Candle-Making: Finding The Right Fragrance Oil Ratio

When making candles, it's important to know how much fragrance oil to add. Most waxes will hold no more than 12% of fragrance oil, but to ensure the candle's stability isn't compromised, it's recommended to use 10% fragrance oil for optimal scent throw. This means that for a 100g candle, 90g should be wax and 10g should be fragrance oil. If you only want a subtle scent, you can use 6% fragrance oil.

How much fragrance oil to add to candles

When making candles, the amount of fragrance oil you add depends on the weight of the candle and the strength of fragrance you want. Most waxes will hold no more than 12% of fragrance oil, but to ensure the candle's stability is not compromised, it is recommended to use 10% fragrance oil for an optimal scent throw. This means that for a 100g candle, 90g should be wax and 10g should be fragrance oil. If you want a more subtle scent, you can use 6% fragrance oil.

For example, if you have a desired candle weight of 300g and want a 10% fragrance load, you will need 272.7g of wax and 27.2g of fragrance oil.

You can also use a calculator to work out the amount of fragrance oil needed. Simply enter the desired candle weight and the percentage of fragrance oil you want, and the calculator will do the rest.

It's important to note that many fragrances have different densities, which can cause miscalculations. Therefore, testing and experimenting with different amounts of fragrance oil is always recommended to find the optimal scent throw for your candles.

How to calculate fragrance scent load

To calculate fragrance scent load, you need to know the weight of your candle and the percentage of fragrance oil you want to use.

Most waxes will hold no more than 12% of fragrance oil, but to ensure the candle's stability is not compromised, it is advised to use 10% fragrance oil for optimal scent throw. For a subtle scent, 6%+ of fragrance oil is recommended.

For example, if your candle is 100g in total, 90g should be wax and 10g would be fragrance oil. If you have a desired candle weight of 300g and want 10% fragrance oil, you will need 272.7g of wax and 27.2g of fragrance oil.

You can also use the following formula to know how much candle wax to use: [Wax amount (g)] = [Container capacity (g)] / [1 + Fragrance oil (%)]

How to measure fragrance oil in grams

To measure fragrance oil in grams, you need to know the total weight of your candle and the percentage of fragrance oil you want to use.

Most waxes will hold no more than 12% of fragrance oil, but to ensure the candle's stability is not compromised, it is recommended to use 10% fragrance oil for optimal scent throw. This means that if your candle is 100g in total, 90g should be wax and 10g would be fragrance oil.

For example, if you have a desired candle weight of 300g and want to use 10% fragrance oil, you will need 272.7g of wax and 27.3g of fragrance oil.

If you only want a subtle scent throw, you can use 6% or less of fragrance oil.

You can also use a calculator to determine the amount of fragrance oil needed. Simply enter the desired candle weight and the percentage of fragrance oil you want, and the calculator will do the rest.

How to avoid adding too much fragrance oil

When making candles, it's important to be precise with your measurements to avoid adding too much fragrance oil. Most waxes will hold no more than 12% fragrance oil, but to ensure the candle's stability isn't compromised, it's recommended to use 10% fragrance oil for optimal scent throw. This means that for a 100g candle, 90g should be wax and 10g should be fragrance oil.

If you're making a larger batch of candles, the same principle applies. For example, if you have a desired candle weight of 300g and want a 10% fragrance load, you'll need 272.7g of wax and 27.3g of fragrance oil.

To calculate the amount of fragrance oil needed, you can use the following formula: Fragrance amount (g) = Container capacity (g) - Wax amount (g). This will ensure you don't add too much fragrance oil, which can cause issues like tunnelling, poor scent throw, and wicks not staying lit.

It's also important to note that many fragrances have different densities, so measuring fragrance oil in grams can help prevent miscalculations. Some fragrances are thicker than others, and using a higher percentage of fragrance oil can affect the stability of your candle. Therefore, it's always recommended to test and experiment with different percentages to find the optimal scent throw for your specific fragrance oil and wax combination.

How to calculate the weight of wax to use

To calculate the weight of wax to use, you need to know the total desired weight of your candle and the percentage of fragrance oil you want to use.

Most waxes will hold no more than 12% of fragrance oil, but to ensure the candle's stability is not compromised, it is advised to use 10% fragrance oil for optimal scent throw. If you only want a subtle scent, you can use 6% fragrance oil.

For example, if your desired candle weight is 300g and you want 10% fragrance oil, you will need 272.7g of wax and 27.2g of fragrance oil. This is calculated by taking 10% from 300g, which is 30g, and then subtracting this from 300g to get 270g of wax.

Another way to calculate this is to divide the container capacity by 1 plus the percentage of fragrance oil. For example, if your container capacity is 180g and you want a 10% fragrance load, you would divide 180 by 1.1 to get 163.6g of wax. This means you would need 16.4g of fragrance oil.

You can also use a calculator to do the maths for you. Simply enter the desired candle weight and the percentage of fragrance oil you want, and it will calculate the amount of wax and fragrance oil needed.

Frequently asked questions