You want to know what is inside a Yummi unscented candle, and the answer starts with the smooth white wax around the wick. Yummi's classic unscented pillars and tapers are made from refined paraffin, a wax that comes from petroleum. The word “unscented” means no fragrance was added. The wax underneath is still paraffin.
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Yummi has made candles in Toronto since 1976, and its pillars are a familiar sight on wedding and event tables. If you are reading the label because you want a wax you can name in one word, our 100% beeswax candles with wooden wicks are hand poured in New York City with phthalate-free fragrance and no chemical dye. Every MBur candle carries a scent, and the softest ones suit someone who usually reaches for unscented.
Where that white wax comes from, one refining step at a time
Paraffin starts as crude oil. At the refinery, the oil is heated and split into parts. The light parts become gasoline and other fuels, and the heavy parts become motor oil and other lubricants.
Those heavy oils hold wax that would make them thick and cloudy in cold weather. So the refinery chills the oil and filters the wax out. That raw wax still holds some oil, so it gets cleaned and decolored until it turns bright white.
That white wax is paraffin. Labels like “fully refined” and “food-grade” describe how much leftover oil was removed. They say nothing new about the source. Put the steps together and the plain answer is this: paraffin is a leftover from making lubricating oil.
Refining makes paraffin smooth and white, so it looks clean on the shelf. What matters in your home is what that wax does once it is lit, and that is the next question to answer.
What a paraffin flame puts into a closed room
If you are worried about this, the worry is fair. Research has shown that burning paraffin releases benzene and toluene into the air, and formaldehyde shows up as well. People who study indoor air have looked closely at what candles add to the air in a room, and the wax is where that story starts.
Here is why that happens. Paraffin is made of long chains of carbon and hydrogen, the same building blocks as the oil it came from. When a flame cannot burn those chains all the way through, the leftover carbon rises as soot. You have seen it as the black ring on a jar or the gray smudge on the wall above a shelf.
Leaving out fragrance does not change the wax. An unscented paraffin pillar still burns paraffin. The good news is that the problem lives in specific ingredients, so the fix is specific too. You can keep lighting candles and simply change what the one you light is made of.
Think about the room where this matters most. For a lot of people it is the bedroom at night, with the door shut and the window closed. The air barely moves, and whatever the candle releases stays in there with you while you read.
That small, still room is where a single-ingredient wax and a gentle scent earn their place. Our Do Not Disturb beeswax candle for the bedroom is poured from 100% beeswax with notes of Pear, Bergamont, Peach Blossom, Amber, Jasmine, Vanilla and Sandalwood. One customer called the scent “lovely not overpowering” and said it “more than covers my bedroom and bathroom.” Soft enough for a closed door and full enough to reach the next room is the balance you want in a space this size.
The wax, which sets the floor for everything else in the candle
Most candles on a shelf use one of a few waxes. Paraffin is the petroleum wax we just traced. Soy is made from soybean oil, which is a real step up from paraffin.
Soy has its own catch, though. It is often blended with paraffin to help it hold a shape, and some soy candles carry toxic fragrance that contains phthalates. A label that says “soy candle” can still mean a mix.
Beeswax comes from the hive. Bees build their comb from it, and beekeepers collect the wax as a byproduct of harvesting honey. It is melted and filtered to remove bits of comb, with no chemical processing along the way.
People have burned beeswax in candles since about 5,000 BCE, which makes it the oldest candle material there is. Every jar also supports the beekeepers who keep those hives going.
Beeswax has the highest melting point of any common candle wax. A harder wax melts slowly, so the flame works through it at a steady pace. That is why the 12 oz MBur candle burns for 80+ hours, and why the 5 oz size burns for 40 hours.
| Yummi classic unscented | Typical soy candle | MBur Candle Co. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wax | Refined paraffin, a petroleum byproduct | Soybean oil, often blended with paraffin | 100% beeswax, a single ingredient |
| Wick | Sized for pillars and tapers | Varies by maker | Wooden wick, two on the 12 oz size |
| Burn behavior | Made for event pillars and tapers | Soft wax that melts quickly | Slow, even burn from the highest melting point of any candle wax, 80+ hours on the 12 oz size |
| Soot | Paraffin soots when the flame flickers or the wick runs long | Depends on how much paraffin is in the blend | Steady flame with minimal soot |
| Fragrance | None added | Can include toxic fragrance with phthalates | Non-toxic, phthalate-free fragrance |
| Dye | Offered in a wide range of event colors | Varies by maker | No chemical dye |
| Where it is made | Toronto | Varies by maker | Hand poured in New York City |
Read down the MBur column and every row has one plain answer. Once the wax is settled, the next thing the flame touches is the wick.
The wick and the fragrance, the two parts most labels skip
Look at the wick on any candle you already own. Some older candles were made with a metal core inside the wick to keep it standing straight. Metal has no place in a flame you sit beside, so look for a wick that is metal-free all the way through.
MBur uses a wooden wick, with two on the 12 oz size. A thin strip of wood burns with a wider, flatter flame than a twisted string wick, and it makes a soft crackle as it goes. Two wicks spread heat across the full width of the jar, so the melted wax reaches the edge of the glass.
Fragrance is the second part to check. Phthalates are a family of chemicals added to some fragrances to help the scent last and spread. Parabens are preservatives that turn up in some of the same blends.
A candle made with toxic fragrance can carry both, and a label that only says “fragrance” will not tell you. MBur uses only non-toxic, phthalate-free fragrance oils, so the scent you smell comes without them.
Chemical dye is the last thing to look for. Dye adds color to the wax, and it burns along with everything else in the jar. MBur adds no chemical dye, so nothing in the candle is there just for looks.
That covers what is inside. For a reader who came here from an unscented search, though, one question is still open: how strong will the scent be?
If you usually shop unscented, ask how soft the scent is
Many people pick unscented candles because a strong scent has bothered them before. A heavy candle can fill a small room so fast that you blow it out after ten minutes. That experience is real, and it makes sense to steer away from it.
The question that solves it is how the scent is made and how it sits in the room. When a candle uses phthalate-free fragrance in a slow-burning beeswax, the scent rises gently as the wax melts. If a soft scent is your main concern, the one to choose is our Wine Down beeswax candle for the end of the day, with notes of Lavender, Chamomile, Sage, Rosemary, Camphor, Cedar and Sandalwood.
“Absolutely loved the Wine Down candle! The scent is so light and clean not overpowering at all, which is exactly what I look for. A lot of other candles tend to give me headaches, but this one was a total game-changer. I was able to enjoy the calming aroma without any discomfort. It made my space feel cozy and refreshed at the same time. I'll definitely be purchasing it again. Highly recommend if you're sensitive to strong scents but still want something that smells amazing!”
Nicole D.
Her words point at the same thing this whole post is about: knowing what is in the candle, so you can relax once it is lit. If you live with asthma or migraines, follow your doctor's guidance on any candle you burn at home.
Holding MBur to the clean candle checklist
Here is a short list you can carry into any store or product page. Each line takes less than a minute to check.
- Wax: one named ingredient. MBur is 100% beeswax.
- Wick: metal-free. MBur uses wooden wicks, with two on the 12 oz size.
- Fragrance: phthalate-free. MBur uses only non-toxic, phthalate-free fragrance oils.
- Dye: none. MBur adds no chemical dye.
- Maker: a place you can name. Every MBur candle is hand poured in New York City.
A candle that clears all five leaves you nothing to second-guess. That relief is what the search was really for. What is left is matching the right scent and size to the room you have in mind.
Which scent and which size fit your room
Start with the room. For the bedroom, where the door stays closed and you want a quiet scent before sleep, Do Not Disturb is the fit. For the bathroom or the hour after work, Wine Down fits better, with its clean, herbal character.
Then pick the size by how often you light it. The 12 oz size has two wooden wicks and burns 80+ hours, so it suits a room you light most nights or a larger space. The 5 oz size has one wooden wick and burns 40 hours, which suits a small bathroom or a room you use now and then.
Beeswax also burns with a light close to the color of natural sunlight. In a dim bedroom or a bath at night, that warm glow makes the room feel calm before the scent even reaches you.
Burning it so it stays clean every time
Before each burn, pinch off the charred tip of the wooden wick. A short, clean wick keeps the flame small and steady. A steady flame burns the wax more completely, and that is what keeps soot down.
On the first burn, let the melted wax reach the edge of the jar before you blow it out. Wax tends to follow the path of its first melt. A full first pool sets up every burn after it to stay even.
Keep the candle out of drafts, but let the room breathe. A fan or an open window blowing across the flame makes it flicker, and a flickering flame is what makes soot. A door left slightly open brings in fresh air without pushing on the flame.
Blow it out after a few hours and let it cool before you light it again. A very long burn lets the wick grow tall, and the flame grows with it.
The doubts that come up after you read the label
“But mine says food-grade.” Food-grade tells you the paraffin was refined to a high purity. It is still the wax filtered out of lubricating oil. If one ingredient you can name matters to you, beeswax answers that question outright.
“But I have burned paraffin for years and felt fine.” Plenty of people have, and nobody is asking you to panic. Switching to beeswax simply takes one question off the table every time you light a candle in a closed room.
“But I want no scent at all.” Then choose the softest scent for the smallest room you plan to use. Wine Down in a 5 oz jar for a small bathroom is a gentle place to land. Do Not Disturb works the same way for a bedroom, and the 12 oz size fits if you light it every night.
Questions people ask about Yummi unscented candles and beeswax
What wax are Yummi unscented candles made of?
Yummi's classic unscented pillars and tapers use refined paraffin with a white wax core. Some newer Yummi collections highlight plant-based blends. If you want a candle where the wax is one natural ingredient, our Wine Down candle in 100% beeswax is poured from nothing but beeswax.
Does MBur make a candle with no scent at all?
Every MBur candle carries phthalate-free fragrance. The softest picks for someone who usually buys unscented are Wine Down and our Do Not Disturb bedroom candle, which customers describe as light and not overpowering.
How long do beeswax candles actually burn?
The 12 oz MBur candle burns 80+ hours with two wooden wicks, and the 5 oz size burns 40 hours with one. Beeswax has the highest melting point of any candle wax, so it melts slowly. You can see both sizes on the Wine Down product page.
Why does a wooden wick crackle?
The flame works through a thin strip of wood, and the wood makes a soft popping sound as it burns. Trim the charred tip before each burn and the crackle stays gentle and the flame stays even, as it does in our Do Not Disturb beeswax candle.
The candle to bring home after reading the label
Yummi's classic unscented candles are refined paraffin, a petroleum byproduct, with no fragrance added. If you want one wax you can name and a scent that stays soft in a closed room, pure beeswax answers every line of the label.
If you came here from an unscented search, the pick is the 12 oz Wine Down ($65). It is the candle for the end of your day, the quiet hour when you want the room to feel calm around you. It is 100% beeswax with two wooden wicks and 80+ hours of burn, and its notes of Lavender, Chamomile, Sage, Rosemary, Camphor, Cedar and Sandalwood come from phthalate-free fragrance.
“Absolutely obsessed with M Bur Candle Co my roommate and I own 6/8 of the scents! They smell up a WHOLE room during the burn & even a while after blowing them out. I won't buy other candles anymore, they're just that good”
Paige, on Wine Down
If the candle you burn now is the one that sent you searching, ordering today means you can stop wondering about it sooner.
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