where does candle wax go when it melts

Most of the candle wax doesn’t “vanish” when it melts and burns; it is turned into invisible gases—mainly carbon dioxide and water vapor—that float away into the air, with a small amount becoming soot and tiny particles.

What happens when a candle burns

• The flame melts the solid wax near the wick, turning it into a liquid pool.

• This liquid wax is drawn up into the wick like water in a paper towel (capillary action).

• Close to the flame, the liquid wax is heated so much that it turns into a gas, which actually does the burning.

Where the wax actually goes

• Candle wax is made of hydrocarbons (molecules of carbon and hydrogen), so when it burns, these atoms react with oxygen.

• The carbon becomes carbon dioxide, and the hydrogen becomes water vapor; both drift away in the air so you don’t see the “used” wax.

• A tiny fraction of the wax becomes soot and fine particles, which you might notice as black residue on jars or walls if the candle burns poorly.

Why the candle gets shorter

• As more wax is converted into gases, there is simply less solid candle left, so the candle slowly shrinks in height.

• If wax only melted and re‑solidified, the candle would keep its size, but because most melted wax is burned away as gas, the candle eventually disappears.

What about wax that just melts

• Some wax may drip down the sides or cool at the edges, where it’s too far from the flame to vaporize and burn, so it re‑hardens instead of turning into gas.

• In devices like wax melts or warmers, the wax is heated without a flame; it melts and releases fragrance but does not burn away, so the unscented wax remains in the dish.

Mini TL;DR

• Melts near the flame → pulled into the wick → turned into hot wax vapor.

• Wax vapor + oxygen → mostly carbon dioxide + water vapor + a bit of soot.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.