If you are like me you love to sit with a good book, a cup of tea, a beautiful candle with its warm glow, and enjoy a quiet evening to yourself. You may also hate toxins and want this beautiful evening to be a healthy one. You do not want to be breathing in synthetic fragrance and burning cheap wax. Mood killer!
I have spent the last 10+ years removing toxins from my home in an effort to live a healthier life and support a healthy body, for myself and my family. I have swapped out toxic cleaning supplies, body care products, synthetic clothing and linens, and most recently toxic food with natural products and foods.
One simple thing to swap out was toxic candles. While candles are very popular and can bring a wonderful element to your environment whether through the ambiance of the candle glow or the comforting smells, you do not want to be buying candles that are loaded with synthetic ingredients.
Back in the day I used to wander around Yankee Candle and smell all of the interesting candle scents. I was always a sucker for the fall and Christmas scents. Those were my favorites.
However, as I have spent the last decade detoxing from synthetics I actually cannot stand to be in a Yankee Candle store or go down the candle aisle in the box stores because the fragrances are so strong. They actually give me a headache. (The cleaning product aisles are even worse! Yuck!)
When I discovered hand poured soy candles at a craft fair in the Seattle area where I lived about 7-8 years ago, I was amazed at how nicely they smelled and how they didn’t give me headache. Once I learned about soy candles it opened up a new world to me!
Now there are plenty of soy candles out there that are handmade and STILL are made with fragrance that is not natural from plants but rather synthetic. As I began learning how to make my own candles I saw that I could easily use fragrance oil to scent my candles but wondered how natural these fragrances were.
Basically, fragrance oils are manufactured in a lab and contain synthetic material whereas essential oils are made from natural materials – plants.
What I discovered was that the best, most natural way to scent the candles was to use essential oils. Now I have used essential oils in my home for many years and was well aware of the many health benefits of them. Of course there were my favorites like Lavender that not only have healing benefits but offer a lovely smell. Lavender has always been my favorite scent. Maybe because the flowers are purple? Maybe because I love being calmed by the oil? Maybe because I saw how powerful they were at healing.
[Side story: Once at a Lavender Farm in Washington, my 2 year old fell while walking on the gravel path and got a goose-egg of a lump on his forehead. They had Lavender oil samples so I dabbed some on his bump. Within the hour the bump had gone down and was healing – so quickly! I was amazed!!]
So now I knew how I wanted to scent my candles, I only needed to learn how to make them. I found soy through a company called American Soy Organics for making soy candles. I also found Organic Beeswax for making beeswax candles. I wanted to try both soy and beeswax to see which I liked better. (I love them both and will share more about each in a future post!)
I also found some quality essential oils to use for scenting the candles. I came up with a few recipes of different scents such as Lavender Vanilla, Rosemary Mint, Uplift, Tranquility, Refresh, and Breathe.
Once I had my wax and my recipes of essential oils I was ready to pour! I needed vessels to pour into and was drawn to simple glass mason jars. I love the quilting design on the outside of these small jars that just makes the light dance when the candle is burning. I also was inspired to repurpose old crystal punch cups or vintage tea cups. I soon began scouring thrift stores for unique pieces that would make a wonderful candle. I have had so much fun searching and finding precious cups that can be given new life!
Here are a few of the ones I have found and created:
It has been such a fun and creative process creating these candles. I love to give them as gifts or sell them at my local farmer’s market or craft fair. If you are interested in learning more check out my page here: Healthy Rhythms Candles.