How I got poisoned by a candle

If there's one thing I avoid, it's entering shops that stock candles and body products. Even passing by, I can smell the awful, sweet scent of their fragrance oils, and it makes me feel sick to my stomach within seconds.

And recently, I got poisoned by a non-lit candle.

The not-so-innocent candle sat on a table for decoration. Yes, it was pretty, but it also had a sickeningly sweet smell, and after just a few minutes, I felt something was wrong.

My throat felt like sandpaper, followed by a funny flavour in my mouth, and then my tongue swelled. That was a sure sign I was reacting to a toxic substance.

It took me a while to shake it off. I had to use homeopathic remedies, which helped me recover. Even so, I was annoyed to no end.

People unknowingly buy candles, air fresheners, soaps and body products laden with a chemical cocktail of harmful and anonymous substances such as carcinogens (cancer-causing substances), allergens, respiratory irritants, hormone (endocrine) disruptors - chemicals that interfere with how your body's hormones work- neurotoxic chemicals, and environmental toxicants derived from petroleum.

According to statistics, popular body and household products have an average of 14 known toxic chemicals**, according to EWG research**. But the worst part is that none of them is labelled on the ingredients list.

The interesting thing about synthetic fragrances is that no one but the makers of these concoctions knows precisely what they are. And one product containing artificial fragrance can contain up to 3,163 toxic elements.

The Children's Environmental Health Network (CHEN) states on its website, a claim also supported by peer-reviewed research on synthetic fragrance and indoor air quality:

"Many synthetic chemicals in fragrances are petroleum-based and can be harmful to human health. Chemicals found in fragrances include phthalates (chemicals used to make scents last longer, linked to hormone disruption), which are endocrine disruptors, and carcinogens benzophenone and styrene. In addition, some children and adults have allergic reactions to fragrance chemicals."

So many people are buying those popular items, unknowingly exposing themselves, their children, sick and elderly people and, of course, animals to that scented poison. And they are not linking severe allergic reactions, like hives and breathing problems, to name a few, to the scented item they bought.

It Happened Again - This Time From a "Safer" Swap

Not long after, it happened again - and this time it caught me off guard. I was given a paraffin candle (a wax derived from petroleum), scented with synthetic fragrances, which I returned, politely saying I'm sensitive to fragrances. In return, I received a beeswax candle wrapped in the same-smelling paper the previous paraffin wax was wrapped in. I was so revolted by the smell that I tried to rinse the candle because I didn't want to waste the precious beeswax, but the smell was still there, nauseating, invading. It landed in the bin. Because health matters more.

Paraffin candles have been shown to release known toxicants like benzene and formaldehyde when burned, as multiple independent studies have found. That's part of why the swap didn't solve the problem for me - the paper it came wrapped in was enough on its own.

That second experience taught me something the first one hadn't: it's not just about avoiding the obviously cheap or "chemical-looking" products. Fragrance contamination hides everywhere - even in the wrapping paper around a genuinely natural, beeswax candle. If a fragrance chemical can travel that far, it's easy to see how it ends up on our skin, in our lungs, and in our homes without us ever choosing it.

Choosing Safe, Low-Tox for the Whole Family 

Two poisonings from two different candles, from two different "categories" of product, told me the same thing: this isn't about one bad brand or one careless purchase. It's about an entire industry built on undisclosed fragrance chemicals, and a household full of people - partners, children, elderly parents, pets - who are exposed right alongside us, whether they react visibly or not.

That's the real reason we make what we make at It's All Good. We never use synthetic ingredients, and we know exactly what goes into every formula - no hidden fragrance chemicals, no guessing what's in the jar. Just ingredients you can read, understand, and trust around the people - and animals - you love most.

If a decorative candle on a table can do this to me, imagine what's sitting unnoticed in the products already in your home. Take a look at your labels. If "fragrance" or "parfum" is the only ingredient you can't explain, that's worth questioning.