Are Wax Melts and Scented Candles Making Your Home Toxic?
If you're a fan of cozy vibes, chances are you’ve burned a candle or used a wax melt to bring some warmth and fragrance into your space. But have you ever stopped to wonder what’s actually in those products—or what happens when you inhale them?
The truth might surprise you: some scented wax melts and candles can be as toxic as breathing in engine fumes. It sounds extreme, but the science backs it up—especially when synthetic fragrances and paraffin wax are involved.
what the research says
A new study from Feb 2025 found that synthetically derived terpenes (synthetic fragrance) released from scented wax melts react with indoor atmospheric ozone (O3) to create new particle formation (NPF) events, resulting in significant indoor atmospheric nanoparticle concentrations (>106 cm-3) comparable to those emitted by combustion-based scented candles, gas stoves, diesel engines, and natural gas engines (PMC11823451).
Burning scented wax melts creates nanoparticles in concentrations similar to diesel and gas engines!
What this study doesn’t tell us is what those nanoparticles do to our health. But if you were under any impression wax melts were less toxic than candles, that myth is busted.
From what we already know about synthetic fragrance, this new study is just more confirmation to get rid of them in your home NOW.
effects of synthetic fragrance on human health
effects of synthetic fragrance on human health
make the switch
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