Scented Soy Candles with Essential Oils

LuminEssent Candles is a small-scale, home-based manufacturer of candles made from soy wax and essential oils, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

LuminEssent Candles products are carefully handmade to your specifications when you order, with only the finest soy wax, wicks, and essential oils available. Choose from over 70 colors and 50 essential oil aromas and synergy blends, in a variety of shapes, sizes and styles.

I strive to be as environmentally friendly as possible in doing business, as well as making products which are kind to the environment. LuminEssent Candles products are made primarily from naturally renewable resources. I take every effort to minimize waste-production and use of power and water in manufacturing processes, and maximize use of recycled packaging.

My products are inspired by a life-long fascination with the flame and dissatisfaction with the lack of variety of products available currently (especially locally). I have been making candles since 2002, paraffin- and fragrance-oil-free since 2005.

- Check out this list of Trendy Tips for Decorating with Soy Candles

- Astrology or Zodiac candles make a perfect gift or self-indulgence, but they are not commonly found in retail shops that sell soy candles. Check out this unique Astrology Aromatherapy Gift Set, including an Aromatherapy Terra Cotta Pendant printed with your astrological symbol, a 10 ml bottle of Essential Oil, and an Apothecary Jar Soy Candle, in your choice of size, color and scent. The candle contains a Blue Quartz Crystal, to grant spiritual insight and enlightenment, peace and serenity, and encourage emotional clarity and purity of heart.

Candle manufacturers are not subject to disclosing their ingredients, allowing many candles to contain harmful substances. LuminEssent Candles products have been crafted from the finest materials in order to create truly superior candles. Each product has been formulated considering the suggestions of The Asthma Society of Canada:

Note: The following is intended for informational purposes only. It is NOT meant as medical advice.

* Burn soy candles rather than oil based candles. Soy-wax candles burn cleaner and slower, are non toxic and do not emit petrol-carbon soot. Soy is both a renewable and a biodegradable resource.
* Beeswax candles are a better choice than paraffin wax but often times a beeswax candle will contain some paraffin wax. Beeswax candles produce a 'cleaner burn' compared to paraffin wax - a petroleum product.

LuminEssent Candles are produced with EcoSoya candle waxes. Tealights and container candles that do not contain color or fragrance are made of 100% pure soy wax. The composition of the pillar wax used is 85% soy wax, 15% tropical oils, 0.3% vegetable stearic acid.

The tropical oils allow for a very smooth finish while keeping the candle all-natural, clean and non-toxic. The vegetable stearic acid adds hardness and opacity in pillar candles.

Coloured candles may be requested without UV inhibitor (which is used to prevent the colour from fading). Pillar candles may be requested without vegetable stearic acid (may reduce burn time slightly).

This naturally sourced wax is virtually indistinguishable from paraffin or beeswax in appearance, and is superior in burn quality. It also provides many consumer and environmental benefits that neither paraffin nor beeswax does:

* Longer, cooler and cleaner burning without soot buildup--which can blacken walls, ceilings, and furniture, contaminate ventilation duct work in your home, as well as add carcinogens to the air you breathe.
* Renewable sustainable resources requiring plant growth
* Biodegradable and free from pesticide and herbicide
* Made containing NO Genetically Modified Material
* Cleans up with soap and hot water, eliminating solvents
* Manufactured meeting FDA and Kosher standards
* Very stable allowing for long shelf life

* Wicks should burn down evenly with the wax.
* Choose candles with thin, braided wicks.
* Avoid candles with very thick wicks and those with a wire core holding the wick upright.
* Avoid multiple wick candles.
* Candle wicks are often made of chemically grown, cotton that has been bleached using dioxins.
* Wicks with metal down the middle are the most hazardous, as they contain lead.

All LuminEssent Candles are wicked with high tensile paper or natural cotton fibres (tealights only). We do not use bleached cotton or metal-cored wicks.

Each product is thoroughly tested to ensure that each wick burns at the optimal rate of wax consumption for the size, shape, color and scent combination.

* Materials used for aroma can be divided into two groups, essential oils/ plant extracts or fragrant chemicals. Read the labels carefully before purchasing your candles. Consumers can be fooled by product descriptions which lead them to believe they are buying healthy, aromatherapy candles, when in reality the candle is primarily a petroleum wax, with synthetic scent, synthetic fixatives and a small amount of plant essential oil.
* Essential oils are extracted from trees, shrubs and flowers from all over the world. Each essential oil has its own unique chemical makeup.
* Fragrant chemicals are usually derived from petroleum and sometimes animal sources
* It is not uncommon for candle manufactures to combine artificial fragrances with essential oils, or to dilute the essential oils with synthetic fragrance. Many synthetic fragrance chemicals can pose a wide range of immediate and long-term health hazards. Up to 95 percent of chemicals used in fragrances are synthetic compounds derived from petroleum.
* Avoid aromatic candles. If you do use a scented candle make sure the fragrance used was specifically formulated for candle use. Avoid wax that contains volatile aromatic hydrocarbons.

Only 100% pure essential oils are used for fragrance in LuminEssent Candles. We also offer a wide variety of unscented candles.

Aromatherapy can be a very powerful enhancement to your wellbeing. When an essential oil is inhaled, aromas are instantly transmitted through olfactory nerves to the limbic system (the part of the brain handles the basic instincts, the subconscious, and memories). This release of neurochemicals invokes a physiological change in mind, body, and spirit. The effect can directly influence our emotions without the interference of reason, since scent is the only sense that is not processed by the intellect.

Aromatherapy formulas may not be effective for everyone, since the effect is influenced by the inhaler's personal experiences. Learned odor-responses may interfere with or alter the bio-chemical effects of essential oils. The chemical composition of emotions can be powerful enough to enhance or inhibit a neurological absorption or release. The experiential influences are enhanced as you become more aware of the scents around you, and gain more experience with pure essential oils.

Synthetic reproductions of pure essential oils do not have the biochemical effectiveness of naturally occurring essential oils, and are therefore not effective in aromatherapy. The response to the chemical odor is learned, and does not invoke a neurochemical release.

"Aromatherapy candles" do not actually contain enough essential oil to provide the full healing benefits of conventional aromatherapy. Burning candles containing essential oils can, in smaller doses, provide the same benefits of the chemical reactions invoked by the inhalation of the scent.

* Some oils can cause sensitization or allergic reactions in some individuals. This usually applies to topical or internal use, but it is strongly recommended that you discontinue using if you notice any irritation.
* Some essential oils should be avoided during pregnancy or by those with asthma, epilepsy, or with other health conditions. If you have any of these conditions, please consider our unscented candles.
* Not all essential oils are suitable for use in aromatherapy. We do not use any essential oil considered not safe for aromatherapy.

While there is now a wealth of scientific data on the physiological and psychological effects of the essential oils, public awareness of the therapeutic benefits of aromatic plant extracts is not widespread. Unbeknownst to most of us, true essential oils are commonly encountered when using cosmetics of higher quality, certain foods and household cleaners. As the use of scented products gained popularity in America in the late 1980's, shops and products featuring adulterated or low quality essences or synthetic fragrances passing themselves off as the real thing began to spring up everywhere. The very word "Aromatherapy" used in this context has lost its meaning - the therapeutic use of pure aromatic plant extracts. The professional aromatherapy community is investigating new words to convey this meaning, such as "aromacology" or "botanical medicine." Pure, unadulterated essential oils are usually available only from Aromatherapy practitioners and essential oils suppliers who understand the value and importance of working with these powerful helpers in a therapeutic way.

* Soot is a product of incomplete combustion of carbon-containing fuels, usually petroleum-based. Soot results from use of candles and other indoor combustible materials like incense, potpourri and oil lamps.
* Soot particles are very small and are easily inhaled and deposited deep in the lungs. Soot discolours walls and furniture, and makes its way into the ventilation system in your home. The very young, the elderly and those with respiratory diseases like asthma should avoid exposure to candle soot.
* In order to obtain the romantic bright yellow and white light, candle flames produce soot. If there was such a thing as a a soot-free candle, it would produce a blue flame similar to those seen from a gas stove.

* Burning petroleum based candles release pollutants such as benzene, styrene, toluene, acetone and particulate matter into the air. Candle soot contains many of the same compounds given off from burning diesel fuel.
* Scented candles give off odors that often aggravate asthma symptoms. Monitor asthma symptoms closely. Do not use candles when asthma symptoms are present.
* Candles that are not properly manufactured, or that contain quantities of fragranced oils that are not suitable for combustion can add to indoor pollution.
* Place candles in a draft-free spot. Increase ventilation in rooms where candles are burning, while avoiding direct drafts on the candles.
* Trim the wick down to one-quarter inch, before lighting the candles to keep the flame low.
* Burn your candle in wide mouth containers. Narrow mouth containers restrict the airflow resulting in flickering.