One of the latest beauty trends that is on the popularity rise with beauty bloggers and health gurus is ear candling. This is an interesting way to get all of the ear wax out of your ears.

Ear candles are hollow tubes made from cloth that are usually soaked in paraffin or beeswax. At one end is a narrow funnel, which you stick in your ear, while the other end of the funnel is the candle that is lit. The heat will begin to travel down the funnel and melt the earwax that is in your ear. Once it is melted, your body begins to excrete it naturally.

The practice of ear candling dates back to 2500 B.C. and was used in the ancient cultures of the Mayans, Aztecs, American Indians, Chinese and Egyptians. It has been passed down through generations of families and is believed to promote general health and wellness for your body.

“Although I don’t know if ear candling actually gets any earwax out, I always feel better after doing it,” Pace student Alexa Cozoli said. “I feel like my ears are more clean, but I’m not sure if they actually are. A lot of people think the wax that is left in the tunnel is what has come out of your ears, but it’s not. It’s just the candle wax that has dripped down from the top and hardened.”

Websites and ear candle packages will often say that the heat will create a vacuum like suction in the funnel and pull out the earwax that has been melted in the ear, but this is not true.

“Research shows that ear candling is ineffective at removing earwax and is also not an effective treatment for any other conditions,” Dr. Charles W. Beatty said. “In fact, the technique can actually push earwax deeper into the ear canal. Ear candling can also lead to deposits of candle wax in the ear canal, burns to the face, hair, scalp, ear canal, eardrum and middle ear and puncturing of the eardrum.”

Ear candling should be done with caution and with assistance from a friend or family member if done at home. Some doctors and dermatologists perform ear candling, but it is slowly decreasing in popularity. Ear candling kits can be bought online or at a local drugstore.