All my candle business, development and self-help books emphasized picking an audience before starting any business. The most common reason I came across was this: Starting a business without understanding your audience is like trying to sell bubblegum to a dog. There's no focus or purpose which, in the end, hurts small-business owners (Also bubblegum is definitely not good for dogs haha). It made perfect sense to me that I needed a direction before moving forward but not every company does this. If you're reading this and realizing "Oh no, I didn't start with a niche" it's okay! Give yourself some grace for getting this far. The struggle was real, I knew I had an amazing gift for creating unique fragrances but zero direction and without a niche I realized my goal of standing out in my over-saturated candle market was doomed if I didn't focus down on who I am trying to please, and what problem I am trying to solve. Candle making quickly became a hit during the Covid-19 Pandemic because many people lost their jobs, worked from home and needed to start something that could be done in their house with little start-up investment. Candle-making has always been a business with loads of competition, but everyone has their own unique flair which makes buying a candle from multiple vendors so much fun! Not knowing a niche market is a challenge many small-business owners face and I realized very quickly that I wasn't alone.

A pithy message to you about the information on my blogs.

My opinion-based articles are based on my personal values and beliefs. Any informative blog posts will provide sources where possible, but all data is subject to change. I encourage you to research more into these topics and develop your own conclusions using credible sources. As our world evolves and changes I will do my best to update my information. In the end, I am just trying to play my part to encourage thinking and research. Thank you! 

Are candles safe for animals?

Whether you are prepping for a change of scenery in your home, trying to relax after a long day of work or maybe there is a change of seasons ~ lighting a candle can really set the mood and enchant our surroundings! Candles play a huge role in our relaxation and self-care traditions here in the United States and are present in a large majority of people's homes. It is easy to be whisked away by magickal aromas and forget to consider our fur-babies and their reactions to fragrance, wax and other candle components. I respect your desire to educate yourself on this, and hope I can help you become more confident in using my products around your loved ones. 

You'll hear a lot of buzz around the topic "Are candles safe for animals", and that's because it is one of the most Googled candle questions out there in regards to candle safety. In the first five articles I pulled from Google, all of them had differing opinions and the National Candle Society shows plenty of research studies on human health risk but unfortunately not animal health risks.

 

When looking up information, I try to keep in mind that "research" is what happens when scholars put time and money into studying materials and sources in order to establish facts.

 

I realize that Googling is not research, but rather a slippery slope to confirmation bias using articles (like this one) that aren't backed by a scientist who's done actual research on a topic. You're reading people's opinions based on their own individual perspectives and biases. (Thank you for coming to my TED talk haha). 

This being said, there is a strange lack of scientific studies available on the internet in regards to scented candle emissions and if they present any health risks to pets. If you happen to find one after I've published this post, please link it in the comments below or email me here so I can update my findings. This lack of evidence leads us to rely on veterinarians for help as they are classically trained to understand what ingredients can be harmful to our pets and which animals have sensitivities to fragrance and candle emissions.

Every animal is different, and where some dogs or cats seem unfazed by candle emissions, a bird may not be as lucky. I do recommend that before you strike a match and light up a candle from my shop or any other, that you speak with your pet's vet about potential health risks as well as educate yourself on the ingredients listed on the candles website. Founders & CEO's who care about being pet-friendly will likely have a blog-post like this one and/or their wax and fragrance info on their website. To find out more about the ingredients I use, visit my FAQ page here!

I decided to visit the vets in my area and gather some information from them on pet sensitivities to fragrance and candles, all of whom informed me that cats are MUCH more sensitive to fragrances than dogs and birds are one of the MOST sensitive to fragrance in general. Don't take my word for it though, ask your vet as they may have differing thoughts than the local vets in my area. They mentioned that cats are specifically affected by essential oils and gave an example of eucalyptus being one of the more irritating scents. They also recommended to fully understand the ingredients of the products you buy and their fragrances before lighting a candle when owning a cat or bird. You can view my list of ingredients under the ingredients section of my products here! Dogs, however, can apparently be a bit tougher and handle scented candles better than others (again, I invite you to challenge this and ask your vet as well).

I own a Shiba-Inu and because their breed suffers from allergies quite commonly I wanted to make sure I made candles that were safe for him to be around and breath. One major concern was for self-cleaning animals like cats and Shiba, minimizing soot is super important! My vet mentioned this because when a wick isn't trimmed properly and produces soot (which happens to all candles but some less than others and typically when it's not trimmed properly) the soot then settles on the ground and the animal can get it on their fur. When they go to self-clean these soot particles and debris get ingested and can cause health issues when frequently exposed.

 

Do yourself a favor and ask your Vet if you have any concerns. As always, don't take my word for gospel truth. Do your own digging and remember to always trim your wicks!  

 

I'm going to list all of the Faerine's Forge candle ingredients here, and whether they have been known to cause issues in our fur-baby companions. This information has been gathered both by calling the veterinarians in my area, my own personal experience as well as articles I've found online that I believe come from reputable sources. Of course, I always encourage you to do your own digging to understand ingredients and if they could cause potential harm to our loved ones. 

Let's start with the wax! Coconut wax is by far one of the most luxurious waxes out there! Let’s unpack that a little bit here. Coconut waxes are made from the coconut oil that is extracted from the meaty parts of a coconut after removing the outer shell. I can go more in depth about this process at a later time. Coconut waxes are typically blended with other natural fruit and/or vegetable waxes to achieve a solid form at room temperature. My wax is Coconut based which is then turned into a wax through hydrogenation! It’s said that the best kinds of waxes to burn around animals are naturally derived vegetable and fruit waxes like Coconut and Beeswax! When carefully cared for, these natural waxes produce less soot than other waxes which is a huge benefit for both humans and our companions! If you prefer to go vegan, choose vegetable and fruit waxes. Beeswax is not considered vegan for obvious reasons (made from bees). That’s why I choose to work with Coconut waxes and spent a long time to find the perfect supplier. Keep in mind if you don’t trim the wick properly with a trimmer at 1/8th an inch (which is very close to the wax for wooden wicks) it will soot more and your fragrance will burn off quicker. 

Wooden wicks are patented and exclusively made by one company; the original creator of the wooden wick Lumetique Inc. known as Makesy (formerly the Wooden Wick Co) They are the worldwide manufacturer of all wooden wicks! These wicks are untreated natural wood that are sourced and then forged into wicks in the United States. They are also FSC certified. An FSC certification is a standard that needs to be met for manufacturers to follow safe practices to ensure the forest and all animal/plant life is being well taken care of, as well as their workers and the environment. One of my favorite benefits when using a wooden wick is the minimal carbon buildup, debris and sooting! (Read the above paragraph about soot and self-cleaning animals to know why this was important to me) They barely soot when trimmed correctly and never mushroom, but the learning curve is they don’t self trim. This means if your burning a candle the wick will need trimming after 3-4 hours of use or it will potentially soot, burn the fragrance, get too hot and leave you with a not-so-great candle.

 

Wooden wicks are a fantastic option for people who want to be conscious of their animals health but they are a little high-maintenance and require using an actual trimmer. That's right, using your finger or nail clipper isn't best suited for this job!

 

Let’s be clear that these waxes! By themselves with no fragrance added they don’t produce enough emissions to be considered harmful. Here are a few research articles that you can view to gain an understanding of particle emissions produced by candle wax here, here and here. In all these studies, it is discovered that no wax burned particularly better than the other. Despite this, inhaling smoke in general is obviously not good for any person or pet. Please always light a candle in a well ventilated area and use a tool to reduce the amount of smoke when extinguishing the flame. Your pets will thank you. 

The biggest concern when considering the health of our fur-babies is fragrance and the emissions that come with burning candles that use fragrance oils and essential oils. The studies linked above will mention that candles without fragrances added have the lowest emissions and that no wax burned particularly better than another. So really, it all boils down to the fragrance we are using and not the wax. In these articles you'll even notice that even certain types fragrances produce different emissions than others. There are so many varying types of fragrance oils out there that are made with different kinds of chemicals, synthetic oils and even essential oils! Some may even be petroleum based, have phthalates, and other toxins that are considered carcinogenic. 

Not all natural components are good for you, not all synthetic components are bad for you. There are definitely brands out there that make more health-conscious synthetic fragrance oils (FO), so not every FO is considered equal. That doesn’t mean that all-natural fragrances are better for you and your pets or that it’s impossible to find a good synthetic oil. Quite the opposite actually. Sometimes synthetic oils can produce a cleaner burn! I bet this rouses some suspicion about fragrance and you’ might be feeling overwhelmed and wondering how to decide on what fragrances will be a good choice for you and yours. Luckily, before making a product that I plan on selling to the public I do as much digging into the safety data sheets of a fragrance as possible to determine its chemical components.  

Fun Fact! Another reason I do this much digging into my fragrances is because I live in California. Here we have the Cosmetic and Flavor Ingredient Right to Know Act of 2020 that requires people like myself selling fragrances to disclose to the public all the toxic fragrance ingredients above a specific threshold. We also have Prop 65: A regulation approved by California that requires my business to provide exposure warnings on whether a product contains a significant exposure to chemicals that cause birth defects, cancer, reproductive issues and other health hazards. This is not only a boon to you as a customer, but to any business that wants to create non-toxic candles because we can reference a list of harmful ingredients to avoid when producing our products! Yay! 

The fragrance / essential oils I use are carefully selected and are Prop65 Safe. Little trivia for you; My first collection of candles titled the "Cantrip Collection" is made of 30 fragrances! Yes, that means I had to dig through 30 different safety data sheets and email every single company about their adherence to Prop 65.

 

You can rest easy knowing that Faerine's Forge has your back with only the best ingredients in mind for you and your loved ones.

 

I spend hours meticulously emailing and searching for suppliers who adhere to these values, and I am not afraid to discontinue something if a supplier doesn't have the same expectations of their ingredients as I do. 

TLDR: If you're concerned about the pets in your home having adverse reactions to candles, please do the following: 

1. Call your Vet. Have them explain to you, as they did with me here, the risks that come with burning candles in your home. I say this because every animal reacts differently and some are more sensitive to fragrance, or even specific fragrances, than others (such as birds).  

2. After calling your Vet, find the website associated with the store you are interested in buying candles from and look at their FAQ or Description section. This section may provide information on their products and some companies who care about transparency even list their ingredients! Educate yourself on the toxic-ingredients that are harmful to your fur-babies and check to see if they mention being Prop65 safe, Toxic-free, Carcinogen-free, Phthalate-free, Cruelty-free or whatever it is that is meaningful to you and your values. On my website you can find product information here and in the product page itself under the "Ingredients" tab. 

3. If you can't find that information, I encourage you to email the company asking them about pet-safety with their products. Makers like myself get asked this question so often that it is one of the most googled questions about candles on the internet! They should have some answers, and if not... consider finding a more transparent company if that's what is in alignment with your values. Feel free to message me here and I'll be more than happy to answer all your questions to the best of my ability. 

Thank you for reading... See you around Adventurer! 

Please comment on this blog with a question or curiosity you have about Faerine's Forge or candle making to receive a special gift!

This blog was updated on 9/28/2022