Is Scentsy Non Toxic? (For You, Pets, and Environment)
Scentsy is a widely known home fragrance brand to improve your home smell. But there’s been confusion around whether their use of fragrance ingredients and wax are toxic and can cause respiratory problems. So, is Scentsy non toxic?
Let’s get into the breakdown.
What is Scentsy?
Scentsy is a popular brand that offers a wide range of fragranced products, including wax melts, warmers, diffusers, air fresheners, laundry detergents, room sprays, and more. However, one important question that many people have is whether Scentsy products are non-toxic. Their most popular product is the wax melt so let’s break down all the ingredients in this product.
Wax
Scentsy wax melts are made from food-grade paraffin wax. Right off the bat, we can tell Scentsy bars may not be good for you. Paraffin wax is derived from petroleum, coal, or oil shade which are ingredients that can have known carcinogens. When heated up, these toxic chemicals from the petroleum-based wax have the potential to cause cancer and skin irritation. Specifically, they create BTEX when burned (a combination of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene).
Benzene can directly affect the immune system and high levels of exposure to ethylbenzene can negatively impact the liver. Toluene can cause eye and nose irritation and xylene can affect the nervous system.
So in short, it’s not good to use paraffin wax. Instead, use non-toxic wax melts made with 100% natural soy wax, 100% beeswax, 100% coconut wax, or a blend of them. Make sure the blended types of wax do not contain paraffin. In fact, beeswax candles can even purify your air.
Electric Wax Warmers
Scentsy warmers use a low-watt bulb or a heating element to melt the wax cubes and release the fragrance. The warmers are designed to reach a temperature that is hot enough to melt the wax but not hot enough to cause burns or release harmful toxins into the air.
The benefit of using warmers instead of wicked candles is it’s sootless. When no soot is produced, there are fewer chances of causing eye, skin, and nose irritation. Soot also has the potential to negatively affect indoor air quality. Wickless candles are generally safer to use than wick candles because you don’t need to constantly watch over the scented candles with an open flame.
Regardless, since the wax melts are made with paraffin wax, they are still bad for your health and can cause respiratory issues.
Fragrance
There is not a clear list of ingredients listed for Scentsy’s wax melts so we can’t analyze the toxicity of their Scentsy’s oils.
The only information we found on their website is the following:
They state that their synthetic fragrances do not contain harmful Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) like formaldehyde, phthalates, parabens, mineral oils, and BPA. This is good news and while we can’t confirm it’s completely non-toxic because we don’t have the full ingredient list, it’s still a good sign the fragrances are safe to use.
However, the use of paraffin wax makes us disapprove of this product.
Are Scentsy Fragrances Toxic for Pets?
Scentsy fragrances contain a mix of both synthetic fragrances and natural fragrances which can be toxic for pets. When these synthetic ingredients get released into the air, it’s uncertain if it’s actually toxic to pets. But the real problem is when your pets accidentally ingest these synthetic oils.
Be careful when using these fragrances around small children as well.
Are Scentsy Diffusers Toxic?
Scentsy diffusers use a combination of water and essential oils to release fragrance into the air. As we explained above about the fragrances, Scentsy uses fragrances free from formaldehyde, harmful phthalates, and parabens, and doesn’t contain harmful VOCs. We don’t know the full ingredient list so we can’t say if it’s completely non-toxic.
Scentsy Certifications
The International Fragrance Association (IFRA) Compliance: Scentsy products comply with IFRA’s strict guidelines for the safe use of fragrances. IFRA is an international trade association that ensures the safety of fragrances used in consumer products.
Where are Scentsy products made?
Scentsy fragrance products are made in Meridian, Idaho.
So, Is Scentsy Non Toxic?
Does Scentsy have harmful chemicals? Ultimately, Scentsy uses fragrance ingredients that don’t contain toxic ingredients like formaldehyde, parabens, and phthalates. However, since we don’t have clarity on the entire ingredient list, there still could be some chemicals that are not good for human health.
One thing we do not recommend using is the wax melts because they contain paraffin wax which releases toxic chemicals when heated.
See our full guide on better non toxic wax melt alternatives.
That’s a wrap on the breakdown of whether Scentsy is a toxic fragrance brand! It’s clear that Scentsy is not the most toxic brand out there, but there are other home fragrance brands that are much more transparent with their ingredient list and are safer for you to use at home. Check out some of our posts below for better home fragrance alternatives with the highest quality scents.
For more non toxic fragrance guides, check out these posts!
