Scented candles are one of the best ways to add fragrance and aroma to any room or dwelling. Scented candles come in a large variety, including such pleasing fragrances as jasmine and coconut to lavender and vanilla. Most scented candles contain essential oils, which provide a pleasing fragrance when lit. The quantity and quality of the essential oil in the scented candle can differ widely depending on how the candle is made.

Merely by looking at a scented candle it can be difficult to detect what fragrance it contains. But when lit, the fragrance from a scented candle is unmistakable. Each unique fragrance in scented candles can provide different benefits. For example, a scented candle with jasmine is excellent for overcoming depression, stress, fatigue or apathy, while frankincense is good for slowing the breathing and creating a calming effect.

If essential oils are inhaled directly they can have a negative effect, therefore, their slow release from scented candles is a perfect and safe way to reap their benefits. Interestingly, the essential oils that are added to scented candles are not oily at all but rather the majority are light liquids that don't dissolve in water. Instead these essential oils evaporate instantly when exposed to the air when released from the scented candles they are put in.

Scented candles and aromatherapy are gaining more and more popularity among people looking for a natural way to enhance their lives. But don't think that scented candles didn't exist hundred of years ago. On the contrary, during the time of the great plague in London (1665), Londoners burnt scented candles of lavender, cedar and cypress in the streets as a defense of the infectious diseases ravaging the city. Even as far back as the ancient Egyptians and Romans, scented candles probably existed.