A candle can burn your house down. A candle containing flammable materials is much more likely to burn your house down. I’ve seen candles with dried herbs, cinnamon sticks, flowers, glitter, random plastic items, etc. I don’t know who needs to hear this but these candles are not safe for burning. Truthfully, these candles should only be used as decor pieces but most of them do not come with a warning informing you of the dangers.
Is Glitter in Candles Safe?
No. Glitter is typically made from plastic and aluminum. It emits toxic fumes when burned. Why would you want to release smoke containing burnt plastic into your home? Glitter is also very flammable. This increases the fire hazard risk. I don’t care how pretty the glitter candle is. Avoid it!
Are Wine Glass Candles Safe?
I’ve seen upcycled wine glass candles. Are they cute? Yes. Is the glass heat-safe? Probably not. These can heat up to the point of cracking or exploding.
Candles should be made in containers with tempered glass. It’s stronger and safer than regular glass. Wine glasses tend to be made of a much weaker glass because your wine does not need to withstand high temperatures. But your candle does.
Not only do the candle ingredients need to be safe, but the candle container should be safe as well. My advice would be to avoid wine glass/cocktail glass candles not matter how cute they are.
Candlemakers have been sued for selling faulty candles
If you sell candles with foreign objects inside, please stop. You should buy insurance before you sell candles and most insurers will deny coverage if you’re selling candles with foreign objects inside. While insurance is yet another expense that you may want to avoid, lawsuits are more expensive.
If your candle injures someone or burns their house down, they can sue you. A candle company had to pay $750,000 to a man who was seriously injured by a candle made from gel wax, fragrance oil, and glitter. Arguments were made that either the fragrance load was too high or the gel wax was responsible for the fire. The highly flammable glitter likely did not help. Regardless of the culprit (or culprits), this was a poorly made candle for several reasons and someone had to pay the price. Walmart is also being sued by a woman alleging that their Mainstays candle line is dangerous after one exploded and left her with second degree burns.
The reason I don’t sell my candles is because I know that even with candle insurance, there’s a risk in selling literal fire hazards to people who you can’t guarantee will trim their wicks, burn for no more than 4 hours, and not leave the candle unattended. Fires can happen even with well made candles. So please be careful with candles that contain flammable items! The only thing that should go into a candle is wax, fragrance oil, dye, and sometimes additives like stearic acid or vybar. I know that the glitter candles may look pretty, but it’s not worth it.
If you buy candles with random non-wax items inside, please be careful. Use as decor only, but do not burn. Understand that if you choose to burn a candle like this, you’re taking a big risk.
Thank you for coming to my TED talk. 😬 Rant over.
