Diluting ingredients — the maths of it | EP 031
The podcast 'Todos os caminhos vão dar ao aroma' is sponsored by Jarilo. In this podcast, Mariana, Jarilo's founder, explores the world of perfumery and tries to discover how perfume is made.
This article is the transcript of EPI 031. Diluting ingredients — the maths of it
[Start of transcript]
↳ Today I want to address something essential for anyone learning Perfumery: dilutions.
↳ I'll talk about percentages — why we do dilutions — why we work with mass and not volume — and how to make 10% and 1% dilutions.
↳ This episode is simple but fundamental for understanding how to control the intensity of materials and, thus, work more precisely.
↳ First, we need to understand what a dilution is.
↳ Dilution is a dissolution, usually in a liquid.
↳ And, in parallel with that, we need to understand what a percentage is.
↳ A percentage is a proportion calculated in relation to a quantity of one hundred units.
↳ So, in Perfumery, when it's said that a certain dilution is 10%, it means that for every 100 parts, 10 are the aromatic ingredient and 90 are the solvent — usually alcohol.
↳ That is: 10 grams of ingredient + 90 grams of alcohol = 100 grams total.
↳ And those 10 grams correspond to 10% of the total.
↳ In Perfumery, it's very important to work with mass (grams) and not volume (millilitres).
This is because we want to be as precise as possible and easily reproduce the formulas we develop.
↳ Ingredients have a physical property called Density, which varies with temperature.
Now, it happens that a certain material, according to certain variations in its temperature, occupies different volumes.
↳ Mass, however, is a physical property that does not vary.
So it is much more precise to measure Mass than Volume.
↳ Different ingredients have different densities (1 g of patchouli essential oil, for example, does not occupy the same Volume/Space as 1g of alcohol).
↳ By working in grams, we ensure that our formulas can be reproduced, time after time, with maximum precision.
↳ Therefore, I usually dilute my ingredients to 10% and 1%.
↳ But I rarely make 100 grams at once — because that's too much material.
↳ That's why I like to always think in base 10.
↳ If I want to use less material when making a 10% dilution, instead of 10 grams of material + 90 grams of alcohol, I only make 10 grams in total:
That is: 1 gram of material + 9 grams of alcohol = 10 grams of 10% solution.
↳ Then, if I want to make a 1% dilution, I use 1 gram of my 10% dilution and add 9 grams of alcohol.
↳ This gives me 10 grams of 1% dilution.
↳ Working with this logic of 10, 100, or 1000 is a simple way to think in scale and maintain consistent proportions, whether for testing an accord, a complete perfume, or just studying and getting to know a new ingredient.
↳ The act of diluting is not just a matter of economy — it is mainly a matter of olfactory education.
↳ When we dilute a certain material, we can better perceive its aromatic nuances.
↳ Many ingredients, if smelled in their pure forms, are so intense that it becomes extremely difficult to smell all their layers.
↳ Diluting an ingredient is like fanning out a deck, giving space to the nose (and brain) to understand the aroma in all its layers, its evolution and character.
↳ In the next episode, we will create an accord for a special project.
↳ I would also like to remind you that Jarilo has launched a new collection — the Four Elements Collection — have you already purchased and tried any of our scented candles? I will leave the link in the episode notes.
↳ Thank you for listening to this episode of the podcast 'Todos os caminhos vão dar ao aroma'.
If you enjoyed it, don't forget to subscribe — share with friends — leave a comment — or send an email to todososcaminhosvaodaraoaroma@
↳ Send me an email requesting any clarification about Dilutions, or anything else about Perfumery you'd like to know more about.
↳ Until next time.
Happy olfactory experiences!
[End of transcript]
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