Phthalates are a group of chemicals that help make plastics more flexible and durable. They're also used in fragrance oils, and they're not the greatest for you and here's why.
Phthalates are esters of phthalic acid, and they're known as "plasticizers". The main offender within scented products is the phthalate used within fragrance oils: diethyl phthalate (DEP). DEP is put into the oils to help extend the aromatic strength by acting as a binding agent. Why exactly are these bad? Phthalate exposure can span a vast spectrum of health concerns and have been linked to asthma, ADHD, breast cancer, obesity, type II diabetes, neurodevelopmental issues and autism. Low exposure to these chemicals won't cause harm—but continued and high exposure can be dangerous. They've eveb been shown to cause reproductive development issues as well as obesity and type II diabetes, according to the CDC.
You may not be thinking about DEP when buying candles or cosmetics—but it's still widely used in products marketed towards consumers because it makes them last longer while keeping costs down. Our brand is made with naturally luxe ingredients like soy waxes, Shea butter and most importantly phthalate free fragrance oil blends. Ultimately, it's up to you to decide what you spend your money on, but we trust that you'll make an educated decision. When possible, we also recommend buying from companies like Embodied Peoples that use Phthalate-free fragrance oils. Consider what's important to you in a product, talk to those companies producing them, and do your research (if we've ever helped educate anyone on anything at the very least we've given you some place to start!)