When to Add Fragrance Oil to Wax

Add fragrance oil after the wax is fully melted, at the temperature on your wax maker's sheet, then stir gently for a minute or two. For many waxes that is about 180 to 185 F (82 to 85 C). It is not a universal number, and one soy wax's sheet says 150 F. The oil's flash point is a separate question, and the suppliers do not fully agree on it, so I cover it below. Test your wax, oil and wick in your own jar before you sell.

What do the sheets say?

Two of the three Golden Wax 464 rows say 185 F and one says 150 F. Same wax, so that is a spread of 35 F (185 - 150) between suppliers.

Why does the temperature matter?

The reasons I found are about scent and mixing, not fire. AFI says adding fragrance too hot can reduce scent strength and too cool can cause uneven mixing. Craftybase says wax that is too hot drives off the lighter, more volatile notes first, which are usually the top notes. Those are the makers' own claims, not tests I could check. CandleScience says low flash point fragrances do not burn off when added to wax and poured promptly.

What does flash point have to do with it?

The suppliers split. Craftybase says to add oil at or below its flash point, and as a rule of thumb at least 10 to 15 F below it. Its stated reason is keeping the top notes, not fire. CandleScience says adding oil above its flash point will not cause combustion. Lone Star says it is safe to add fragrance above its flash point as long as the oil stays a safe distance from open flame, and that each oil's flash point is on its product page. Supplies for Candles (UK) says wax may be hotter than a fragrance's flash point during mixing and that the oil will not ignite without an open flame, and that the sheet's flash point is not a guide for wax mixing temperatures. Voyageur says that with a lower flash point oil, adjust your wax temperature as necessary.

Our guide on flash points goes through that. My cautious advice, not a source's rule: read your oil's safety data sheet, note the flash point, keep open flames and sparks away from the pitcher and the bottle (a lit gas burner is an open flame), and ask the oil's supplier if the flash point is lower than the add temperature on your wax's sheet.

Worked example: three oils, one wax

Say your wax sheet says to add oil at 185 F. Two real safety data sheets from CandleScience (created 11/2/2020) list flash points: Plumeria at 102 C (216 F) and White Sage and Lavender at 100 C (212 F). The third oil is made up for this example, with a flash point of 150 F.

• Plumeria: 216 - 185 = 31 F between the add temperature and the flash point
• White Sage and Lavender: 212 - 185 = 27 F
• Example oil: 150 - 185 = -35 F, so 185 F is 35 F above its flash point

Craftybase's rule would put the example oil at 150 - 15 = 135 F to 150 - 10 = 140 F. That is close to the 135 F pour temperature CandleScience gives for Golden Wax 464, so you would be adding oil almost at pour temperature. CandleScience's advice for a low flash oil is to mix it in and pour promptly, with batches small enough to pour right away, and not to keep cooling and reheating fragranced wax. Which path you follow is a judgment you make from the sheets and your supplier, and then you confirm it with a test candle.

Common mistakes

• Adding oil with the pitcher next to a lit burner. Voyageur and CandleScience's double boiler guide take the wax off the heat first.
• Adding oil to a half-melted pitcher.
• Stirring for a few seconds instead of one to two minutes.
• Cooling and reheating fragranced wax again and again. CandleScience advises against it.
• Using a number from a different wax.
• Not looking up the oil's flash point at all.

Questions

Do I add dye before or after fragrance?

California Candle Supply adds dye first once the wax is melted, then the oil. CandleScience's Golden Wax 464 page does not mention dye. Follow your own wax's sheet.

How long should I stir?

CandleScience says one to two minutes. Voyageur and Lone Star say about two minutes.

Can I add fragrance to wax that is cooler than the sheet says?

AFI says too cool can cause uneven distribution. If your wax's sheet says to cool first and add near the pour temperature, as one soy data sheet does, follow that.