How much oil is that percent, and what is 1 oz per pound as a percent?
Updated
On this page7
One ounce of fragrance oil per pound of wax is 6.25 percent of the wax weight and 5.9 percent of the finished candle. To turn any percent of wax into oil, multiply the wax weight by the percent. To find what share of the finished candle that oil is, divide the oil by wax plus oil. This calculator does all three directions: from a wax weight and a target percent to grams of oil, from a supplier's ounces per pound to both percentages, and from the weights you actually used back to the load you made. It also checks your load against the wax maker's limit and the oil's IFRA figure.
Pick the question you are asking
| You have | Enter | You get |
|---|---|---|
| A weighed amount of wax and a target load | Wax weight, the percent, and whether it is a percent of wax or of candle | Oil to add in grams and ounces, the batch total, and the load stated both ways |
| A supplier figure in ounces per pound | The ounces per pound | Percent of wax and percent of candle; with a wax weight, the oil to add |
| A recipe that gives a percent without much else | The percent and what it is a percent of | The same load on the other basis, and in ounces per pound |
| A batch you already made | The wax and oil you weighed | The load you actually made, both ways |
The two ways to state a load
Every load is a fraction with oil on top. The bottom is either the wax alone or the whole candle.
- Percent of wax = oil ÷ wax × 100. Ounces per pound of wax is this same measure, written per 16 oz.
- Percent of candle = oil ÷ (wax + oil) × 100.
The gap grows with the load. At 10 percent of the wax the oil is 9.1 percent of the candle, and at 15 percent of the wax it is 13.0 percent. A conversion table for the common loads, and the reasons the two methods get mixed up, are on how much fragrance oil to use, which is the home for this arithmetic.
Supplier figures that pair a percent with ounces per pound tell you the basis. CandleScience lists SimplySoy's container maximum as "10% or 1.6 oz/lb. (45 g/454 g)" and its tealight maximum as "5% or 0.8 oz/lb." [1]; both are percent of wax, since 1.6 is 10 percent of 16. CandleScience's support center also writes a common starting load as "6% or 1oz per pound of wax" [2], which rounds the exact 6.25 percent down.
Three loads, worked through
A supplier's maximum, on a 3 lb batch
You have 3 lb of SimplySoy (1,360.8 g) and want to try its container maximum, 1.6 oz per pound [1].
- Percent of wax: 1.6 ÷ 16 = 10 percent.
- Oil: 1,360.8 × 0.10 = 136.1 g, or 4.80 oz.
- Percent of candle: 136.1 ÷ (1,360.8 + 136.1) = 9.1 percent.
A recipe written as percent of the candle
A recipe says "10 percent fragrance" and, when you ask, the author means 10 percent of the finished candle. On the wax basis that is 10 ÷ 90 × 100 = 11.1 percent, or 1.78 oz per pound. If your wax's limit is 10 percent of the wax, as SimplySoy's is [1], this recipe is over it in your wax, although the two figures look the same.
Checking a batch after the fact
You weighed 907 g of wax and 72.6 g of oil. The load you made is 72.6 ÷ 907 = 8.0 percent of the wax and 72.6 ÷ 979.6 = 7.4 percent of the candle. If the batch record says 8 percent with no basis, add one now so the next batch can be repeated exactly. The batch record template has a field for it.
The three limits the calculator checks
Enter whichever you have. The calculator flags any that the load passes, and the lowest one is the one you work to.
| Limit | Where it comes from | Basis to compare | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| The wax's maximum load | The wax maker's data sheet | The basis the sheet states; if it states none, the calculator treats it as percent of candle, the reading that gives less oil | SimplySoy 10 percent of wax for containers [1]; Golden Brands GW 464 "about 7-9%," basis not stated [3]; CandleScience coconut apricot "up to 15%," with candles above 13 percent at risk of melting out of their jars in its 113°F (45°C) oven test [4] |
| The oil's usage range | The oil's product page or sheet | As the supplier states it; ask if unclear | CandleScience Very Vanilla: "Candle Safe usage: 3.0% - 10.0%" [5] |
| The oil's IFRA maximum for candles | The oil's IFRA certificate | Always percent of the finished candle, because IFRA expresses limits as a concentration in the finished product [6] | Some oils carry no practical limit for candles; CandleScience's example certificate shows 100 for one oil in the candle category [7] |
IFRA calls its standards "a self-regulating voluntary system of the industry" [10]; they carry no force in U.S. law. The certificate comes from your fragrance supplier, and IFRA says plainly that it "does not create the certificates" [8]. What a certificate shows and why buyers ask for one is on IFRA certificates and fragrance limits.
A load inside every limit is still only a starting point. More oil does not keep making a stronger candle; past the wax's capacity it sweats out as droplets or a film (oil on top of the candle), and a load change can call for a different wick. CandleScience bases its wick recommendations on a 7.5 percent load and no dye [9]. Burn test each load you intend to sell.
Weighing the oil the calculator gives you
Small amounts of oil are where a scale's resolution matters. At 6.25 percent of the wax, one 200 g candle carries about 11.8 g of oil, so a scale that reads only to whole grams can be off by several percent of the oil in one jar. Weigh oil for a whole batch rather than jar by jar where you can, and weigh by mass, never by volume. Weighing wax and fragrance covers scales and the most common mistake, calculating on the wrong base.
When the oil goes into the wax
Once the amount is right, the temperature at which you add it comes from your wax's data sheet. The oil's flash point governs how the oil is shipped and stored, never when it goes into the wax. When and how to add fragrance gives the addition temperatures and stirring times published for named waxes.
| Percent of the wax | 8.00% |
|---|---|
| Percent of the candle | 7.41% |
| Ounces per pound of wax | 1.28 |
| Wax | 907.0 g |
| Fragrance oil | 72.6 g (2.56 oz) |
| Finished candle | 979.6 g |
References
- CandleScience, CandleScience SimplySoy Artisan Wax (product page with instructions and applications), undated, read October 22, 2026. https://www.candlescience.com/wax/candlescience-simplysoy-artisan-wax
- CandleScience Support, How much fragrance oil should I add to melted wax?, updated April 30, 2026. https://support.candlescience.com/en_us/how-much-fragrance-oil-should-i-add-to-melted-wax-B15NnQAWl
- Voyageur Soap & Candle, Golden Brands GW 464 Soy Container Candle Wax (product page with manufacturer's instructions), undated, read October 22, 2026. https://www.voyageursoapandcandle.com/Golden_Brands_464_Soy_Wax_p/20264.htm
- CandleScience, Lab Notes: CandleScience Coconut Apricot Wax, undated (images dated April 2024), read October 22, 2026. https://candlescience.com/lab-notes-candlescience-coconut-apricot-wax
- CandleScience, Very Vanilla Fragrance Oil (product page), undated, read October 22, 2026. https://www.candlescience.com/fragrance/very-vanilla-fragrance-oil-v1/
- IFRA, Understanding the Standards, undated (copyright 2026), read October 22, 2026. https://ifrafragrance.org/understanding-standards
- CandleScience, How to Use the IFRA Certificate, undated, read October 22, 2026. https://www.candlescience.com/learning/how-to-use-the-ifra-certificate/
- IFRA, Certification of IFRA Standards, undated (copyright 2026), read October 22, 2026. https://ifrafragrance.org/initiatives-positions/safe-use-fragrance-science/ifra-standards/certification-of-ifra-standards
- CandleScience, Candle Wick (category page with wick guide notes), undated, read October 22, 2026. https://www.candlescience.com/candle-wick
- IFRA, IFRA Standards, undated (copyright 2026; latest news item August 31, 2026), read October 22, 2026. https://ifrafragrance.org/initiatives-positions/safe-use-fragrance-science/ifra-standards
