Why People are OBSESSED with Scented Candles

today it is not uncommon for people to buy candles with scents like frozen lake or snowy Peach Berry or butterfly apparently scented candles have been growing in popularity and as they have it is brought into question just what these things are actually made of and what that means for the people who are burning them inside of their houses now before you say that this doesn't matter because who the hell cares about candles let me blow your mind in 2022 Bath and Body Works made an average of $3 million per store they sell a lot of weird stuff but they sell a hell of a lot of candles they've even made candle binges a thing and they have novelty candles and weird scented candles and it's just it's just weird and I don't know how I feel about it hi nice to meet you I'm Melody I'm the editor of this video and I'm here because yes I used to work at Bath and Body Works I can confidently say Bath and Body Works pushes an insane consumerism lifestyle our biggest sale of the year was always candle day this is when grown women would line up outside the store before we opened with shopping carts and crates and end up leaving with like 30 plus 3E candles which is just insane no I only worked in a small town Canadian location not even the us and we would sometimes average $30,000 a day so if you're wondering if it's true yeah you can't escape the bath and body work sales but Melody's testimonial isn't the end of it people are absolutely obsessed with BBW candles and YouTube has tons of content for the people who can't get enough it's because when you burn it it smells like creamy couches and menopause you know like a Nancy Meers movie four stars there there's entire subreddit threads devoted to showing off candle collections of like 50 or more in a single house there are actual Bath and Body Works addicts but in our Research into this we learned that this isn't even the craziest part because scented candles are sketchy as hell now for all of you candle noobs like myself a candle is really just a fuel wax and the wick back in the good old days we used Tallow and just dump it on a string and make a basic candle out of it but that is not what is going to sell to white ladies at the mall if you are going to sell anything in the 21st century you have to make it more complicated and you have to give the Shoppers more choice so today you are not just choosing between Tallow or beeswax but between champagne toast and frosted coconut snowball and flannel I didn't even know that that there was a smell for flannel but in a weird sort of way way I feel like I do know what flannel smells like maybe that's the point maybe I'm starting to appreciate Candles now at the time of writing the script Bath & Body Works alone had 119 different 3-wick candles listed on their website candles which are apparently being constantly updated to suit each Possible season or situation or Sensation that you might be looking for what you'll notice about these options though is that none of them focus on what the candle is actually made of because we are so far beyond just the Tallow and string thing at this point in the world of cheap candles it is all about the scent but there is a lot more to a candle than just how pumpkin spicy it smells on a coffee table first of all we need to address the elephant in the room which is the health claims there is an intuition here that has gone around that there is something intuitively concerning about breathing in fumes from something whose label looks like this especially when it's something that smells so obviously synthetic right right I'm not alone here in thinking this but before you bring out your pitchforks and get ready in the comments section yes I do in fact understand that just because you can't pronounce a particular ingredient or any of the ingredients on this list does not make it something that is inherently unhealthy so we got our writing team to do some dirty digging on it that's why we have writers who do all this research so that I look smart now of course scented candles function by releasing fumes into the air so there is a common concern that paraffin which is one of the most common candle ingredients which also happens to be a petroleum byproduct could end up in our lungs and be potentially carcinogenic people usually cite a study conducted at South Carolina State University to support this claim which found toxic chemicals in paraffin wax candles that could potentially be harmful if inhaled however that's been contested by both the national candle Association and the Journal of regulatory toxicology and pharmacology both of which found that levels of fragrances from Malahide and Benzene were well in the air quality exposure limits which are set by the W and yes apparently there is a national candle Association that is doing its own research to defend the right for you to smell bubbly Rosé whenever you like so there's a lot to take in there then there is the issue of soot you know that nasty black stuff that can build up when a candle isn't quite burning quite as cleanly as you would want it to and that can contain a number of carcinogens as well which might sound scary if you just forget completely about the fact that practically all of us drive cars breathe in soot when we cook up a stir fry or whatever and in general are in a pretty much constant state of exposure to way greater doses of petroleum fumes and a whole bunch other stuff that you don't want to inhale who would have thought that it would be so hard to find reliable sources on candles and it turns out that it's even harder to figure out who was funding them and how reliable they they were anytime that we look into a subject for a video we try to make our sources as accurate and as unbiased as possible and that's why I like using ground news it's an app and a website that compiles news from all over the world onto one platform and it shows additional context that mainstream media doesn't like how factual the reporting practices are and even who owns each publication which can explain their motives for framing a specific story in a certain way we found out through this story that people have been retail shopping more than what was expected now because ground news offers access to a diverse range of local and international Publications this story was highlighted with over 70 sources covering the topic predominantly leaning towards the center I think it's really cool to be able to see these differences for example a right leaning Source like the Tennessee SAR said sales Rose despite unexpected decline in cont to a left leaning Source like Japan today which stated Americans hit gas not breaks on shopping same story but different perspectives on spending depending on where you get your news from I think what ground news is doing is really important and it's basically what we're also trying to do here at Future proof help people make informed decisions and practice critical thinking every step of the way plus they are based in Canada just like us so that's pretty awesome you can check them out at ground. news/ future proof you can subscribe for as little as a dollar a month or take advantage of their 40% off holiday sale for the Vantage plan to get unlimited access through our Link in the description a huge thank you to ground news for sponsoring today's video so by and large it seems that the medical community isn't all that concerned about candles of any scent when used under normal circumstances maybe that's because they have more interesting and important things to be researching but maybe they're just not that bad and of course we do need to disclaimer that this is talking about like the general population obviously if you have allergies or some other medical concerns then this would affect you differently and if you lock yourself in a closet with no ventilation and 100 candles all lit up at once you may experience some issues it does seem wild though that even amongst the Sea of misinformation that you can find online today that we could find hardly any information on candles as a health concern even from like the natural path side of things and you know that community's always got something to be mad about so in a sense that should really be the end of the video right but no because we've learned in the researching of this that there is a battle waging about what to make candles out of see the thing is it actually doesn't matter whether or not the candles are slowly killing you it just matters that people think that they might be and so we have three main candle materials that make up the the vast majority of all candles sold today which is paraffin soy and Beeswax paraffin is the number one candle material used today and that's because it's cheaper than all the other options so if you're buying anything that's not a really fancy expensive candle you're buying something that has mostly paraffin or has some paraffin blend in it and we're going to get into the blending thing in a second Beyond cost it's also likely that all scented candles contain paraffin because it holds all those yummy flavors really well in it for your winter cuddle puddle that you need to have cinnamon toast scented for some reason you can just tell that I don't understand the scented candle thing at all good not great but like most petroleum based products it works really well but it comes with some concerns we are the organic generation increasingly concerned with both our health and the the planet and a petroleum byproduct is anything but organic and so therefore it is hated enter soy our number two material soy has all of the millennial proplanet buzzwords going for it it's plant-based it's renewable and if you throw in the organic label it's a triple wangy the appeal is so obvious right modern soy wax has only been around for a few decades and yet today it seems like it's in every other candle made case closed we found the Savior the candle's fine we can all move on except the thing that you have to understand about soy is that on its own it doesn't make good candles after a quick Gander onto the candlemaker subreddit we have learned that there are some frustrations of soy feel like we're having an intervention here sounds like soy is just not as stable to work with as paraffin and even more of an issue I've heard that soy doesn't have a very good scent throw yeah not a very good scent throw with the soy based candles I had to look up sent throw I mean I kind of knew what it meant but scent throw means like it doesn't have the ability to like hold the scent as well as paraffin does for whatever reason now to add on to this there is multiple steps involved in transforming soybean oil into a usable wax including sometimes quite often adding paraffin wax so you have all these eco-conscious consumers flocking to soy candles as an alternative to paraffin and it turns out that the candles are still mostly made up of the thing that they were trying to avoid in the first place and here's the thing we have seen soy as a category doing some really heavy lifting for the eco-friendly and sustainability greenwashing of a lot of products today while it might be better than some Alternatives in some cases the reality is soy is a massively overproduced crop responsible for enough Acres of deforestation to take up the combined areas of the Netherlands Belgium France and Germany combined that's not to mention the habitat loss destruction of ecosystems impact on soil water and human rights violations associated with it like I don't want to bog us down too much in that but saying that something is soy and therefore it's good is not you can't just like it's not it Just that's not how it works so if we're looking for candles that aren't made from petroleum byproducts or soy we're left with a few others there's no others it's beeswax beeswax is the other option beeswax candles are commonly sold unscented and undyed though you can die and add fragrance to them but arguably how well in comparon into paraffin is debatable amongst the redditors some people like to say that beeswax candles purify the air even though there is absolutely no scientific backing to that claim whatsoever even so they're kind of the superior candle they even have a longer burn time than soy and paraffin and by and large the environmentalist community supports the use of beeswax candles mainly because they're biodegradable and they're a renewable resource that can help support B populations and promote diversity if it is harvested sustainably which is like a really big if there the big kicker though here which I'm sure you already saw coming is that beeswax candles are crazy expensive and paraffin and soy wax are very cheap but Soy paraffin beeswax ear wax or snot bubbles aside whatever you're making your candles with it it doesn't matter there is a thing that this whole conversation is just missing and it is absolutely maddening we learned that there is actually no mandatory Federal labeling requirements for Candles there is an industry standard to test candles according to ASM standards but those mostly regulate flammability like like flame height and the stability of it and whatnot candles aren't a food or a drug of any kind so they're not going to be tested and monitored by the Food and Drug Administration so as a result we have huge companies making millions of dollars like Bed Bath and Body Works what the is the name of this company as a result we have companies like bath and body Bed Bath and is it Bed Bath and Body Works as a result we have companies like BBW being pretty shady about their processes cuz they're just not legally obligated to explain what they mean by things like proprietary fragrance wax blend does that not seem a little crazy to you like like you can make a candle scented something stupid like dorm room burpees and you can sell it online and not have to explain yourself even a little bit but hey you know what apparently that doesn't matter because you know what people don't give a no they just don't they want a nice smelling candle Levi and they want you to stop making a fuss about it if you're buying candles from places like Bath and Body Works and other cheaper candle suppliers I don't know where they are you can say with pretty high certainty that they don't give a sure their customer care site does say that their candles are made of a soy blend wax but their chief goal is not to create a superior candle that's good for you in the planet it's to turn a profit and they are very very good at it hi welcome I'm sure that Bath & Body Works sells a decent candle generally but they don't have a cult following for their quality but because they know how to sell a good deal if you go to their website right now I can almost guarantee that they'll have some sort of buy one get one free sale or a new set of seasonal things or a special something or other that smells like the color of the sky or something detailed dream talks about this more but the whole business model reeks of fast fashion right you're not meant to walk in take your time and choose one carefully crafted scent that you'll love for hours you're meant to feel a certain kind of pressure to get that sale in The Limited Editions or to just gather it up as much as you can while the sale is there right and here's the thing obviously I'm not a big candle guy myself I hate the smell of synthetic bergamont or whatever but there is a lot of people who get sucked into this stuff I think people are addicted to scented candles because smell is a very powerful sense associated with memory when you light a candle with a certain smell it can remind you of home or to relax or of your ex and the scented candle industry knows that this is powerful and they are selling you the feeling that the label promises which sadly never really pans out we we found more than one comment of people saying that the thing with Bath and Body Works is that their cheap prices get a bit of a choke hold on people and from my perspective doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose for me a Noob on the outside of this culture not understanding what's all about wouldn't burning a candle be something special or even ceremonial you know nowadays because like we have indoor lighting you don't you don't need it to see maybe we use those candle moments to burn something that's really nice and contributes to a feeling that isn't necessarily written on the front of the jar and if you're a really big candle nerd I'm sure you know this better than me but there is definitely a local Candle Maker somewhere in your area or a brand that shares your values and that's a little more transparent about what ingredients they use and why so if you are addicted to buying candles then please consider buying ones that give you a little bit more Assurance about what is actually going up into the air that you inevitably breathe in and bed and bath body works or whatever the it's called is it Bed Bath and Beyond and Bed and Body Works bath bath and body works Bed Bath and Beyond Bed Bed Bath and Beyond Body Works Beyond if you made it through this video thank you for watching subscribe to see more every single week [Music] no

Channel: Future Proof

Views: 256,390

Keywords: scented candle, bath and body works, bath and body works candles, bbw candles, bbw champagne toast bbw, bbw, bbw leaves, bbw flannel, bbw marshmallow fireside, scented candles, candle, candles, beeswax candle, soy candle, paraffin wax, wax candle, candle wax, beeswax, scent, fragrance, candle fragrance, future proof, future proof candle, review, candle review

Id: 1LKkjJNBoss

Length: 18min 5sec (1085 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 27 2023