How Much Fragrance Oil For Candles? A Simple Guide To Perfect Scent Strength 2025

How Much Fragrance Oil For Candles.

If you have ever made candles at home, you know how fun it is to watch the wax melt, add a nice smell, and then light your own candle for the first time.

But this is one of the most common (and annoying) things people ask when they want to make candles: “How much oil should I use for fragrance? use?”

There isn’t always an easy answer because it Your choice of wax, how strong you want the smell to be, and the vibe you desire make with the candle.

It’s easy to get the scent strength right, whether you’re making one candle or a bunch. Below are the steps.

Why the amount of fragrance matters.

The smell load is a simple thought to start with. This shows the amount of fragrance oil you add as a part of the wax you be using.

There are several important reasons why this mix needs to be right: Is there not enough scent? It’s possible that your candle doesn’t smell very good.

Enough? It’s possible to get a candle that doesn’t burn well or, even worse, one that leaks oil or goes out. Just right?

The candle burns cleanly and has a strong, even smell that fills the room. Getting the right mix is important whether.

you want a soft lavender scent in your bedroom or a strong cinnamon spice scent in your living room.

How Much Candle Fragrance Oil Do I Need?

Most candle makers follow this rule: Based on how much wax you have, use 6–10% scented oil.
To put that into real-world terms:

6% of a pound (16 ounces) of wax is equal to about 0.96 ounces of fragrance oil. You’d need 1.6 ounces for 10%.

This easy chart can help: 6% wax weight 8% Fragrance 10% Spray Smell 8 oz. 0.48 oz. 0.64 oz. 0.8 oz.
16 oz. 9 oz. 1.28 oz 1.6 oz 32 oz 1.92 oz 2.56 oz 3.2 oz.

Tip: Never use volume to measure scent oil. Always use weight. The best way to measure is with a digital scale.

Different Loads and Different Wax.

There There are several types of candle wax. Each one can hold a different amount of scent at most. Here is a quick guide:

6–10% of scent oil can be stored in soy wax. Great for making natural candles that burn slowly.
Blends and essential oils work well together.

🗯️ Paraffin Wax • Can hold up to 10%, and sometimes even more. Strong smell throw, but burns faster.

Coconut wax: • In some mixes, it can hold up to 12%. It burns cleanly, but it costs more.
🗯️ Beeswax: Low load, about 3–6%.

It naturally smells like honey, so other scents may be weaker. 😏 Always ask the company that sells you wax.

Different unique mixes can hold more smell, while others don’t let scents soak in as easily.

What’s the Difference Between A hot throw and a cold throw?

“Cold throw” and “hot throw” are terms that candlemakers may have used. There are more polite ways to say:

Cold throw is how strong the candle smells before you light it. “Hot throw” refers to how strong the candle smells when it’s lit.

Both can be helped by the right amount of scented oil. If your candles smell great when they’re cold but not so good when they’re lit,

You may need a different blend or a small increase in the amount of fragrance (as long as it’s safe).

When to Use Oils for Scent

Time is important! If you add the flavor oil when it’s not hot enough, it might burn off or not mix well with the wax.

Rule of thumb: Based on the type of wax you use, add the scent oil when the wax is between 175°F and 185°F (80°C to 85°C).

Stir slowly but thoroughly for one to two minutes to make sure the smell is mixed well.

Time to cure: don’t skip this step

To cure your candle, leave it alone (with the lid on if you have one) for a while so the wax and scent can fully stick together.

Here is an easy rule of thumb:
• Soy candles: Let them dry for at least 7–10 days.
• 3–5 days for paraffin candles
• For the mix of coconut and beeswax, it takes 5–14 days.

Should you light a candle too soon, it might not give off the full smell you want.

What Not to Do: Common Mistakes.

It’s simple to make mistakes, even if you follow the rules. Keep an eye out for these: Putting too much scent oil on

Having more isn’t always better. It can make you sweat, burn poorly, or clog the wick. Not using weight to measure but space instead.

There are different volumes of fragrance oils. Use a scale all the time. Not a good time to pour
Too hot? The oil could dry up. Too cool?

The wax isn’t going to mix. Not doing the test Every new scent or mix needs a test candle to make sure it smells good and burns well.

A Quick Guide to Scent Strength

You can pick how strong your candle should smell. Here is a quick guide: Strength of Smell Smell Load Best for Light 6% Bedrooms with soft smells.

A Medium 8% Bathrooms and kitchens Strong 10% Living rooms and bigger spaces
🤼 If the smell is clean, like linen or cucumber,

It might need a bigger load. If the load is light, stronger smells like cinnamon or patchouli might work fine.

Last Thoughts.

So, how much candle fragrance oil should you use? The easy answer is: It depending on the kind of wax and how strong you want the smell to be.

It should be between 6% and 10% of the weight of the wax. Start out small. Check your candle. Write things down. It’s a lot of fun and a little bit of science to make candles.

You can make candles for yourself, as gifts, or even to sell. If you want to produce candles that really light up the room, you need to get the scent strength just right.