How to Shop for Candles

There're a lot of candle and wax products out there to choose from in all price ranges. You can buy a candle at a garage sale used for 50 cents or go to a "Designer Candle" store and NO KIDDING pay $300 for a 16oz candle (it is in in a crystal jar though). How much you spend on a candle really depends on why you're shopping for the candle and are there any "Budget" considerations??? - How much are you willing to pay for a good candle that smells great til it's gone and doesn't get black soot all over the place.

So, why do you want to buy a candle:

• Is it for romance, relaxation, aromatherapy.......
• Is it for the fragrance - you just love the smell of (fill in the blank), you've got pets and kids, your husband is constantly cooking fish, etc...........
• It is "just in case" - in case the lights go out, there's a storm.........

Next to consider is budget and believe me you don't need to spend a fortune to find a great candle - you can mix several types of fragrance methods (Candles, Melts, Essential Oils and Potpourri) to keep your home smelling fabulous all the time.

Most important to remember is that no matter why you're buying a candle, always try to find the best quality that you can afford. Make sure you candle has a cotton wick not lead. The black soot that you see on the sides of those half burned jars in your closet also went on your walls, ceilings, furniture and last but definitely not least, in your lungs.

This guide is not going to tell you what NOT to buy, but give you information about WHAT you buy so you can make informed decisions on when to use a particular type of candle. I'm going to disucss four basic candle/wax types:

• Parafin and Parafin Blends
• Soy and Soy Blends
• Vegetable and Vegetable Blends
• Beeswax and Beeswax Blends

Parafin and Parafin Blend Wax Products are probably the candles that we're most familiar with - they're on sale everywhere and relatively inexpensive. There are some very popular brands in this group, so make sure you know what the ingredients are before you buy. Fragrance from these candles can vary as much as their price. Rule of thumb is the cheaper the candle, the poorer the quality of the ingredients. RANK: Parafin is a petroleum product and burns very hot. Use primarily outdoors or in well ventilated indoor areas. Heavy residue.

Soy and Soy Blends burn cooler and cleaner that Parafin waxes, but still leave a carbon residue. There are also soy candles out there that have parafin in their formula, pillar candles especially. Same rule of thumb, the cheaper the candle, the poorer the quality.RANK: If Parafin in formula use primarily outdoors or in well ventilated indoor areas. Moderate to heavy residue.

Vegetable and Vegetable Blends & Beeswax and Beeswax Blends: I put these two groups together, because they are the "cleanest" of the waxes to use. They can be a little more expensive in price than the $4.00 or $5.00 jar at the grocery store, but well worth the extra few dollars. RANK: Indoor in well ventilated areas or outdoor use. Little or no residue.

Natural Fragrances or Chemical Compounds?

I'm one of those people who can't take too many fragrances without getting a headache and I NEVER walk by the perfume counter at the department store.

It wasn't until I read an article on essential oils and aromatherapy oils that I realized the problem was that most of these so called "Fragrances" were chemically based and not made from natural essential oils. There are huge differences in the effects of organic fragrances and those that are made from chemicals.. The biggest benefit of aromatherapy is that it's natural.

We know by now to read labels and check ingredients in the foods we eat, and I will assume that you are still trying to translate those chemical names on the back of the air freshener can.

Are the products that you use to "freshen the air" or "hide the smell" chemically based? Do you know that the body reacts faster to something inhaled over something swallowed.

The food we eat, the air we breathe, the medicines we consume and the household cleansers we use all have chemicals. The cumulative and emotional effects of these and how they react together over the long term are just being studied. There are much better ways to clean our homes, eliminate odors and enjoy fragrances naturally.