Candle Wax Fragrance-Load Reference Chart
Recommended starting points and safe maximum fragrance-oil loads for common candle waxes.
| Wax | Recommended | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Soy wax (container) Golden Brands 464, the reference soy container wax most other soy waxes are benchmarked against, is rated 10% max by its own suppliers, with a 7-10% working range commonly cited; CandleScience separately cites 6% as the average usage across all fragrance oils, which this table uses as the conservative recommended default. Specialty soy blends formulated for higher scent throw may be rated up to 12% by their own supplier — check your specific wax's data sheet before pushing past 10%. | 6% | 10% |
| Paraffin wax (container, additive-blended) Assumes a container paraffin blended with a fragrance-binding additive (e.g. Vybar), which suppliers like IGI rate at 10% max in containers — but only 6% in tealights, since a tealight's small wax volume lowers the safe ceiling regardless of wax type. Plain paraffin with no additive can be limited closer to 3%, and too much Vybar can itself trap fragrance and reduce scent throw — check whether your wax already includes an additive before assuming the higher end applies. | 6% | 10% |
| Coconut wax (blend) "Coconut wax" covers several materially different retail products with a real spread: a 2026-09-10 domain-expert review found specific named products ranging from a coconut-paraffin blend recommended at only 6-8% (to avoid a defect suppliers call "shooting"), to a coconut-soy pillar wax capped at 6% for freestanding pillars specifically (despite being rated much higher, up to 25%, for wax melts — a different product category this table doesn't cover), to a coconut-apricot blend rated up to 15%. This table picks the conservative 6-8% end of that spread rather than implying one number is safe for every product sold as "coconut wax" — check your specific product's own data sheet, especially before trusting a figure above 8%. | 6% | 8% |
| Beeswax (100%) Beeswax has a naturally low fragrance-binding capacity, and its own natural honey scent competes with added fragrance — most sources recommend staying at the low end (3-5%) rather than testing toward a higher maximum. | 4% | 6% |
| Palm wax (container/pillar) Palm wax candle makers typically start around 5-6% to avoid sweating; some individual fragrances may be pushed higher case-by-case with your own testing, but this table uses the conservative starting figure most sources cite. | 5% | 6% |
Retrieved via web research and cross-corroborated across multiple independent candle-supply and community sources, cited in this project’slib/wax-fragrance-reference.ts(see also docs/domain-reference.md for the domain-expert review) — not independently re-measured for every wax. Use the fragrance calculator to apply these values to your own batch.
Frequently asked questions
- What does "fragrance load" mean?
- The weight of fragrance oil you add, as a percentage of your wax weight (not the total finished weight — that's a related but different figure some suppliers call "fragrance content"). A 500g batch of wax at a 6% load uses 30g of fragrance oil.
- Why is there a maximum?
- Past a wax's maximum, fragrance oil that can't stay bound in the wax separates out onto the surface ("sweats") or migrates to the bottom of the container, can saturate the wick, and risks a sputtering, smoking, or unstable flame once burned — for a weaker scent, not a stronger one. Pooled unbound oil on a burning candle is also a real fire-hazard mechanism on its own, not just a burn-quality issue.
- My fragrance oil's own label gives a different maximum — which do I follow?
- The lower one. Under IFRA's Category 12 (candles/air care), most fragrance oils are rated at 100%/unrestricted, so the wax's own maximum is usually what actually governs — but check your fragrance oil's own IFRA certificate regardless, since some fragrance compositions do carry a real restriction below 100%, and if so that lower number wins.
- Can I trust these figures for a commercial batch?
- These are general industry ranges cross-corroborated across multiple independent candle-supply and community sources (see this project's docs/domain-reference.md for the full review), not a lab measurement of your specific product. Always check your own wax's data sheet and test a small batch first.