The Hidden Truth About Cheap Candles: Is Your "Relaxing" Ritual Harming Your Health?
Your “Relaxing” Candle Could Be the Reason Your Headaches Won’t Quit.
You purchase a candle to create a sanctuary, a cozy ritual that signals "me time" and calm. Yet, if you’re using a bargain candle made with conventional wax and synthetic fragrance, you may be breathing toxic by-products every night without knowing it.
You deserve to know this: those seemingly harmless candles can quietly load your home with particles and chemicals linked to hormone disruption and respiratory risks. The glow is beautiful, but the invisible air load is not. 
Breathe calm, not chemicals.
→ Switch to clean-burning soy from The Scented Market:
Breathe calm, not chemicals.→ Switch to clean-burning soy from The Scented Market:
https://thescentedmarket.ca/collections/best-seller
100% soy • phthalate-free fragrance • cotton wicks • hand-poured in Ontario
Read this before you light another wick.
When many bargain candles burn (especially paraffin-based), they can release Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), including benzene, toluene, and formaldehyde, plus ultrafine soot that lingers for hours in closed rooms. Indoors, levels of several organics commonly run 2–5× higher than outdoors and spike after “fragranced” activities. (Environmental Protection Agency, Health Canada)
Translation: cozy ritual, invisible chemical load.
Why This Matters for Women 35+
The biggest concern in many synthetic fragrances is a family of chemicals called phthalates.- Phthalates are endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). They can mimic or block hormones, interfering with the signaling that regulates sleep, mood, temperature control, and reproductive biology.
- Midlife is a recalibration. Perimenopause and post-menopause already shift estrogen and progesterone. Extra “hormone noise” is the last thing you need from a nightly candle.
Lower the hormone noise in your home, start with your nightly candle.
Choose phthalate-free soy: https://thescentedmarket.ca/collections/candles
Choose phthalate-free soy: https://thescentedmarket.ca/collections/candles
The Story You’ll Recognize in Your Bones
Meet Anita, 47. Busy. Committed to wellness. Trying to be ‘better.’
She bought new bedding, fresh paint, and a large sale bin candle, the signature scent of her “me time.”
Twenty minutes later: tight temples, a scratchy throat, and restless sleep later that night. She blamed stress until she noticed the same symptoms after every “relax” burn.
She realized: The ritual should clear her mind, not cloud her air.
Anita switched to The Scented Market: 100% soy wax, a clean cotton wick, and phthalate & paraben free fragrance, hand poured right here in Ontario. The beautiful glow stayed. The headache and the guilt didn't.
You don’t have to give up the ritual. You just stop paying for it with your air.
Keep the ritual. Ditch the fog.
Shop clean soy candles: https://thescentedmarket.ca/collections/winter-collection
Shop clean soy candles: https://thescentedmarket.ca/collections/winter-collection
What’s Actually in that Jar?
The choice is simple when you stop paying for compromise and start investing in integrity.
(Evidence & brand pages: indoor VOCs, EDC overview, our standards & stores.)
See our ingredient standards in action: https://thescentedmarket.ca/collections/candles
100% soy | cotton wicks | phthalate & paraben free
“Is this really dangerous or just marketing?”
Here’s the science you can pin to your fridge:
- Indoor Organics Build Up: Several VOCs average 2–5× higher indoors than outdoors; activities can leave levels elevated for hours.
- Candles Emit Measurable Pollutants: Controlled tests across wax types document gaseous and particulate emissions; composition and burn conditions matter.
- Health Canada’s Short Answer: Health Canada advises: Reduce the use of candles and incense because they increase particle levels indoors. If you do burn, ingredients + ventilation matter.
- EDCs & Reproduction (Evidence to Take Seriously): Meta-analyses and reviews report associations between phthalate exposure and pregnancy loss, endometriosis, and impact on sperm quality in men.
Prove It To Yourself: The 45-Minute Scent Test
Tonight, burn your usual candle for 45 minutes in a closed room. Note your head, sinuses, air “feel,” and sleep.
Tomorrow, same room/time: burn one Scented Market soy candle (wick trimmed to ¼"), then pop a window for two minutes when you snuff.
Compare. You'll feel the difference immediately. This mirrors exactly what the EPA and Health Canada recommend about monitoring indoor air quality after an activity spike.
Do the 45-Minute Scent Test → https://thescentedmarket.ca/collections/best-seller
Keep the calm. Cut the compromise.
The Scented Market standards
- 100% soy wax (no paraffin blends)
- Phthalate & paraben free fragrance
- Cotton wicks (no metal cores)
- Vegan, non-toxic, hand poured in Ontario by a women-led team
- Two stores you can visit: Guelph & Fergus
The Investment in Integrity
Yes, clean candles cost more than a bargain find. But you're not paying for wax; you're investing in a certified clean environment, hormone integrity, and air quality that validates your commitment to well-being. Stop paying for cheap wax with expensive health.
