How to add candle fragrances to your candles

Once you begin candle making it’s always exciting experimenting with different fragrances oils, as well as essential oils but it’s important to understand what is the right amount of fragrance oils that should be added to your candle wax. As well as when you should add your oils to your candle wax.

Fragrance oils vs. essential oils

Fragrance oils are defined as a concentrated blend of synthetic or natural aroma components used to create a scented oil. In addition, fragrance oils have been mixed with scentless carrier oils allowing the aroma to be lightweight which will allow your scent to come through once burned.

Essential oils are defined as concentrated oil derived from an organic/natural substance (plant material, flowers, leaves, wood, and grass). In addition, these oils are referred to as “essential” as they contain the strongest scent that a particular plant, root, or flower contains, embodying its full essence.

To learn more about the differences between essential oils and fragrance oils read our previous blog Fragrance oils vs. Essentials oils: Defining oils for scented candles.

Amount of Candle Fragrances

When using candle fragrance oils, the amount of fragrance oil you use depends on the type of wax, the type of fragrance oil, and of course your personal preferences of scent throw.

Scent throw

The Scent throw is the quality of smell in which your candle gives off. The over aroma it will create in your space.

Important to note: Using too little fragrance may result in a light scent throw, while using too much may result in a strong hot throw. Also, it is important to be careful to not overload your wax with fragrance oils, this can lead to your candle sweating or curdling and other issues.

We recommend using 1 ounce of fragrance oils per pound of wax you will be using to craft your candles.

Measurements

It is also important to note when measuring out how much candle wax and fragrance oil you will be using, it is essential to note that we suggest you work with ounces (oz.) or grams (g), ultimately measuring oils in ounces.

For Soy wax, the recommended fragrance load is about 9% Depending on how many candles you will be making and the capacity of your candle vessel.

For Coconut and blended waxes, you can add about 10% to 12% of fragrance oils to your wax, keep in mind this will give your candle a very strong scent.

The fragrance oil ratios are important as they may also impact your candle wicks and the melt pool of the candle. Finding the perfect balance is definitely a challenge for all candle makers but it’s imperative that you test during your candle-making process to know which products work best for you and to observe how each product works when crafting.