black soot from paraffin candles.

Across the board, soy candles are the safer option for your family and the environment.