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Aromatherapy is a form of alternative medicine that uses volatile plant materials, known as essential oils, and similar aromatic compounds from plants, for the purpose of improving a person's mood, cognitive function or health. Preliminary scientific evidence is growing in all these areas. [1]

Aromatherapy is a generic term. It is used by manufacturers (of personal care, wellness and hygiene products) as well as practitioners, including massage therapists, chiropractors, nurses and doctors. Over-the-counter products that make use of essential oils (or their constituents, such as menthol and methyl salicylate) include mouthwashes, liniments and "rubbing ointments", such as Listerine, Mentholatum Deep Heat and Vicks VapoRub. However, aromatherapy purists insist that neither essential oil constituents as such, nor synthetic fragrant chemicals, should ever be used.[2]

Because many essential oils are potent antimicrobials, they can be useful in the treatment of infectious disease.[3] They are used as medicines, often in combination with other herbal preparations, by a small group of doctors in France. In nursing, essential oils are increasingly used in pain management, anxiety/depression, and Alzheimer's disease.[4] Aromatherapy may be used in combination with other forms of alternative medicine. Terms such as 'essential oil therapy' 'clinical aromatherapy' and 'medical aromatherapy' have been used by some journals, educational institutions and practitioners, in order to distance themselves from association with the commercial aspects.

An essential oil is a concentrated, hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile or ethereal oils, or simply as the "oil of" the plant from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove. An oil is "essential" in the sense that it carries a distinctive scent, or essence, of the plant. Essential oils do not as a group need to have any specific chemical properties in common, beyond conveying characteristic fragrances. They are not to be confused with essential fatty acids.

Essential oils are generally extracted by distillation. Other processes include expression, or solvent extraction. They are used in perfumes, cosmetics and bath products, for flavoring food and drink, and for scenting incense and household cleaning products.

Various essential oils have been used medicinally at different periods in history. Medical application proposed by those who sell medicinal oils range from skin treatments to remedies for cancer, and are often based on historical use of these oils for these purposes. Such claims are now subject to regulation in most countries, and have grown more vague to stay within these regulations.

Interest in essential oils has revived in recent decades with the popularity of aromatherapy, a branch of alternative medicine which claims that the specific aromas carried by essential oils have curative effects. Oils are volatilized or diluted in a carrier oil and used in massage, diffused in the air by a nebulizer or by heating over a candle flame, or burned as incense, for example.

Soy candles are candles made from soy wax, which is a processed form of soybean oil. They are usually container candles, because soy wax typically has a lower melting point temperature than traditional waxes, but can also be made into pillar candles if certain additives are mixed into the soy wax.

Soy wax is a partially-hydrogenated form of soybean oil.[1][2] It is typically softer than paraffin wax and with a lower melting temperature, in most combinations. However, other additives by producers can raise this melt point. Soy wax is available in flake and pellet form and has an off-white, opaque appearance. Its lower melting temperature can mean hot weather can deform candles. Since soy wax is usually used in container candles, this is not much of an issue.

Some soy candles are made up of a blend of different waxes, including beeswax, paraffin, or palm wax. [3]

Candle making additives that are sometimes used in soy candle making include: stearic acid, vybar, mineral oil, petrolatum, luster crystals, dye/pigment, fragrance (natural or artificial), synthetic wax, ultraviolet absorbers, and bht crystals.

Standard labeling of soy candles is not enforced, therefore any claims to benefits to this candle are not regulated. Using soy wax is a choice as there are studies that claim to its medical preference over other waxes with heavy use of candles.[4]

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