Create a Warm Home with Holidays Scents

Home Sweet Home for the Holidays...

By: Ashleigh Stewart, Contributing Writer

Enjoying the holidays can be an experience for all senses--sight, taste, touch, hearing and smell. When we consider the scents of the holidays many of them are created from artificial air fresheners, fragrances and decorative candles. Surprisingly, these products can emit toxins into the air that we breathe in our home causing adverse health effects.

Many of you reading may have already made the effort to keep your home clean by choosing products that are labeled as 'green' or 'organic'. However, these products may still include fragrance as one of the ingredients. It has been reported that less than 10% of volatile ingredients are typically disclosed on air fresheners--conventional and organic--in an effort to protect fragrance formulations.

We are not only exposed to these volatile chemicals when air fresheners, candles and fragrances are in use. But, the toxins can latch onto the particles of our furniture, carpeting and even our furry friends leading to prolonged and harmful exposure.

The chemicals present in these products can lead to health concerns such as difficulty breathing, infant illness, mucosal symptoms, asthma attacks, and migraine headaches. Fragrances also include phthalates. Phthalates are a hormone-disrupting chemical that has been linked to cases of breast cancer and low sperm count.

So, this holiday season, choose simple, natural ingredients to spruce up your home such as spices, fruits, pure essential oils and herbs.

One of our favorite essential oil holiday blends includes rosemary, peppermint and sweet orange. You may even be able to find a pre-blended holiday essential oil set from your favorite carrier. These are incredible to diffuse throughout the day to spread the holiday spirit!