How much fragrance oil per pound?

[flowerbaby]

O.k. I want to know what you all feel is the best amount of fragrance oil to use per pound and why? I really appreciate all your help. Elizabeth

[EricofAZ]

This is pretty much discussed in the search tool that you have.

Best advice is to look up your wax type and where you bought it and read the manufacturer's sheet and follow that at first. Then add or subtract based on the the specific fragrance and your burn test. When you get it just the way you like it, then decide if you want any additives and burn test again.

[Stella1952]

Try 1 oz. pp and see how that works.

[flowerbaby]

I know this is probably a stupid question, but what search tool are you referring to?

[flowerbaby]

Everyone stresses that they want strong smelling candles. Are you able to get good scent throw with 1 oz. ? And is there a specific brand of fragrance oils that you feel are stronger and more concentrated than another?

[pleasureridgecandles]

I know this is probably a stupid question, but what search tool are you referring to?

When you go into a topic (fragrance reviews, general candle making discussions etc.) there is a search this thread tab, if you click on that you can type in any key words (say you want to search a specific scent like Pumpkin Spice) you would type in Pumpkin Spice and all posts that have those key words in that specific thread will come up. Then just read through the posts. If you use soy or a veggie type of wax you will have better results if you search the vegetable wax candle making thread as far as questions, answers about that kind of wax.

[pleasureridgecandles]

Everyone stresses that they want strong smelling candles. Are you able to get good scent throw with 1 oz. ? And is there a specific brand of fragrance oils that you feel are stronger and more concentrated than another?

Depending on the type of wax you use and the supplier of the FO. Alot of Fo's can be used at 1 oz but some suppliers have a stronger FO in one scent than another supplier. Some scents are on the lighter side so you may use 1.5% per pound. Check out the info on your wax as Eric said as far as your wax type and how much FO that wax will hold. There are tons of discussions on FO's in the fragrance reviews thread that can give you some insight as to one supplier having a better version of an FO than another and so on. You will need to test for yourself to find what's right for you.

[Candybee]

Many of todays waxes are already preblended for you and designed to hold a 6% FO load. Thats approximately 1 oz per lb of wax. There are also super waxes designed to hold up to 10% or about 1.5 oz per lb. Why I think there may be one or two that can hold up to 2 oz. The majority of them (and probably yours) has a load reco of 6%. With 6% you can usually safely add a little more by experimenting to see if yours will hold more. Just keep in mind the specs of your wax and what it was meant for and test for that.

Check with your wax manufacturer for the FO load recommendation for your wax to be sure.

I try and look for FOs that work at 6% (1 oz pp) in my wax. I could use more but when you start producing more and more candles you absolutely have to find ways to cut costs and using more FO than is necessary is wasteful and expensive IMO.

[flowerbaby]

I am excited about the search tool. I am going to definitely check that out. This tech board is so helpful. I am so happy someone recommended it to me. It can be so frustrating when you have problems arise and this way you don't feel alone and struggling. Thank you. Elizabeth

[EricofAZ]

A lot of folks talk about the amount of FO that a wax can hold. Something that often makes more difference is the diameter of the melt pool rather than the wax selection and amount of FO (though combining the best of all these choices can result in a really powerful candle).

Wide diameter candle MP's tend to throw far more than narrow diameter candles. So the jar selection is important if you want to have a strong candle.

Edited December 6, 2010 by EricofAZ

[flowerbaby]

I didn't know that. My jar is 3" in diameter in the center of the jar, so that should be good, right?

[IwantItgreen]

for easy figuring I add 2 grams FO to 1 oz. wax. That's close to 7%.

[Stella1952]

for easy figuring I add 2 grams FO to 1 oz. wax

That's a very handy weight for small amounts of wax.

For the non-metricly inclined, my favorite handy dandy online converter says:

2 gram = 0.070 547 923 899 ounce

which, times 16 oz., is about 1.13 oz. PP Thanks for the tip, IWIG!

[IwantItgreen]

That's a very handy weight for small amounts of wax.

For the non-metricly inclined, my favorite handy dandy online converter says:

which, times 16 oz., is about 1.13 oz. PP Thanks for the tip, IWIG!

Oops, maybe I should clarify: I do figure 2 g/1 oz but then times that to the total amount I need. (I usually don't pour 1 ouncers . If I'm pouring a tester, I use 7.5 oz wax so then I need 15 grams (1/2 oz). If I'm pouring 4 jars I usually use 30 oz wax and 60 g. FO. (2 oz). This way is easy to remember and I don't need to keep checking my "cheat sheet".