soapsandscents

Nine Reasons Wax Melts Beat Out Candles Every Time

Are you looking for ways to keep your home smelling great, but getting tired of how quickly candles seem to disappear? Wax melts are a great alternative to burning candles. They’re safer, less expensive and last longer. Here are the best reasons to use wax melts instead of candles in your home:

  • Longer burn time: How long your candles burn depends on a lot of things, including the type and quantity of wicks, size, fragrance oil, wax type and more. Generally speaking, wax melts burn longer than candles—you can usually get about 28 hours per ounce, whereas candles offer about five hours per ounce on average.
  • Less expensive: Not only do wax melts last longer, they’re also a lot less expensive—especially when you factor in that extended burn time. Assuming you choose an average $20, 60-hour candle, you’re paying about 33 cents per hour to burn. Wax melts, on the other hand, cost about six cents per hour. That’s quite a difference.
  • Safer to use: Unattended candles are one of the top causes of home fires. Candles can get knocked over by kids or curious pets, among other easy ways to accidentally harm yourself and your home. In contrast, an electric wax warmer safely melts the wax to release the fragrance, with no open flame needed.
  • Convenient: Since there’s no open flame involved, wax melts are a lot more convenient and easier to use. Bring your electric wax warmer to work, or safely use it around children and pets. There’s no need for a lighter or matches, either.
  • Less likely to contain harmful chemicals: Paraffin candles can contain harmful chemicals, including benzene. Benzene is a carcinogen, which means that it may cause cancer. If you do opt for candles, make sure they’re made of soy wax instead of paraffin, which is derived from petroleum.
  • No soot involved: Since you won’t use a flame, there’s also no chance of soot ending up on your walls, ceilings or fingers. (It’s also better not to breathe in soot.)
  • Stronger fragrance: Candles can only use a limited amount of fragrance oil, or they risk wick explosions. Since wax melts don’t require an open flame, they can withstand a much stronger fragrance load. You’ll use less to achieve the same effect.
  • Customize your scents: Another great reason to use wax melts is that it allows you to customize your scents. Maybe you want a citrus and vanilla combination, or specific herbal and spicy fragrances. Mix and match your wax melts to make your own signature blend.
  • Better for the environment: Finally, wax melts significantly reduce the amount of waste you produce when you use candles. Even one 16-ounce candle per month can add over 20 pounds of glass waste to the landfills.

To buy your own wax melts, or to learn about the aromatherapy benefits of wax melts, stop by Soaps & Scents or browse online today. With over 25 years’ experience making beautiful handmade soaps and more, we’re sure you’ll love our selection.

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soapsandscents

Can Bath Bombs Eliminate Bacterial Infections?

Bath bombs are a fun and fizzy way to make your time in the bath more like a spa experience. The colorful, frothy addition to your self-care routine comes in a range of scenes, colors and effects. Made from hard-packed mixtures of products, bath bombs fizz and dissolve into frothy bubbles when dropped in the bath. They are extremely popular with both adults and children, and for good reason!

Many people just enjoy the relaxing scents and bubbles they bring, but bath bombs can bring more than aromatherapy. Some people who love using bath bombs might be concerned about bath bombs and bacterial infections, or yeast infections and bath bombs’ effects on their vaginal health. On the other hand, you might also wonder if it’s possible to eliminate vaginal infections with bath bombs. Here are some things to know about bath bombs before taking the plunge into your tub.

What are bath bombs made of?

Most bath bombs are made with a combination of baking soda and citric acid, which neutralize each other when mixed with water. That’s never all they contain, however. Most bath bombs contain dyes and fragrances of one kind or another. Some contain talc. Some are made with more natural ingredients than others, but even natural ingredients can irritate your skin if you happen to be more sensitive. Some flashier versions that are marketed to younger girls even include glitter!

Are bath bombs safe?

Anyone who suffers from yeast infections is bound to wonder how a new bath product like bath bombs might affect them. Bath bombs and bacterial infections could also be a concern. The main way a bath bomb might negatively affect you is by irritating sensitive skin. If you are sensitive to the ingredients in a particular bath bomb, you might suffer from redness, itching or rash, and the irritation might even last after you are out of the tub. If you’re wondering about eliminating vaginal infections with bath bombs, you’re right that bath bombs can affect a woman’s vaginal pH balance.

How to safely enjoy bath bombs

The most important thing to remember when using bath bombs is to watch out for skin irritation and get out of the tub if you notice negative effects. Each person will interact with bath bombs differently. A great way to safely enjoy a frothy, fizzy, fun bath time is to know what bath bombs work for you. Check the ingredients and make sure to use bath bombs made with ingredients that don’t irritate your skin. You can also test bath bombs you’re not sure about by rubbing them on your skin before a bath. You should also rinse off in the shower after enjoying a bath bomb-infused soak in the tub.

Where to get bath bombs

If you’re interested in adding bath bombs to your beauty and relaxation routine, be sure to shop at Soaps & Scents. Just drop one of our bath bombs into your tub as it finishes filling up and, within seconds, you’ll start to see (and smell) the wonderful difference it brings to the experience!

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soapsandscents

The Case for Using Cruelty-Free Soap

It’s amazing that animal testing is still an issue in 2021. You’d think that the days of testing beauty products and soaps on defenseless animals would be over by now. But according to Cruelty Free International, there are still more than 115 million animals being used in testing throughout the world every single year. There’s just no excuse for companies that won’t commit to making cruelty-free soap and continue to test animals when there are so many advantages of cruelty-free soap. If you’re not familiar with the benefits of vegan soap, here are some reasons to commit to purchasing cruelty free.

Animal testing is cruel

Rabbits, dogs, cats and more are subjected to completely inhumane conditions when they’re used as product testing subjects. Not only are they confined to tiny cages, they are subjected to tests that can maim, blind and even kill them. These animals are basically brought into the world to suffer and live in fear. One of the advantages of cruelty-free soap is that you aren’t participating in harming animals. If you choose to use vegan soap, it’s one way that you can stand up for defenseless creatures and say no to animal testing.

There are so many alternatives for testing

When it comes to making soap, there is just no reason you need to rely on animal testing to make sure your product is safe. There are now countless alternatives to animal testing for determining if a product will be harmful or have negative health effects for human beings. With methods ranging from cultured cell tissue tests to computer models, you can test products without harming animals. There are also more than 7,000 cosmetic ingredients that are considered safe and approved for use already! Companies are free to make their products with ingredients that don’t even need to be tested, so there is really no reason animal testing should still be going on in this industry.

Cruelty-free soap is everywhere

Animal testing used to be much more ubiquitous, but now there is really very little excuse for buying soap that has been tested on animals. If you know how and where to look, you should be able to find countless soaps that are cruelty free. To know if a soap or other beauty product is made cruelty free, you should look for the Leaping Bunny logo. The Leaping Bunny is an internationally recognized symbol that the ingredients in a product were not tested on animals.

Shop small and local

If you’re looking for responsible, cruelty-free soap, be sure to shop at Soaps & Scents. We’ve been making soap bars the old-fashioned way for more than two decades. It all starts with a blend of saponified olive, coconut and palm kernel oils. To that blend are added shea butter, essential oils, fragrance oils and natural colorants for beautiful, cruelty-free soap that you can feel good about using. For more information about our selection of products and how we make them, please reach out or visit us today.

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