The Healthy Home report contained a lot of advice that you’ve heard before in mbg headlines: Kick your shoes off at the door, add plants to your space, be mindful of your humidity levels, etc. But its warning on candles gave us pause: “If you use candles or incense, you are creating small combustion sources inside your home,” the report reads. “The evidence is clear—in homes with candles or incense burning, there is a sharp increase in airborne particles, sometimes reaching levels that are higher than what is typically measured outside in US cities.” However, another comprehensive report from the EPA found that in order for candle smoke to surpass the EPA’s “excess cancer risk level,” you’d have to burn 30 of them in an enclosed room for three hours. The agency considers a candle’s wick to be far more important to its overall safety, writing that wicks made with lead “generate indoor airborne lead concentrations of health concern.” Though technically banned from U.S. markets in 2003, you might still find lead wick candles on shelves. The other important part of candles is the type of wax. Paraffin wax candles (extracted from petroleum) have been found to produce higher levels of alkenes and toluenes than other wax types, though it’s unclear whether they emit enough to be a human health concern. Basically, for every study1 out there that says burning candles is dangerous, there’s another that says it’s totally safe in moderation2. With such inconclusive evidence, your best bet is seeking out candles and incense from makers that prioritize healthy ingredients. Instead, choose candles with a “soot-free” wick made of cotton or wood; clean-burning waxes like soy, beeswax, or coconut; and a transparent ingredient list. (Here are a few that pass the test.) As far as incense is concerned, choose ones that have been dipped in natural oils. Mehta adds that no matter what kind of candle or incense you have, you should be careful when putting it out. “Usually with candles, the issue is when you blow it out. I tell people to open their windows so smoke doesn’t end up in their space—especially if they’re about to go to sleep,” she says. Finally, people who are predisposed to respiratory issues or allergies should be extra observant when burning anything at home. “If you notice a headache or drop in energy when you burn a candle, you might not want to keep it close to you,” she says. And with that, I’m ready to go and light up my candle collection—mindfully, of course. Emma received her B.A. in Environmental Science & Policy with a specialty in environmental communications from Duke University. In addition to penning over 1,000 mbg articles on topics from the water crisis in California to the rise of urban beekeeping, her work has appeared on Grist, Bloomberg News, Bustle, and Forbes. She’s spoken about the intersection of self-care and sustainability on podcasts and live events alongside environmental thought leaders like Marci Zaroff, Gay Browne, and Summer Rayne Oakes.
