Chemical-free home (1): Candles

On my quest for a better, more sustainable and chemical free life I decided to dedicate a new series of blogs specifically to getting rid of all sort of chemicals from the house (Jo I think I can do with some of your daily inspiration for this!). 
As fall dawns upon us as a prelude to the dark winter ahead, the need for cozyness and some good hygge increases, and nice illuminations and smell are a MUST! Which in my world equals candles.

But what kind of candles? 

Commercial candles are likely made of paraffin-wax. This wax when burnt emits toxic chemicals such as toluene and benzene, which have been related not only to increase in cancers but also to increase incidence of asthma and other allergies... so, something to think about when buying the typical cheap candles! Plus, if you are looking for coloured and perfumed candles, both colourants and fragrances can add extra chemicals to it! Enough to make me skip the cheap candle aisle...

So, what are some natural alternatives?

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Well, the most obvious is BEESWAX candles. You can find them from some natural shops, and if you can choose go for the yellow ones as they have not been 'whitened' with extra processes so are really natural. If you want a good reason for spending the extra - they will (should) burn longer than normal candles! Another great (perhaps even better) place to find your candles is a local honey producer - you will know exactly where your money goes! Perhaps they don't sell it as ready-made candles but you can always get the wax and try yourself out with some DIY! 

Other options include Plant-based wax. Soya-derived wax is one of the most common, made from soyabean oil which is a lot cleaner than artificial oil such as the above mentioned paraffin (remember that paraffin is a petroleum derivate!). However with Soy candles make sure they are from a good brand using GM free crops, and getting soy from sustainable sources! 
Also some soy wax candles seem to be extremely expensive (I mean, if you can afford it check this nice list on the independent). I personally just bought one nice plant-based wax fragranced (wintery orange and ginger, with pure essential oils!) from Dille&Kamille and it's great. 

Next step: make my own with some of these great ideas found on Pinterest, I love wintery smells so here some combinations of essential oils I would love to try and make healthy candles with: