Fragrance Oil Calculator

Turn a wax weight into the right amount of fragrance oil in ounces, grams and millilitres, with the usual load range for your wax.

Candle Making

Fragrance is usually the most expensive ingredient in a candle, and the load is always calculated on the wax weight rather than on the finished candle. This tool converts a wax weight and a chosen load into fragrance oil by weight and by volume, and shows what that load looks like once it is part of the finished candle.

At a glance

What you enter: Wax weight, Wax type, Fragrance load
What you get: Fragrance oil, Fragrance oil, Fragrance oil, Total weight after scenting, Fragrance share of the finished candle
Formula shown: Yes, every step, right below your results.
Cost and privacy: Free, no account needed, and nothing you type is stored.

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Wax weight oz

The weight of the wax in the batch, before any fragrance is added.

Wax type

Used for the usual load range for that wax family.

Fragrance load %

A percentage of the wax weight. 6 percent is a common starting point.

Reset

Results are estimates for general information only, always verify with a professional or official source before acting on them.

How to use the Fragrance Oil Calculator

1 Enter Wax weight (oz), The weight of the wax in the batch, before any fragrance is added.
2 Enter Wax type, Used for the usual load range for that wax family.
3 Enter Fragrance load (%), A percentage of the wax weight. 6 percent is a common starting point.
4 Press Calculate. You get Fragrance oil, Fragrance oil, Fragrance oil, Total weight after scenting, Fragrance share of the finished candle, and every intermediate step stays visible under "How is this calculated?"
5 Change one number at a time to see what moves the result, that is usually the most useful thing a calculator can tell you.

Worked examples

Real numbers run through this calculator. Open any example to load it into the form above and change it.

One pound of soy at 6 percent

A single pound batch of soy wax at a 6 percent load.

You enter

Wax weight: 16 oz
Wax type: 2
Fragrance load: 6%

You get

Fragrance oil: 0.96 oz
Fragrance oil: 27.22 g
Fragrance oil: 28.65 mL
Total weight after scenting: 16.96 oz
Fragrance share of the finished candle: 5.7%

About 0.96 ounces of oil, which is 27 grams or 29 millilitres.

Open this example in the calculator →

A ten pound paraffin batch at 8 percent

A larger production batch, still inside the usual range for paraffin.

You enter

Wax weight: 160 oz
Wax type: 1
Fragrance load: 8%

You get

Fragrance oil: 12.80 oz
Fragrance oil: 362.87 g
Fragrance oil: 381.97 mL
Total weight after scenting: 172.80 oz
Fragrance share of the finished candle: 7.4%

About 12.8 ounces of oil, so buy fragrance by the pound rather than by the small bottle.

Open this example in the calculator →

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Frequently asked questions

How much fragrance oil do I add to a pound of wax?

At a 6 percent load, one pound (16 ounces) of wax takes about 0.96 ounces of fragrance oil, which is roughly 27 grams or 29 millilitres. A 10 percent load would take 1.6 ounces, and 3 percent would take about 0.48 ounces. Weigh the wax first and calculate from the wax weight, because the load is always a percentage of the wax.

What fragrance load should I use?

Soy and soy blends are usually quoted at 6 to 10 percent and paraffin at 3 to 10 percent, with 6 percent the common starting point for a first test. Start there, because some oils discolour, cause wet spots or change the burn at higher loads. Your fragrance supplier publishes a maximum load for each oil, and that figure overrides every general range.

Why is 6 percent of the wax not 6 percent of the finished candle?

Because the oil is added to the wax, so the total grows. Six percent on the wax weight becomes about 5.7 percent of the finished candle once the oil is stirred in. The difference matters when a retailer, a market or a regulation quotes fragrance content on the finished product rather than on the wax, so it is worth knowing both figures.

Is fragrance load measured by weight or by volume?

By weight, always. Fragrance oils vary in density, so the same millilitre figure can be a different load in two different oils. The millilitre figure here is only a convenience for a pipette or a small measuring cylinder, and the gram figure is the one to trust on a scale.

Terms used here

Short, plain-language definitions of the words this calculator uses.

Fragrance load The weight of fragrance oil in a candle expressed as a percentage of the WAX weight, not of the finished candle.

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