Where Does a Candle Go When It Burns? Just saying, maybe go easy with the candelabras. By Randall Munroe April 26, 2021, 5:00 a.m. ET Where does a candle go when it burns, anyway? Is it healthy to be breathing in melted candle particles? How concerned should I be? — Abigail B., Washington, D.C. When candles burn, most of their matter goes into the air. The light and heat from a candle comes from the wax burning. When you light the wick, the flame causes some of the wax to melt, flow up the wick and evaporate, and then the wax vapor burns. The wick, which is made of cotton, also burns, although it’s the wax that contributes most of the heat. The puddles you sometimes see around the base are from wax that spilled and dripped down without burning.