Free chapter · Calculation lessons
Get the Mathematics Right: Perfume Dilution and Concentration
By Alaa Allam · From The Home Perfumery Guide ·
Every percentage in the guide’s formula studies is by mass: % w/w. Weighing ingredients on a scale, rather than measuring by volume, makes a formula repeatable, and the calculations below are all you need to work with it.
Three formulas to keep
A correct 5.00 g blend
| Role | Share | Mass |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | 30% | 1.50 g |
| Heart | 50% | 2.50 g |
| Base | 20% | 1.00 g |
| Total | 100% | 5.00 g |
A correct solvent-to-concentrate ratio
If the concentrate contains no diluent, three parts solvent plus one part concentrate means 1 ÷ 4 = 25% concentrate. Four plus one means 20%. For 15%, use 15 g concentrate and 85 g solvent in a 100 g batch. These calculations do not establish safe use levels.
A dilution is not neat aromatic material
0.50 g of a 10% rose stock contains 0.05 g rose material and 0.45 g solvent. If the finished batch weighs 10.00 g, that rose material contributes 0.50% of the batch. Count the solvent already carried by every stock.
For natural extracts, “aromatic mass” here means the mass of the undiluted supplied extract, not an assay of only its volatile molecules. For commercial bases with undisclosed diluent, true aromatic content may be unknown.
Prepare working stocks
A working stock makes a material easier to smell and weigh. Its strength is not a dermal limit. These are the four dilutions the guide starts with:
| Target stock | Starting material | Add solvent | Final mass |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% w/w from neat | 1.00 g | 9.00 g | 10.00 g |
| 1% w/w from neat | 0.10 g | 9.90 g | 10.00 g |
| 1% w/w from 10% stock | 1.00 g of stock | 9.00 g | 10.00 g |
| 10% w/w from 50% stock | 2.00 g of stock | 8.00 g | 10.00 g |
Ready to put this into practice? Try it on the free Citrus Garden formula study, where every material is a 10% stock.
Want the rest of the guide?
This page is a free sample from The Home Perfumery Guide, a 44-page working guide with 52 material profiles, 6 formula studies, 64 glossary terms and 3 printable bench records. The full calculation lessons also cover choosing a format, reading supplier documents, and mixed-stock strengths, with printable formula and batch records.
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