A lot of our customers, and potential customers, have pets so it is a fair question. We all want to know that we can enjoy great home fragrance without it affecting our loved ones.
Our wax melts are made from soy wax which is both vegan and cruelty free.
Does that make them safer for your pets than melts made with paraffin wax?
There is many a debate that one type of wax is safer for pets than the other, with most arguments being centred in favour of the type used. It is our view that the wax used doesn’t make much difference to pets but can make a difference in performance.
Melts made from paraffin wax have been known to release some toxins, that may be seen to be harmful to pets, but we’re not sure it’s ever been proven. They’re different to candles being burnt directly though they do release low levels of toxins but hardly at a level to be an issue.
Soy and beeswax are often seen to be better for pets but only (some) soy wax is vegan.
Soy wax does tend to perform much better though at fragrancing your home as it generally has a lower melting point and can hold good levels of fragrance. With the right blending technique, a good wax melt made with soy wax could out-perform its paraffin equivalent with ease.
So, if it isn’t the wax that can cause your pet issues, then what is it?
Fragrance…the ingredient that has potentially another 40 ingredients.
Not all fragrances are going to affect pets, and whilst some fragrance oils may affect some pets, it is no different to some fragrances affecting humans differently.
There is also an assumption that essential oils are better, because they’re natural, but a lot of them can have a greater respiratory affect than artificial ones that have been specifically designed for use in wax.
This is more of a factor when you consider a dog or cat has a sense of smell that is 300 times more sensitive than a human.
What do we use?
All of the Our Time fragrances are synthetic that have been designed specifically for use in wax. We have many customers that have pets, and none have reported any issues with their pets.
There are ingredients within our fragrances that will potentially affect pets more, such as cinnamal, linalool and geraniol being amongst some of the regular fragrance allergens. That’s not to say they will be affected as even though these allergens are declarable on pack they are often in very small percentages.
As for essential oils, there are 14 of them that should be kept away from your dog or cat, many of which they could be highly sensitive to.
But, as we said before...pets, like humans, are all different.
What is our advice?
Our advice to any pet owners, that use any scented product, is to keep rooms well-ventilated and allow pets to leave the room if they want to. A dog/cat would choose to leave the room if they were affected, and the scent was making them feel uncomfortable. If you notice they leave the room when you light up your favourite candle then it may be time to find a new favourite.
When it comes to pets, we’re not professing to be experts, but we do clearly state all declarable sensitisers on pack, and on our website, to keep you as informed as possible prior to, and after, your purchase.
If you have any specific questions about our fragrances then please contact us via our website or via email.