Wax warmers are a popular device to add fragrance to your home and is great for people who can’t or don’t want to burn candles in your home. Wax warmers pose less of a fire hazard, which makes them safer than burning candles. While they’re a safe device to use in the sense that they don’t pose a fire risk, are they safe to use in the sense of breathing them in?
You can use your wax warmer and feel perfectly safe breathing in the fragranced air that comes from it, though. To more accurately answer this question, though, we need to talk about the kind of wax you’re using in your wax warmer.
You can easily use a wax warmer safely in your home without having to worry about what you’re breathing in and the right type of wax really helps that, too.
Using a Wax Warmer
A wax warmer is a great alternative to burning candles. If you’re living in a situation where you rent your home, you may not be able to burn candles due to your contract. Or, you could want to stay away from candles because you have pets or children. Regardless the reason you choose to use wax warmers, they’re a great investment for your home.
Wax warmers themselves aren’t actually what’s in question with being safe to breathe. Instead, the question of how safe your warmer is comes from the type of wax you use. Also, you need to look at the type of fragrances your wax cubes have in them because that can have an affect as to what you’re breathing in.
The Type of Wax you Use
There are three main types of waxes that are used in wax cubes. These waxes are paraffin wax, vegetable waxes, and beeswax. Paraffin wax is an unnatural, manmade wax that is most commonly used. Vegetable waxes and beeswax are more natural and, while common, aren’t as common as paraffin wax.
Paraffin Wax
Paraffin wax is a common wax used in many big name candle companies. This kind of wax is created as a byproduct during the crude oil process. The wax is petroleum based. Because of how paraffin wax is created, there has been a debate as to whether or not this wax is good for you to breathe in. There has no been no proven evidence as to paraffin wax releasing fumes that could be toxic for you to breathe in.
Another reason that people are wary about paraffin wax stems from them releasing soot while burning a candle. This doesn’t apply to using wax cubes made out of paraffin wax, though. While using a wax warmer, the wax doesn’t release soot because there is no flame.
Paraffin wax is very commonly used because it has a low cost to it. It’s also able to hold a large amount of fragrance and gives off a strong scent throw while burning or melting.
Using wax cubes made of paraffin wax shouldn’t make you worry about what you’re breathing in. While there is an ongoing debate, there is no proof that breathing in the vapors of paraffin wax is harmful to your health.
Vegetable Waxes
Waxes such as soy wax or coconut wax are a preferred wax for many candle users. These waxes are sustainably sourced using renewable resources, unlike paraffin wax, which comes from fossil fuels. Using vegetable waxes can even help purify the air in your home. These waxes have qualities that have been known to clean the atmosphere of toxins, which means that they’re without a doubt safe to breathe.
This type of wax is popular with wax cube manufacturers because it melts slowly and lasts a long time. This also helps make the fragrance that is used in the wax last a long time, too. This type of wax can be used guilt free without having to worry about what kind of harsh chemicals you’re breathing in with the vapors released.
While these waxes are popular is wax cubes, they’re more expensive to purchase, making companies want to use them less than they would paraffin wax. This also means that if you were to buy a product using soy wax or coconut wax, you’re going to have to spend a bit more to get it.
Beeswax
Beeswax is another sustainable and naturally sourced wax that has been used since practically the beginning of candle making. This wax is more expensive than vegetable waxes, which means that not many candle or wax cube companies use this wax in their products. If they do, you’re going to be spending more than you would for a product made from the previous waxes I discussed.
Because Beeswax is a naturally sourced product, it doesn’t have any harmful chemicals or compounds in it that should make you worry while you use products made with it. This type of wax also has air purifying qualities that have been known to clean chemicals out of the air, making it cleaner for you to breathe.
Read more about Best Wax Melts.
The Type of Fragrances You Use
There are two main type of fragrances that care used in wax cubes. There are essential oils that are naturally derived from plants and there are fragrance oils that are manmade.
Essential Oils
Essential oils are naturally sourced from plants and have strong fragrances that are the essence of the plant. One of the great things about essential oils is that they come with their own types of benefits. For example, lavender oil is great for someone who is in need of a better night’s sleep or an aromatherapy session to relieve stress. Each oil has it’s own unique kind of benefits.
A benefit that all oils have is that they’re healthy for you to breathe in. You don’t have to worry about the vapors releasing toxic chemicals because they’re actually known for having air purifying qualities.
Because these are naturally derived from plants and sustainably sourced, products using this type of fragrance can be slightly more expensive than those using fragrance oils. But with the increase in price comes the benefits that are associated with essential oils.
Many wax cubes that are made with natural waxes tend to have essential oils in them. While that doesn’t hold true for all wax cubes, make sure you check the packaging of your wax cubes because chances are, they’ll have essential oils in them.
Fragrance Oils
Fragrance oils are a manmade perfume that provides a powerful fragrance. These oils are known for their strong scent throw. The question that comes with these manmade oils, though, is whether or not they’re safe to breathe in.
Just like with paraffin wax, there’s no evidence showing that fragrance oils are harmful or detrimental to your health when you breathe them in. They’re commonly used in wax cubes and candles, but you don’t need to avoid brands that use them because they don’t pose any risk to your health.
One thing about fragrance oils is that they can smell a little too strong or can have a slight chemical tinge to them that may make some people find products fragranced with them unpleasant. Because they’re not naturally derived, they may smell artificial. This isn’t always the case, though, and many candle and wax cube companies have perfected the art of using fragrance oils in their products.
Read more about Fragrance Oil vs Essential Oil.
Final Thoughts
Using a wax warmer shouldn’t bring you any concern for your health. While there are debates about what type of wax should be used and avoided, there’s no evidence that a certain wax can be detrimental to your health, especially with a wax warmer because they don’t produce soot.
When choosing a wax cube for your warmer, go off your preferences. If you prefer naturally sourced materials, it would be better for you to choose a product made with a vegetable wax or beeswax that is fragranced with essential oils. If you don’t mind manmade products, you can choose whatever product smells the nicest to you. Either way, you shouldn’t worry about your health being negatively affected.
Also read: Are Scented Candles Safe to Breathe