CandleBench

Fragrance Load Calculator

Calculate fragrance oil for any batch size, with the percent-of-wax versus percent-of-total distinction handled properly, and a warning if you go past what the wax will hold.

Wax type
Holds up to about 10%.
Wax weight (g)g
Fragrance load%Soy (container blend) is usually run around 8%.
Percentage of what?
Suppliers mean different things by this. Check your spec sheet.

Fragrance oil

40 g

Wax

500 g

Finished pour weight

540 g

Wax plus oil, before the vessel

Show the calculation
  1. 1

    Oil as a share of wax weight

    500 g × 8%

    = 40 g

  2. 2

    Finished pour weight

    500 g + 40 g

    = 540 g

Always weigh fragrance oil, never measure it by volume. Oils differ in density, so a spoon or a jug gives a different load every time and the percentage stops meaning anything.

What fragrance load actually means

Fragrance load is how much oil you add relative to the wax. An 8% load is 8 g of fragrance for every 100 g of wax. That finished candle weighs 108 g: the oil is added to the wax, not taken out of it.

The distinction that causes most sweating

There are two ways to read the same percentage, and they give different amounts of oil.

Percent of wax weight — the standard

oil = wax × load%

1 kg of wax at 8% takes 80 g of oil. Finished weight 1.08 kg.

Percent of finished weight

oil = wax × load ÷ (100 − load)

1 kg of wax at 8% of total takes about 87 g of oil, giving 1.087 kg finished — because the oil has to be 8% of a total it is itself part of. Check it: 87 ÷ 1087 = 8%.

So for the same headline percentage, reading it against the finished weight takes roughly 9% more oil than reading it against the wax. Get the basis wrong in that direction and you can push a wax past what it will hold without ever changing the number in your recipe — at which point it sweats.

What each wax will hold

Every wax has a ceiling. Past it the oil has nowhere to bind and separates out.

  • Soy container blends — up to about 10%, best throw usually around 8%.
  • Coconut blends — up to about 12%, which is why they are popular for heavily scented candles.
  • Paraffin — around 10% for container grades, less for pillar. Throws strongly at lower loads than natural waxes.
  • Beeswax — about 6% at most, and it has a strong honey scent of its own to work around.
  • Gel — around 5%, and only oils rated gel-safe. Too much makes it cloudy.

Flash point

Every fragrance oil has a flash point, the temperature at which its vapour can ignite. It matters for shipping classification and for when you add the oil. Adding fragrance to wax that is far above the flash point burns off the top notes and weakens the throw. Add at the temperature your supplier specifies, usually somewhere around 60–80°C, and stir for two full minutes to bind it.

Load is not the only lever

If the scent is weak, more oil is usually the wrong fix. Check cure time first — most soy candles need one to two weeks. Then check the wick: too small a wick makes a shallow melt pool, and a candle cannot throw scent from wax it never melts. Only after both of those is it worth touching the load.

Frequently asked questions

How much fragrance oil per kg of wax?+

At an 8% load, 80 g of oil per kilogram of wax. At 10% it is 100 g. The percentage is normally read against wax weight, so the finished candle weighs more than the wax you started with.

Is fragrance load a percentage of the wax or of the total?+

The industry standard is percent of wax weight: 8% means 8 g of oil per 100 g of wax, giving 108 g of finished candle. Some suppliers and older guides mean percent of the finished weight instead. Starting from a known wax weight, that second reading needs about 9% more oil for the same headline figure, because the oil counts towards the total it is measured against. The calculator handles both.

What happens if I use too much fragrance oil?+

The wax cannot bind more oil than its capacity, so the excess separates. It pools on the surface as an oily film, seeps out of the sides, or collects at the bottom. It can also stop the candle burning properly. More oil past the limit does not mean more scent.

What is a good fragrance load to start with?+

6–8% for soy suits most fragrances. Go up towards 10% only if the wax is rated for it and the scent still needs strengthening after a proper cure. Coconut blends take more; beeswax and gel take considerably less.

Should I measure fragrance oil by weight or volume?+

Always by weight, on a digital scale. Oils differ in density, so measuring by spoon or jug gives a different load with every fragrance and the percentage stops meaning anything.

Why does my candle smell weak even at 10%?+

Usually cure time rather than load. Most soy candles need one to two weeks for the oil to bind properly. Wick size matters too — an undersized wick makes a small melt pool that never releases much scent, and adding more oil will not fix it.

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