Last Updated on January 8, 2022 by The Filtery Staff
Wax melts can be a warm, fragrant way to scent your home without an open flame, which is why many people with pets and/or small children might choose wax melts instead of candles.
But wax melts come with many of the same problems candles do—they can be made with not-so-eco-friendly materials along with toxic chemicals that contribute to indoor air pollution.
Although there are many different brands that sell natural, organic, and non-toxic candles, safe wax melts are harder to find! But don’t worry: we’ve done the research for you and are serving you the best natural and safe wax melts (that also smell amazing).
Featured image credit: Fontana Candle Co.
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Which Wax is Healthiest?
When it comes to candles and wax melts, you have a few different options for the type of wax:
- Paraffin
- Soy
- Coconut
- Beeswax
- “Vegetable” waxes (which can be from any kind of plant, not just actual vegatables)
- Blends
Soy, coconut, and beeswax tend to be the healthiest types of wax, and each has its pros and cons. Paraffin wax (which is a petroleum-derivative) is the worst for human and environmental health (although it’s unfortunately the most widely used by conventional candle companies).
When it comes to blends, it can go either way. We often see candle companies like Bath & Body Works using “wax blends,” but without disclosing what that blend ACTUALLY includes. A candle company might label a product as made with a “soy wax blend,” which leads the consumer to think it’s a soy candle when it actually includes just as much paraffin. This is a form of greenwashing.
In other words, sometimes wax blends are non-toxic and sometimes they aren’t. So just make sure you buy from a brand that is transparent about what waxes are included… And stick with soy, coconut, and/or beeswax when possible.
You can read more about the different types of wax in our full guide to non-toxic candles right here.
What About the Fragrance Oils?
The other main thing to consider when buying wax melts is fragrance ingredients. The problem with “fragrances” is that there is a loophole in U.S. law that basically allows companies to hide a number of different chemicals (almost 4,000 of them!) on their ingredient lists under the word “fragrance” or “parfum.” Many of these chemicals are perfectly safe, while others are known carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, and allergens. The problem is that you basically have no way of knowing.
That’s why we recommend brands that disclose the specific fragrance ingredients used in their candles and wax melts.
To read more about this “fragrance loophole,” you can check out this article.
Where to Get Safe, Organic, and Non-Toxic Wax Melts
As you may have already discovered in your search, non-toxic and organic wax melts are actually kind of hard to find!
But, we’ve managed to find several great brands for you to try out! All of these wax melts are not only free from things like paraffin and phthalates, but they’re also free from other kinds of toxic chemicals that are often hidden in candles and fragrances.
Fontana Candle Co.
Most of Fontana Candle Co.’s candle scents can also be bought as wax melt cubes. These MAFE SAFE certified wax melts are made with beeswax, coconut oil, and natural essential oils… And free from any petroleum byproducts, stabilizers, fragrance oils, or harmful dyes. They’re all handmade in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
Essentially Charlie
Available in a wide variety of scents like “Radiant,” “Wonder,” and “Clarity,” these eco-friendly wax melts are made with raw beeswax, coconut oil, and pure essential oils. In addition to using them in the wax burner, you can also use them as a moisturizing body bar or massage lotion!
Basic Bee Candle Co.
Basic Bee Co.’s natural wax melts are made especially for those who are sensitive to synthetic fragrances. They’re handmade with 100% unaltered yellow beeswax, organic coconut oil, and pure essential oils.
Oremus Homegoods
These wax melts are made with all organic ingredients, including a blend of yellow beeswax and coconut oil with essential oils.
Where To Get a Wax Warmer
If you don’t already have a wax warmer, you’ll want to look for heat-safe materials like ceramic. There are a lot of different wax warmers on the market of various aesthetics and sizes – so you should be able to find one that fits well with your space!
You can shop wax warmers from the following shops:
- Fontana Candle Co.
- Happy Wax (Happy Wax also carries a wide variety of wax melts. They are not completely free of synthetic fragrance oils, but they are phthalate-free and paraffin-free.)
- Bed Bath & Beyond
- Target
D.I.Y. Your Own Natural & Non-Toxic Wax Melts
You may consider making your own wax melts instead. Here are a few recipes you can try out:
Are Scentsy Wax Melts Toxic?
If you’ve never used their products before, you’ve likely at least hear of the popular brand, Scentsy. Their wax bars, which come in a looooot of different scents, are one of their signature products. But are they safe? Let’s look at some of the pros and cons of Scenty’s products:
PROS:
- They’re made in Idaho, USA.
- They’re free from BPA, gluten, lead, egg, and formaldehyde. (Although, almost all candles and wax melts are free from most of these ingredients.)
CONS:
- Overall, Scentsy is not very transparent about the ingredients they use.
- Scentsy uses paraffin wax.
- While not all of Scenty’s scent bars contain phthalates, some of them do.
- Scentsy uses a lot of synthetic fragrances. Most of these ingredients are not listed transparently on the product pages, but we did manage to find some scent bars with fragrance ingredients listed (like this one, for example). Unfortunately, this list contains many toxic ingredients like aldehydes, ethoxylated ingredients, butylated ingredients, and more. It’s worth noting that many of the fragrances listed are on MADE SAFE’s Banned List.
- While the finished products are not tested on animals, Scentsy cannot say whether or not all of the ingredients used are vegan and/or cruelty-free.
Since they use paraffin wax and various toxins in their synthetic fragrance oils, Scentsy wax malts cannot be considered non-toxic.
What About Other Popular Brands?
We’ve investigated the ingredients in several other popular fragrance brands, and… unfortunately, none of them can be considered non-toxic. Most of them use synthetic fragrance oils, paraffin wax and wax “blends,” and artificial dyes. You can follow the following links to learn more about the ingredients used by these brands:
If there are any other fragrance brands you’re wondering about, just let us know in the comments below and we’ll investigate!
Conclusion
There aren’t a ton of completely non-toxic and/or organic wax melts on the market, but we did find a few brands which you can feel safe about using in your home!
Can you tell me about FARM RAISED wax melts? What do they use, and are they safe.
Hi Jeanne,
It looks like they use paraffin-free soy wax mixed with some natural/essential oils along with some synthetic oils in a few of their products. It’s unclear if these synthetic oils are phthalate-free, Prop 65 compliant, and/or allergen-free, so you may want to reach out to them and ask for some clarification!
Can you tell me what you know about “Spiritual Kids” candles?
Hi Allison,
Looking at their candles on Etsy, I have some questions about their ingredients. It looks like they use soy, but I would want to know if they use 100% soy or if it’s a soy blend. It also looks like although they do use essential oils for their fragrances, they ALSO use other fragrance oils, so I would want to know more about what exactly those ingredients are and whether or not they are explicitly free from things like phthalates.
would love for you to check pink zebra as it is truly the best. I’ve seen out there.
Hi there,
It looks like although Pink Zebra does use some soy, they also use paraffin in their blends, which is not great. I also can’t find where they list their fragrance ingredients, nor anything that says they’re free from EDCs like phthalates.
How non toxic are the wax melts or candles from Goose Creek company. I just started buying them and I am looking for a healthier candle.
Thank you for the input.
Hi Cindy,
Unfortunately, it looks like Good Creek doesn’t give any info about the ingredients in their candles (either the type of wax or the fragrances), so we can’t recommend them. Looking at their personal care products (like lotion), they do have a “banned list” which includes things like phthalates… However, it looks like they do use other not-great ingredients like DMDM hydantoin, BHT, & undisclosed fragrance.