Hi everyone, I have recently started up a business selling my handmade candles. I am concerned about the chemicals in the fragrance oils in my home. The only fragrance oils I will use are CandleScience Clean Scents because they claim those are free from acute toxins, mutagens, carcinogens, etc. I have read horror stories on these craft forums about people who have had lung infections, pneumonia, dry coughs, sinus infections, you name it from making candles. If these fragrance oils can cause all that, then why isn't there a HUGE warning label on candle making kits that say DO NOT INHALE FRAGRANCE VAPORS WHEN MAKING YOUR CANDLES? Also, I have read the MSDS for CandleScience fragrance oils and they say not to inhale the vapors for a prolonged period of time, but then another reputable company, P & J Trading, has MSDS that say "this material does not present a hazard if inhaled." What is CandleScience putting in their fragrance that makes it dangerous to inhale the vapors? Which by the way, I thought the whole point of fragrance was to be inhaled in order to smell it.....
I am working under a homemade fume hood but the vapors sometimes escape and I can smell the fragrance. I try to wear a respirator for organic vapors, but it is cumbersome and takes the joy out of making candles. I made a few batches without any ventilation before and had no breathing/sinus issues until I started reading people's respiratory horror stories online on these craft forums. Am I being a hypochondriac or what? Maybe those people just have allergies and they are reacting to certain fragrance oils, but since they work with so many they can't pinpoint which one it is? I mean if fragrance oils cause health issues, then the people walking around Yankee Candle factory should, by that logic, be dropping like flies. Their factories have 1,000s of lbs of heavily fragranced wax with people walking around like it's nothing.