Scented candle or diffuser: what is the difference for the air in the room?

The central difference lies in combustion: a scented candle heats paraffin, waxes and fragrance substances and partly burns them. A diffuser with cold-air diffusion distributes the fragrance oil without combustion and without heat. What that means for the air in the room is explained by Yannick Fehr, room-scent expert at Aromadream.

What happens with a scented candle

"With scented candles, paraffin is heated, and fragrance substances and waxes are partly burned. This can produce fine particulate matter, soot and other combustion products," says Fehr. How much of that reaches the air in the room cannot be stated in general terms: "Depending on the candle and how it burns, these emissions can vary considerably."

The candle therefore remains a mood object with an open flame, whose emissions differ from product to product.

What happens with cold-air diffusion

For Fehr, the assessment begins with the quality of the fragrance oils: they have to be formulated to the applicable IFRA standards for the respective use. Aromadream fragrance oils comply with these standards.

On the technology he says: "With cold-air diffusion, the fragrance is distributed without combustion. As a result, there are none of the typical combustion products that arise with scented candles, for example." The scent diffuser atomises the oil with cold air into a fine mist; there is no flame, no heat and no soot. You set the intensity via the app or directly on the device, from the compact Diffuser Smart for small to medium rooms to the Nova for areas up to 130 m².

There is no blanket answer

Asked which is "more harmful", Fehr deliberately answers with nuance: "The actual exposure depends on the fragrance substance, the concentration, the dosage, the room size and the ventilation." We therefore make no health judgement. What can be stated is the technical difference: with cold-air diffusion there is no combustion, and dosage and running times are controlled precisely on the device instead of depending on the candle and how it burns.

Practical differences in everyday use

• Control: The scented candle burns until it is put out. A scent diffuser runs on a schedule and at a set intensity level.
• Consistency: The candle's scent changes as it burns down. The atomised fragrance oil stays the same for as long as there is oil in the tank.
• Open flame: In commercial settings (hotel, shop, office) the candle is usually ruled out for fire-safety reasons anyway.

Compare for yourself

Choose one of the eight Swiss fragrance creations in the fragrance oils collection and a device from the fragrance devices collection. Questions are answered by our team on WhatsApp at +971 55 335 4787 or via the contact page.

About the author: Yannick Fehr is a room-scent and scent-marketing expert with more than ten years in room scenting, first with Airdream, now with Aromadream. He accompanies scenting projects for hotels, retail and offices in Switzerland. Aromadream is a Swiss brand; its fragrance creations are developed and produced in Switzerland (aromadream.ch). AromaDream Dubai brings the range to the UAE.