PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Alyssa Sena loves scented candles. But she found lighting them in her home was aggravating her asthma. 

 

So she set to work to find a healthier option for herself, and her home. 

 

"I realized how bad they are for you and the paraffin and how harmful it is to your lungs, and I have asthma, and I've always had issues with that," she said. "And apparently, the candles were contributing to it, which I didn't know. So I kind of started test playing around with the idea of making my own."

 

Sena has been making candles from home for about two years, trying out recipes and wicks that would also not leave sooty residue on walls and cabinets. 

 

The result is the newly opened Holmes Candle Co., named after the street she lives on. It sells hand-poured, 100 percent soy candles that Sena described as paraben- and phthalate-free. Other products include wax melts, car air fresheners, room and linen sprays, perfumes, and home décor.

 

Sena said she taught herself to make candles by testing different ratios.

 

"I researched and tested for probably a year and a half to two years before I launched. Because it's as weird as it sounds. I feel like people think you just buy some wax, dump some oil in it, put it in a jar, call it a day," Sena said. "But there's actually a science behind it.