‘I literally have lung problems now’: Ex-Bath & Body Works employee shares things you may need to know as a consumer

A self-proclaimed former Bath & Body Works employee has gone viral after sharing some of her insider secrets from her time working at the company.

In a clip with over 2.9 million views, TikTok user Dia (@youkickedmydog) offers several statements that have TikTok users questioning their purchases from the popular chain.

To start, she addresses the idea that candles from the store explode. This is true, she claims.

“The candles do indeed explode and more often than you would think,” Dia writes in the text overlaying her video. 

Next, she addresses concerns about “wallflowers.” These are products from the store that release aromas consistently while being plugged into an outlet. These can cause issues, the TikToker claims.

“If you use wallflowers, the liquid doesn't just magically disappear, it goes in your walls and can cause a fire,” she states. This idea has been previously mentioned on TikTok.

Following that, the TikToker offers her view on the company’s body care products, writing, “all the body care has extremely harsh and dangerous chemicals in it that slowly will ruin the health of your skin.” The TikToker does not initially identify what she believes to be the offending ‘dangerous chemicals,’ nor does she identify the mechanism through which these chemicals will ‘ruin the health of your skin.’

Finally, she shares that “the car fresheners do explode and can cause blindness along with very severe injuries.” Another user previously made a similar claim, alleging that a product from the company exploded and sent her to the hospital.

Dia later posted a follow-up video elaborating on the points she made in her original video.

To start, she breaks down some of the problematic chemicals mentioned in the above video. For example, she takes a bottle of lotion from the store and identifies that it contains, in part, Propylparaben and Butylparaben. While these are regarded as endocrine disruptors, they are generally seen as safe to use in cosmetics, per the CDC. In an email to the Daily Dot, Dia also noted that some products like the body sprays contain alcohol, which can dry out the skin.

Next, she addresses the concerns around wallflowers. According to the TikToker, wallflowers can “mess with your insulation.”

“Anything that that oil gets on, it will damage it,” Dia says. “Like, it can get through granite countertops—like, it's really, really bad. And yes, it does also evaporate, but not all of it. So some of that liquid turns into a gunk. It goes through the plug and it just spreads out through your wall around the area that you plugged it in, and this can lead to a fire.”

The Daily Dot could not independently corroborate this claim, and we've reached out to Bath & Body Works via email for comment.

@youkickedmydog I literally have lung problems now???? #bathandbodyworks #fyp ♬ SeKret Valentines Day - Se’Kret

Finally, Dia states that candles from the brand can “explode” if one does not follow the directions carefully.

“This one's a little bit more iffy, because a lot of the times they explode because people aren't following the directions on how to use them properly,” Dia explains. That said, she claimed that there was still a possibility that the candles could break, which could cause issues for buyers.

In an email to the Daily Dot, Dia noted that she simply wanted to make shoppers aware of what they're using on their skin and to be sure they're using the products correctly.

"I had friends tell me that their candles broke while being lit and that the body care such as the lotions and body washes irritate their skin a lot," she said. "I personally don’t use the products often because I do have more sensitive skin but a lot of people have no issue with the products. The stuff I said in my TikTok wasn’t intended to get people to stop buying our products but to raise awareness on what could happen if they don’t follow directions on how to use the candles or the wallflowers." 

Dia did recommend using the body sprays, hand sanitizer, hand soap, body oil, and products from the aromatherapy line, which she says "doesn’t have a strong alcohol scent like the regular body care does and is less drying on the skin."

While she wrote in the caption of her initial video, "I literally have lung problems now," she told the Daily Dot this was largely due to the excessively strong scents in the store. "It gave me migraines that lasted for days," she saaid.

@youkickedmydog Replying to @Michaela #greenscreen #bathandbodyworks #wallflower #candles #fyp ♬ original sound - Dia♡

In the comments section, users shared their thoughts on this information.

“I mean I did wonder where the liquid went I thought it just evaporated or something,” said a user.

“To be fair the wallflower thing is true of any wall plug in (glade etc),” offered another.

“I stopped getting anything from bath and body works YEARS ago bc the perfume would STAIN my shirts,” stated a third.

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