What is in my candle and diffuser?
Candle wax
Our candles are vegan, dye-free and paraffin-free. We use soy wax, sourced from sustainable farms in Europe and the USA, and essential oils.
The vast majority of candles sold today (over 90%!), including from many of the designer household names, are made from paraffin wax, a by-product of the petrochemical industry. Paraffin wax is still widely used as a candle ingredient because it can take high fragrance loads and is inexpensive. But as a by product from a highly polluting, non-renewable resource such as crude oil extraction, it is completely at odds with BALMY’s values to tread lightly on our planet.
Soy wax is on a par with paraffin for candle performance but burns more cleanly (less soot and smoke) and more slowly (meaning your candle will last longer). It is a more expensive product than paraffin wax, and a harder material to work with as a maker. But we believe the benefits outweigh the downsides, and that it is better to spend more on a sustainable, clean product. We believe that soy wax is the best natural wax to use in candle making as it offers the strongest fragrance throw, whilst still being from a natural, renewable resource.
We are concerned that some soy bean farming is leading to deforestation in the Amazon. We make sure to only use suppliers who do not engage in this practice and source soy from reputable, sustainable farms.
Candle wicks
Our candle wicks are made from cotton and are pre-coated with vegetable wax to ensure a clean burn.
Fragrance
All of our fragrance blends are made with essential oils. I’ve written a blog about differences between essential oils and synthetic fragrance if you want to know more. Ultimately this choice comes down to preference and we would never say that natural = better, or indeed more sustainable, as often synthetic fragrance blends are easier and cheaper to produce, and use less raw material.
The decision to use essential oils in our products comes down to the fact that I love using the amazing scents already available in nature. We don’t offer the same degree of choice in fragrances as brands which use synthetic fragrance. But we are able to be completely transparent about what goes into each and every product instead of the catch all, could be anything label ‘parfum’ that goes into any product using synthetic fragrance. And I think our choice to use essential oils means our fragrances smell beautiful, natural, and just like their source inspiration. And what’s more you get the additional wellbeing benefit of inhaling essential oils in diluted form, which can be anything from aiding sleep, increasing relaxation to reducing anxiety.
Diffusers
Our diffusers are vegan and alcohol free. They’re made with the same essential oil blends as our candles, and Augeo, a synthetically derived diffuser base oil made from vegetable glycerin. This is designed to be slow to evaporate and safe for use in diffusers.
Diffuser reeds
Our diffuser reeds are made from rattan and are therefore biodegradable when used with Augeo and essential oil blends. Many diffusers use synthetic fibre reeds which are not recyclable or biodegradable. Rattan is more susceptible to being clogged up than fibre reeds, so if you find that your BALMY diffusers isn’t releasing scent anymore, it could be because the reeds need changing. Let us know and we’ll send you a new reed bundle, for free.
If you have any questions about our products, check out our FAQs, or get in touch here.