How much scent to use??

[badascan]

I'm new to candle making and a little confused about how much scent to use. I purchased some scents form peakcandle.com. The scents come in 1oz net wt. bottles. The instructions say to use about 1/2 oz per pound of wax. That doesnt seem right to me to use half a bottle for one pound of wax?

Secondly i bought some droppers for scents and dyes. the droppers are 1oz droppers. What does that mean? Does it just mean they are made for 1oz jars? I have made a few candles 3" x 6.5" which is approx. 2lbs of wax. I put about 3 droppers full of scent for that one candle. I seems to smell good but is that too much? or too little?

These questions may sound dumb but any help would be appreciated, I don't want to just be wasting supplies.

Thanks

[Tereasa]

check this link: http://www.candletech.com/containercandles/

or this one for pillars: http://www.candletech.com/metalpillarmolds/

1/2 oz per pound is roughly 6% FO load.

need to know what type of wax you're using. A great suggestion is to follow the manufacturers advice on FO load. My wax has a 6-12% FO load. Wax is like a sponge, it will only hold so much FO before a solution is obtained (going back to chemistry), and the excess FO will sit on top of your hardened wax. The higher the FO load, the greater the chance of soot, smoke and a badly behaved candle. Telling us a 'dropperful' isn't that helpful. If you say you added 3 droppers and a dropper is 1oz, that's a lot of FO, IMO. A digital scale is a must. For instance, an 8 oz square mason doesn't hold 8oz, net weight, of wax, etc. Take an empty jar and weigh it, then take a jar with water in it weigh it, and subtract the difference. That will give you a pretty good idea of how much, in net weight ounces, that your jar will hold. Let's say 7 oz for the sake of teaching you percentages. Let's go with an 8% FO load. 8% of 7oz is 0.56 ounce of FO. That gives you 7.56 ounces in your candle (which is a bit over what it holds, but make a tart with the excess it's easier than trying to figure out exact numbers, trust me!!).

Does that help?

[Candybee]

Welcome to candlemaking! The amount of fragrance oil you can use in your wax is gonna depend on what kind of wax you are using. Different waxes have different fragrance loads. Most waxes will take up to 1 oz fragrance oil or more per lb.

It would help if you told us what wax you are using so someone can help you with that.

I don't use a dropper to measure my fragrance. I use a scale and weigh it in a small container. Oils have different weights so its best to start using a good scale that weighs in ounces and grams.

When I first started I weighed by volume and found I was wasting oil that way. If you are gonna be making candles for a hobby or business you don't want to waste your oil as they get expensive.

[Angel91805]

1/2 oz per pound is roughly 6% FO load.

Um. No it's not. 6% of 16oz (1 pound) is 1 oz. So, 1/2oz per pound is 3%.

16 x 0.06 = 0.96

I use IGI 4794 blended w/ something softer....eek....4630?...and I use 6%. I have some FO's that are TOO strong at 6%.

Donna

[WaxFlower]

I'm new to candle making and a little confused about how much scent to use. I purchased some scents form peakcandle.com. The scents come in 1oz net wt. bottles. The instructions say to use about 1/2 oz per pound of wax. That doesnt seem right to me to use half a bottle for one pound of wax?

Secondly i bought some droppers for scents and dyes. the droppers are 1oz droppers. What does that mean? Does it just mean they are made for 1oz jars? I have made a few candles 3" x 6.5" which is approx. 2lbs of wax. I put about 3 droppers full of scent for that one candle. I seems to smell good but is that too much? or too little?

These questions may sound dumb but any help would be appreciated, I don't want to just be wasting supplies.

Thanks

Hello and welcome to CT.

First, you will want to invest in a scale so that you can accurately weigh and measure out the proper amounts of wax and FO. Accurate measurements are a very important part of candle making.

If you didn't receive any info about your type of wax from your wax supplier, don't hesitate to ask them for instructions to help you get started.

About your inquiry on FO usage. Decide what size of candle you are wanting to make. Most fo suppliers recommended that you start with 1oz of FO per pound of wax, which would be 6%. You can then go up or down from the 6% starting point. Depending on the scent, you might use anywhere from 3 to 10%. If you are making a 16oz candle, start with FO at 6% (1oz).

There is a lot to learn about candle making and you will find that this forum is filled with lots of valuable info. Try not to get discouraged. Read, read, read, test, test, test, and don't hesitate to ask questions, the members at CT are more than happy to help.

Hope this helps. Good luck and have fun!!!

[Tereasa]

OMG!! LOL!!

thank you, Donna! I knew that, honestly... I swear... I knew that

[debscent]

Theresa, you got me nervous there for a bit, I've only had onr sip of coffee (and not even resembling a decent person yet) and I was starting to doubt myself....LOL!

[Angel91805]

Theresa, you got me nervous there for a bit, I've only had onr sip of coffee (and not even resembling a decent person yet) and I was starting to doubt myself....LOL!

Tell me about it.....I read it last night and had a moment of thought...."holy crap! I'm using too much fragrance.....no wonder some of them are too strong!" Then I dragged out the calculator.

Hehehe

Donna

[badascan]

thanks for all your responses, it is helpful!

[badascan]

This is the wax that I am using:Pillar Blend IGI 4625.

One last question, I paid $2.50 for a 1oz bottle of fragrence. I didnt realize candles take that much fragrence. Based on the calculations about a 1lb candle would be about 1/2 to 1 full bottle of fragrence.

That means that a 1lb candle has a fragrence cost of between $1.25 to $2.50. Is this a normal cost for fragrence per lb of candle? Or is this high?

[debscent]

Yep, so if you buy in 8 oz. or 16 oz you get a better price break. Sample sizes are just that...to sample it, test it, etc. I typically get 2 oz to sample.

[Guest LightofDawn]

Also, when purchasing sampler sizes, check to see if the supplier offers a sampler pack, where you can order several samples (10 or so) for a flat price. This can also bring the price down.

Dawn

[badascan]

thanks again, this is much more clear now!

[Darbla]

Sample sizes are just that...to sample it, test it, etc. I typically get 2 oz to sample.

Yeah, I started out getting 1 oz samples and it just was never enough. Now I buy 2-4 oz for testing. 4 oz if I'm testing it in candles AND b&b products (perfume, lotion, massage oil, soap, etc.).