Essential vs. Fragrance

"It is only fair to note, that once fragrance oils are added to any product, it cannot be considered 100% Natural. 100% Natural Products are made with steam-distilled or cold-pressed essential oils, and are dye-free."

Women who are pregnant should consult a doctor before beginning aromatherapy with essential oils.

What Are Essential Oils?

Essential oils are the naturally occurring oils extracted from plants, shrubs, roots, bark, flowers, peelings and resins. They are used for aromatherapy and can affect mood, stress, emotional and psychological symptoms. Some plants may have gone through many distillations and may not have therapeutic qualities. Unlike candle fragrances, essential oils are not formulated for candle making. Some of the therapeutic effects may even be lost during the candle making process. Because they do not contain the same compounds as fragrance oils, they do not have the same scent throw and tend to lose their scent faster. Candles made with essential oils may smell differently when the candle is new, than when it is actually burning. We add the drops of essential oils to our soy wax when the wax has cooled enough as to not lose any aromatherapy benefits.

Soylar Candles carries a full line of premium candle fragrances as well as 100% natural essential oils. We give our customers a wide range of scents and would like our customers to make an informed decision when making the choice of whether to use artificial fragrances or pure essential oils in their candles. As a candle maker, I love the aromas that come from nature, as well as those complex, multi-layered fragrances created in perfumeries. Some fragrance oils may actually contain essential oils because some scents cannot be mimicked for essential oils. Soylar Candles uses top therapeutic grade essential oils that are steam distilled or cold pressed from the first distillations. We never use essential oils that have been extracted with chemical solvents. When you purchase a candle made with essential oils you may never know the process of extraction. Chemical solvents used during the extraction process do not need to be listed as ingredients. Therefore you could be burning solvents, which is the very thing you were intending not to do. A few fragrance oils from our manufacturers may contain a very small amount of solvent, because some fragrance compounds would crystallize without it. There are hundreds of fragrance oils out there, and we carry about 100 of them. We are unsure if we have any of those few with solvents, being that the formulas fall into the FDA's jurisdiction of "trade secret" laws. Ingredients are considered proprietary blends. Rest assured, all of our fragrance oils pass the California Proposition 65 list of cancer causing ingredients and are considered safe, phthalate-free and free of any petrochemical (paraffin) by-products. Our fragrances comply with the International Fragrance Association's safety and purity standards and all applicable international, federal, state, and local regulations. All of the fragrance suppliers we use follow the same standards and are members of IFRA and RIFM (Research Institute of Fragrance Materials) and take seriously their responsibility as a home fragrance/consumer product manufacturer, and follow IFRA/RIFM safety guidelines. All of our fragrances are made in the USA.

Some Notes About Fragrance Oils and Essential Oils

• Both are highly volatile compounds
• Both are toxic or deadly if ingested
• Citrus essential oils such as grapefruit, lemon, orange, mandarine, or bergamot should not be used in "leave on" lotions during sun exposure. Your skin can get brown spots and/or a terrible sunburn.
• Both should be diluted with a carrier oil before applied to the skin. They can cause irritation or burns when used undiluted.
• Synthetics replace diminishing natural raw materials.
• Fragrance oils come in Lilac and Lily, which cannot be extracted from the flowers.
• Synthetics allow perfumeries to produce bakery scents and other scents not found in plant matter.
• The quality of synthetics does not change with climactic conditions that affect natural resources.
• Synthetic fragrances are more affordable. Did you know an ounce of rose oil can costs over $300.00?
• Proctor & Gamble uses nine times the world's yearly supply of lavender essential oil.

A Word About Paraffin Chemicals and Phthalates

There are many candles out there to beware of in regards to hazardous phthalates. You could be burning a dangerous candle and not even know it! If you're burning paraffin (a petroleum by-product), you are running a small diesel engine in your home. You are already breathing 11 known carcinogens and petrol-chemicals, such as styrene, acetone, benzene, toluene, acetaldehyde, formaldehyde, acrolein, naphthalene, polychlorodibenzo-p-dioxins, polychlorodibenzofurans and polyaromatic hydrocarbons. If your candles are made with fragrances that contain hazardous phthalates and lead wicks, you are breathing those too! But don't stop there! There are also candle dyes that do not pass the CA Prop 65 list of cancer causing ingredients. Some dyes are paraffin based and contain naptha, napthalene and some solvents. I called a company in New Jersey who claimed to have natural dyes, only to find out their dyes contained these ingredients, since they are not required to pass CA proposition 65 regulations for safety in other states. Our dyes do not contain any of those ingredients and NONE of the ingredients are on the CA Prop 65 list.

The primary constituent of public health concern in candle emissions is lead. Our cotton/paper wicks are dipped in soy wax and do not contain lead or metal cores.

We've checked out our fragrance sources and are sure there are NOT any hazardous or non-hazardous phthalates going into our fragrances. The only one phthalate used in a few of our suppliers' fragrances is DEP (Diethyl Phthalate). Soylar Candles does not carry those few fragrances, although DEP has established a strong safety profile over the last 50 years in which it has been in use. It has been tested extensively with results published in peer reviewed journals. There are different types of phthalates and DEP is from the same family of phthalates, guilty by association. The EU Cosmetics Directives restricts the use of phthalates in cosmetics products of chemicals that are classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction. The phthalate used by our fragrance suppliers' fragrance compounds is not on the restricted list. You can make a comparison of other types of families that are guilty by association, such as mushrooms and berries. Some are safe to eat, while others are toxic. Take hemp for example, we use hemp to decorate our candles, and create other items. It is the cousin of cannabis, also known as Marijuana. Industrial Hemp does not have the same psychoactive properties as Marijuana. Hemp is the common name for plants of the entire family of cannabis. THC is present in all Cannabis plant varieties to some extent. Industrial hemp does not contain an amount to produce any intoxicating effect, even in significant quantities. So, with DEP, just because it is a phthalate it has been grouped with the others, guilty by association. It should not be considered the same.

If every person relied only on essential oils to scent their products, we would create an imbalance on the planet from the over-harvesting of non-renewable natural resources.

More information on this topic. A Never Ending Debate

Allergy Information

It is typical if a person has allergies there may be some fragrances that can trigger an itchy throat or allergic reaction. Some people may experience headaches from scented products. Whatever the problem may be, they are usually individual to each person. If you are allergic to other scented products, there is a good chance you may be allergic to our products as well. Some people cannot handle artificial fragrances at all, but enjoy essential oils. Some people are also sensitive or allergic to essential oils. If you would like lightly scented candles or unscented, just let us know. Each product is custom made upon order and we will try to get it right the first time.

Let me tell you about our own personal allergies. Jaime is allergic to sulfates and MSG, therefore he cannot eat some dried fruits, or drink wine or eat some Chinese foods. The spicy candle fragrances, such as Kudzu, Christmas Splendor and Harvest Spice give him a headache. Harvest Spice gives me a headache and I have a customer who loves it highly scented. I have to make this one outside in the fresh air. Like I said, allergies are individual to each person. I am highly allergic to cats and all things in nature, such as grasses, trees and animals. I can smell candles burning all day and the moment I go outside I begin having allergies. Our son is allergic to milk, so has to use soy products instead. Some people are allergic to certain types of nuts. You could be allergic to one scent and not another because each formulation has different ingredients. An ingredient that is in one fragrance may not be in another.

Mountain Rose Herbs. A Herbs, Health & Harmony Com

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