Spending hours browsing our catalogue is a real pleasure, especially when you know it holds more than 500 fragrances developed in Grasse. That said, you probably don’t want to spend quite as long working out how to add your fragrance to your wax.
If you want your candle to smell every bit as good as your fragrance’s olfactory pyramid promises, you need to blend the fragrance into your wax properly. Follow our step-by-step advice, and feel free to use our wax/fragrance calculator to make life easier!
What can you use to scent a candle?
With so many options out there, what can you actually use to scent a homemade candle?
Essential oils are not suitable for scenting wax creations.
Candle fragrance oils are the option to go for. Whether natural or synthetic, they let you create unique scents! However, you must choose fragrances specially formulated for candles, as standard fragrances may contain components that do not burn well.
How much fragrance should go into my wax?
When making scented candles, it is essential to work out the right amount of fragrance to add to your wax to get the scent you are after. To do this, you also need to know how much wax you need. Here are two simple methods that complement each other.
Calculating how much wax and fragrance you need to fill a container
Method 1: for a precise fragrance load
If you already have your container, fill it with water to the level you want. Then place the filled container on a scale to get the weight of the water. This measurement will let you work out the amount of wax and fragrance.
1 mL of water does not equal 1 mL of wax.
The average density of wax is around 0.9 g/mL.
Example with a container that holds 100 g of water:
100 (weight of the water) × 0.9 (density of the wax) = 90 g → total amount of material (wax + fragrance).
For a 10% fragrance load:
90 × 0.10 = 9 g of fragrance
90 - 9 = 81 g of wax
If you don’t have your container yet, check our product pages. In the “Uses” section, you will find its capacity in water or in wax.
Method 2: a quicker but less precise approach
Example:
Total weight required: 100 g
Fragrance load of 10%:
- 10 g of fragrance
- 90 g of wax
The fragrance therefore makes up 10% of the total weight.
Which method should you choose?
If you want a truly accurate concentration of fragrance in the wax, go for method 1, which is based on sound chemical logic. It is recommended for professionals and for candles you intend to sell.
If you prefer to keep things simple and are making candles for your own use or in small quantities, method 2 is perfectly adequate. It is a quick, practical calculation, widely used in recipes for hobby makers.
Recommended fragrance load for your candles and wax melts
Several factors can affect your fragrance load, such as the strength of the fragrance you have chosen and the effect you are after. As a rule, candles are made with a 7% or 10% fragrance load. It is important to test each fragrance to find the ideal load.
Scented wax melts generally take a higher fragrance load than candles. We recommend a load of between 10% and 15%. You can apply the same calculation formulas to suit your preferences.
Use our wax & fragrance calculator
To make preparing your batches easier, use our wax & fragrance calculator, which works out the ideal quantities for you automatically.
When should you add the fragrance?
To add a fragrance properly, you need to take its flash point into account. This is the temperature at which a substance can ignite. The fragrance must be added below its flash point.
For an even blend, we recommend adding the fragrance between 75°C and 78°C. If the wax is too cool, it will not bind well with the fragrance, which may then settle at the bottom of the container.
Knowing your fragrance’s flash point
Every fragrance has its own flash point, in other words the maximum temperature you must not exceed when adding it to the wax. To find it, check section 9.1 of its safety data sheet (SDS). Since every fragrance has a different flash point, this information is crucial for successfully blending it into hot wax. So always add your fragrance at a temperature below its flash point.
If you blend several fragrances, the flash point simply follows the proportions. In the vast majority of cases, though, there is no need to calculate anything: the key thing to remember is that each fragrance has its own flash point and that you must always add it at a temperature below that value.
To work out the theoretical or expected flash point of a blend, here is a simple formula:
(Flash point of fragrance 1 × percentage 1) + (Flash point of fragrance 2 × percentage 2) = expected flash point.
Example: (50 × 0.6) + (90 × 0.4) = 66°C
Another approach: Isopropyl myristate can be added at 10% of the fragrance volume to raise the flash point.
Give your candles the time they need to cure
For most wax creations, it is best to let your candles cure for at least 48 hours. Ideally, wait a week before enjoying them to the full. Only light or melt them once this time has passed. This allows the fragrance to develop and bind with the wax, ensuring the best possible scent throw when your creations are burned.
Every fragrance has its own density
This section is only useful for large professional production runs (roughly more than 100 candles).
Density is the weight of a fragrance for a given volume. It varies from one fragrance to another. For precise production, it is important to know this value.
Find the density in section 9.1 of the SDS
To find it, check our safety data sheets in the “Compliance” tab of our product pages: in section 9.1 you will find the density at 20°C as the first figure and at 4°C as the second. Room temperature and atmospheric pressure can both affect the result, which is why you will always see 2 values; we always go by the lower one.
Densities taken from the SDS of 4 best-sellers
- Monoï: 0.9820 / 1.0020
- Cotton flower: 0.9110 / 0.9310
- Candy apple: 0.9432 / 0.9632
- Musty: 0.9115 / 0.9315
For example, the density of the Monoï fragrance is 0.9820.
Understanding fragrance density
Density simply tells you how much a fragrance weighs for a given volume. Unlike water, where 1 mL = 1 g, each fragrance can weigh a different amount for the same volume.
For example, if a fragrance has a density of 0.95, a 30 mL bottle will weigh:
30 mL × 0.95 = 28.5 g
This figure is mainly useful for large production runs, when you need to convert volumes into weights accurately. For everyday use, working directly in grams is usually all you need.
Calculating the weight of a fragrance
Wondering how to convert weight into volume and vice versa? Here are the formulas to remember:
- To get the weight: Volume × Density
- To get the volume: Weight ÷ Density
To calculate the total weight of a fragrance, multiply the volume of your fragrance (for example 30 mL) by its density.
- Monoï: 30 × 0.9820 = 29.46 g
- Cotton flower: 250 × 0.9110 = 227.75 g
- Candy apple: 1000 × 0.9432 = 943.2 g
- Musty: 5000 × 0.9115 = 4557.5 g
So 30 mL of Monoï fragrance weighs 29.46 g.
Conclusion
Adding fragrance to your wax correctly is essential for a long-lasting, well-balanced scented candle. It is important to know your fragrance’s properties well (density, flash point) so that you can get the fragrance load right.
With the advice in this article, you can easily work out how much fragrance to use for a given amount of wax, whether for a candle or for scented wax melts. Adding fragrance to soap is a completely different process, explained in our dedicated article.
With these best practices, you will be able to create personalised scented candles that release the full character of your favourite fragrances.
