Phthalates In Scented Candles: Why Should You Avoid Them?
Scented candles, we love them. It enables us to smell freshness, recall memories, meditate, and so much more.
However, have you ever wondered why a candle smells so good? Some (not all) still use phthalates, which are commonly found in fragrances.
Though this provides an incredibly rich smell, some serious side effects come with inhaling this. To learn more about phthalates in scented candles, read the following:
What are phthalates?
Phthalates are synthetic compounds that are utilized in the plastics sector. The primary exposure routes to this substance are inhalation, ingestion, and transplacental transition.
The compound is an endocrine disruptor (ED), a substance that interferes with the body's hormonal balance. As a result, they can change how the reproductive system's hormone-dependent components form and work.
Low doses of EDs are present in the environment, exposing both humans and animals to them. The different ways these substances interact with one another can produce hazardous health consequences that are additive, antagonistic, or synergistic. Like hormones, phthalates have physiological effects at lower doses than higher concentrations (aka non-monotonic toxicity)
Why are phthalates bad?
Considering our exposure to phthalates from some scented candles, the health risks are significant for both men and women.
Frontier found that phthalate disturbs the regulation of RA-relevant genes. Because of this, it's possible to develop an autoimmune disease like RA if exposed to phthalates.
Additionally, phthalates are well known for their potential to disturb the hormonal system. Extensive laboratory research has shown that exposure to phthalates lowers testosterone levels and causes various male reproductive issues. Therefore, it affects undescended testes, hypospadias (abnormal urethral apertures), and abnormalities in sperm-producing organs.
As a result of these issues, we strongly advise limiting or completely removing your exposure to phthalates.
How can you avoid phthalates in scented candles?
Some scented candle brands include phthalates to increase the scent throw and strength. However, you need to avoid this. The health complications that are presented aren't worth it. Therefore, limit or eliminate your exposure to phthalate candles.
Luckily, avoiding this doesn't require any expertise or complex advice. Instead, you just need to find a scented candle brand that understands the severe consequences of phthalates.
Here at Urthy Scents, we want to provide our customers with a unique, safe, and pleasant scented candle experience. Besides using premium materials like coconut wax, we also ensure all our scented candles are phthalates-free.
By carefully manufacturing our scented candles, we can offer an excellent scent throw, without any additional ingredients, like phthalates. Therefore, candle lovers can enjoy the richness of burns with no health issues.
Summary
In this post, we went deeper into why phthalates are bad. For the candle industry, it's a worrying thought as some cheaper brands still use them in their products.
Before you next light a candle up, double-check whether it has phthalates. If it does, remove it from your collection and forget about it. A great replacement would be one of our scented candles, which are all phthalate-free.