A good fragrance oil is only half the job. The other half is putting it into the right base at the right strength. An oil that smells glorious in a perfume can vanish in a soy candle or discolour a bar of soap if it is dosed without thought. This guide walks through the most common applications our trade customers use Haveli AI oils for, with typical starting points and the checks that save money before you scale.
Candles
Candle makers talk about fragrance load: the weight of fragrance oil as a percentage of the wax. Most wax blends are formulated to hold somewhere between 6% and 10%. Going beyond what your wax supplier recommends does not make a candle stronger; the excess oil sweats out of the surface and can create a fire risk.
- Add oil at the temperature your wax supplier recommends, usually well below the flash point of the oil, and stir gently for two full minutes.
- Let candles cure for at least 7–14 days before judging hot throw. Soy in particular needs time.
- Test wick size with each new fragrance. Heavy vanillas and resins burn differently from bright citrus.
Soaps
In cold-process soap, fragrance meets a strongly alkaline environment. Some materials accelerate trace, some discolour (vanilla-rich oils typically turn the bar brown), and delicate top notes may fade during saponification. Start around 3% of the oil weight and adjust after a small test batch. Melt-and-pour bases are far more forgiving and let you judge the scent almost immediately.
Reed diffusers and room sprays
Diffusers need a carrier that carries the fragrance up the reeds and evaporates slowly. Fragrance concentrations of roughly 15–25% in a suitable diffuser base are a common starting point. Room sprays sit lower, often in the 5–10% range, with a solubiliser if the base contains water.
Always check the documentation
Every application has its own safe maximum under IFRA standards. Before launching a product, ask your supplier for the IFRA certificate and safety data sheet for that exact oil. At Haveli AI we share these on request with every trade order.
Test small, then scale
The fastest way to lose money in home fragrance is to pour 50 kg of candles with an oil you have never burned. Order a sample first, run three small batches at different strengths, and compare cold throw, hot throw and appearance side by side. Our Fragrance Oil Sample Kit exists for exactly this.
Looking for oils that perform in wax? Browse Candle & Home Fragrance or book a consultation with our team.