Candles have been used by peolpe for thousands of years but even though we may not use them as frequently as in the past, whenever the electricity goes down we still remember to light a candle. The flames of the candle will always have that mystical effect on our minds and soul, we can see the flame there shining, but we can’t touch it.
But from relying on candles to light up a dark room we can use them to diffuse certain essential oil scents into the atmosphere. This is where aromatherapy candles come to showoff. These are special candles made from essential oils, so pleasant aromas fill the room. Aromatherapy candles have also been used for the past centuries and they are still used today as a way to relax the atmosphere and rejuvenate a person.
What goes into an aromatherapy candle?
A candle made for aromatherapy use has 3 main things: the wick, the wax and the essential oil. The wick is the part of the candle that the user is going to light up. It is the part that will hold the fire which will burn down the wax. It is the tiny rope that lies inside the wax from the top to bottom of the candle.
By definition, the wax is a substance that is solid in room temperature but starts melting whenever the temperature is raised up or gets really hot. In case of the candle, the wax is usually the outer part of the candle within which the wick is found in. As the wick is burning, the wax melts down until the whole candle has burnt out.
When it comes to essential oils,that’s the goo stuff, they are only used on aromatherapy candles. There are many types of oils that can be used to make aromatherapy candles; it all depends on the type of effect you may want to get out of it. Generally people rely on those types of candles to bring about a sense of well-being and health. If that is your case you might want to go for candles made with lavender to ease up your sleeping time or whatever your favorite smell is. If you are dealing with some headache you might want to go for basil candles. During those periods where you find yourself dealing with nose congestion, aromatherapy candles with clove oils can be of help. Take note that clove oil can also be used as an aphrodisiac, just in case your lover pays you a visit, and you know which candle to light up.
There are many kinds of aromatherapy candles in the world that you can buy but you need to be careful from where you buy it. Not all candles are as safe as you would need them to be. In the past, before the industrialized period, human beings used to rely on nature to produce all that they needed and that included candles. Not all candles today are produced using those natural methods.
The only natural wax was used to make candles. It could be beeswax (wax made from bees), soy wax (made from oil extracted from natural soybean), rapeseed wax (oil extracted from rapeseed), palm wax (made from palm berries) and candelilla wax derived from the leaves of the shrub. There are many other natural waxes out there that can be used but because since the industries are much more interested in making money they tend to go for much cheaper wax products.
An example of a cheap wax product popularly used today is paraffin wax. This wax is derived out of petroleum. You should know that when it burns, 11 known toxic substances are released in the air and some of those toxins are known to cause cancer. Examples of those substances are benzene, formaldehyde and toluene. Aside from that paraffin wax burns much faster than naturally made ones so even though you may think you are saving money when buying one, in reality you are spending more because you will need more candles to cover the whole period within which you intend to use it.