47 oils · butters · fats · waxes

Oil Properties Chart for Soap Making

SAP values for NaOH and KOH, iodine and INS, the bar-property numbers and the eight fatty acids soap calculators track. Click a column to sort it, or search for an oil.

Showing all 47 oils, sorted by name (A to Z).

Soap-making oils with SAP values, properties and fatty acids

Apricot kernel oilLiquid oil	0.139	195	100	91	6	0	93	0	6	–	–	6	–	–	66	27	–
Argan oilLiquid oil	0.136	191	95	95	15	1	81	1	14	–	1	14	–	–	46	34	1
Avocado oil, see note 1Liquid oil	0.133	186	86	99	22	0	70	0	22	–	–	20	2	–	58	12	–
Babassu oilHard (lauric) oil	0.175	245	15	230	85	70	10	70	15	50	20	11	4	–	10	–	–
Beef tallowAnimal fat	0.143	200	45	147	58	8	40	8	50	2	6	28	22	–	36	3	1
Beeswax, see note 2Wax or additive	0.067	94	10	84	0	0	0	0	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Camellia seed oil (tea seed)Liquid oil	0.138	193	78	115	11	0	85	0	11	–	–	9	2	–	77	8	–
Canola oil, see note 3Liquid oil	0.133	186	110	56	6	0	91	0	6	–	–	4	2	–	61	21	9
Canola oil, high oleicLiquid oil	0.133	186	96	90	6	0	90	0	6	–	–	4	2	–	74	12	4
Castor oilLiquid oil	0.128	180	86	95	0	0	98	90	90	–	–	–	–	90	4	4	–
Chicken fatAnimal fat	0.139	195	69	130	33	1	59	1	32	–	1	25	7	–	38	21	–
Cocoa butterButter	0.138	194	37	157	61	0	38	0	61	–	–	28	33	–	35	3	–
Coconut oil (76 °F or 92 °F), see note 4Hard (lauric) oil	0.183	257	10	258	79	67	10	67	12	48	19	9	3	–	8	2	–
Corn oilLiquid oil	0.137	192	117	69	14	0	84	0	14	–	–	12	2	–	32	51	1
Cupuaçu butter, see note 5Butter	0.137	192	39	153	43	0	44	0	43	–	–	8	35	–	42	2	–
Flaxseed (linseed) oilLiquid oil	0.135	190	180	-6	9	0	90	0	9	–	–	6	3	–	27	13	50
Grapeseed oilLiquid oil	0.129	181	131	66	12	0	88	0	12	–	–	8	4	–	20	68	–
Hazelnut oilLiquid oil	0.139	195	97	94	8	0	85	0	8	–	–	5	3	–	75	10	–
Hemp seed oilLiquid oil	0.138	193	165	39	8	0	90	0	8	–	–	6	2	–	12	57	21
Illipe butterButter	0.132	185	33	152	62	0	35	0	62	–	–	17	45	–	35	–	–
Jojoba oil (liquid wax), see note 6Wax or additive	0.066	92	83	11	0	0	12	0	0	–	–	–	–	–	12	–	–
Kokum butterButter	0.135	190	35	155	60	0	37	0	60	–	–	4	56	–	36	1	–
Lard (pork fat)Animal fat	0.141	198	57	139	42	1	52	1	41	–	1	28	13	–	46	6	–
Macadamia nut oil, see note 7Liquid oil	0.139	195	76	119	14	0	61	0	14	–	–	9	5	–	59	2	–
Mango butterButter	0.136	191	45	146	49	0	48	0	49	–	–	7	42	–	45	3	–
Marula oilLiquid oil	0.137	192	73	119	18	0	79	0	18	–	–	11	7	–	75	4	–
Neem seed oilLiquid oil	0.138	193	72	121	39	2	58	2	37	–	2	21	16	–	46	12	–
Olive oil, see note 8Liquid oil	0.135	190	85	105	17	0	82	0	17	–	–	14	3	–	69	12	1
Olive pomace oilLiquid oil	0.134	188	84	104	17	0	83	0	17	–	–	14	3	–	69	12	2
Palm kernel oilHard (lauric) oil	0.176	247	20	227	75	65	18	65	10	49	16	8	2	–	15	3	–
Palm oilHard (lauric) oil	0.142	199	53	145	50	1	49	1	49	–	1	44	5	–	39	10	–
Peanut oilLiquid oil	0.137	192	92	99	11	0	82	0	11	–	–	8	3	–	56	26	–
Pumpkin seed oilLiquid oil	0.139	195	128	67	19	0	83	0	19	–	–	11	8	–	33	50	–
Rice bran oilLiquid oil	0.133	187	100	87	26	1	74	1	25	–	1	22	3	–	38	34	2
Rosehip seed oilLiquid oil	0.133	187	188	10	6	0	89	0	6	–	–	4	2	–	12	46	31
Safflower oilLiquid oil	0.137	192	145	47	7	0	90	0	7	–	–	7	–	–	15	75	–
Safflower oil, high oleicLiquid oil	0.135	190	93	97	7	0	92	0	7	–	–	5	2	–	77	15	–
Sal butterButter	0.132	185	39	146	50	0	42	0	50	–	–	6	44	–	40	2	–
Sesame oilLiquid oil	0.134	188	110	81	15	0	83	0	15	–	–	10	5	–	40	43	–
Shea butter, see note 9Butter	0.128	179	59	116	45	0	54	0	45	–	–	5	40	–	48	6	–
Soybean oilLiquid oil	0.136	191	131	61	16	0	82	0	16	–	–	11	5	–	24	50	8
Stearic acid, see note 10Wax or additive	0.141	198	2	196	99	0	0	0	99	–	–	–	99	–	–	–	–
Sunflower oilLiquid oil	0.135	189	133	63	11	0	87	0	11	–	–	7	4	–	16	70	1
Sunflower oil, high oleicLiquid oil	0.135	189	83	106	7	0	88	0	7	–	–	3	4	–	83	4	1
Tamanu oilLiquid oil	0.148	208	111	82	25	0	73	0	25	–	–	12	13	–	34	38	1
Walnut oilLiquid oil	0.135	189	145	45	9	0	78	0	9	–	–	7	2	–	18	60	–
Wheat germ oilLiquid oil	0.130	183	128	58	19	0	75	0	19	–	–	17	2	–	17	58	–

Saturated
Monounsaturated
Polyunsaturated
Not among the eight tracked

No oil matches that search. Try a shorter word, or add it to the lye calculator as a custom oil with your supplier's SAP value.

Notes on individual oils

Avocado oil. Avocado oil also contains palmitoleic acid, which the eight tracked fatty acids leave out.
Beeswax. Beeswax is mostly wax esters and about half of it does not turn into soap; its fatty acids are not among the eight tracked, so the bar numbers ignore its hardening effect.
Canola oil. Most rapeseed oil sold for cooking today is the low-erucic (canola) type. Older high-erucic rapeseed oil has a lower SAP value, about 168–181 mg KOH/g.
Coconut oil (76 °F or 92 °F). Fractionated (liquid) coconut oil is different: it is mostly caprylic and capric acid and has a much higher SAP value. Add it as a custom oil with your supplier's figure.
Cupuaçu butter. Cupuaçu butter also contains arachidic acid, which the eight tracked fatty acids leave out.
Jojoba oil (liquid wax). Jojoba is a liquid wax, not a true oil: about half of it stays unsaponified and most of its fatty acids are longer than the eight tracked.
Macadamia nut oil. Macadamia oil is rich in palmitoleic acid (often around a fifth), which the eight tracked fatty acids leave out.
Olive oil. The olive oil trade standard allows roughly 55–85 % oleic acid, so real bottles can sit well away from this typical profile.
Shea butter. Unrefined shea butter carries several per cent of unsaponifiable matter, one reason its SAP value is quoted over a wide range.
Stearic acid. Stearic acid is a free fatty acid: it reacts with lye almost at once and can make the batter thicken fast.

How to read the chart

Each row is one oil, butter, fat or wax. SAP NaOH is the grams of sodium hydroxide that turn one gram of the oil into soap; SAP KOH is the same for potassium hydroxide, in milligrams per gram as lab tables give it. Iodine rises with the number of double bonds in the oil: higher means softer and quicker to go rancid. INS is an older combined hardness index.

Hardness, cleansing, conditioning, bubbly and creamy are sums of fatty acids: for one oil on its own, hardness is lauric + myristic + palmitic + stearic, cleansing is lauric + myristic, and so on. They only become useful once you blend oils, which is what the soap lye calculator does with the same data.

Switch the columns to Fatty acids to see the eight acids as a percentage of each oil. The coloured bar groups them into saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated; a hatched end means part of the oil is made of fatty acids or wax esters outside the eight.

Click any column heading to sort by it (click again to reverse), type in the search box, or pick a type to narrow the list.

Worked example

Sort by Cleansing and the lauric oils come to the top: coconut 67, babassu 70 and palm kernel 65. Sort by Iodine and the most unsaturated oils, such as rosehip at 188 and flaxseed at 180, rise to the top: oils to use in small amounts in a bar, if at all.

Typical values, not specifications

Every number here is a typical value for that kind of oil, taken from the SoapCalc oil list. Real oils vary with variety, growing conditions, refining and age. Where a published range exists, the saponification value is checked against it: olive oil 184–196 mg KOH/g, coconut 248–265, palm 190–209, palm kernel 230–254, shea butter 170–190, cocoa butter 192–200, lard 192–203, canola 182–193 and beeswax 60–102. Fatty-acid profiles move too: the olive oil trade standard allows 55–85 % oleic acid. If your supplier publishes a certificate of analysis for your batch, its figures beat any table.

Sources

SoapCalc, Soap making oil chart: SAP values, iodine and INS values and fatty-acid profiles of each oil.
Wikipedia, Saponification value: published ranges in mg KOH/g, citing Gunstone, Oils and Fats in the Food Industry (Wiley, 2009) and Akoh & Min, Food Lipids (CRC Press, 2008).
Wikipedia, Iodine value: what the iodine value measures and why higher values mean more unsaturation.
International Olive Council, Trade standard applying to olive oils and olive pomace oils, Rev. 22: fatty-acid composition limits.

Questions

Why do different calculators give slightly different SAP values?

Because there is no single true value. Each calculator picks a typical figure from a published range, and some round differently or build a small discount into their numbers. A difference of one or two per cent in lye is normal and is what the superfat absorbs.

Why do the fatty acids not add up to 100 %?

Soap calculators track eight fatty acids. Some oils contain others in quantity, such as palmitoleic acid in macadamia and avocado oil or arachidic acid in cupuaçu butter, and jojoba and beeswax are mostly wax esters. Those parts are shown hatched at the end of the bar and are left out of the property numbers.

Is a high iodine value bad?

Not on its own, but it tells you the oil is highly unsaturated. In soap, such oils give a softer bar and are more likely to go rancid, which is why oils like hemp, rosehip and flaxseed usually play a small part in a bar recipe rather than a large one.

Can I use a single oil on its own?

Yes. Castile soap is traditionally 100 % olive oil, and some soapmakers make 100 % coconut or lard bars. A single oil's numbers will sit outside several of the usual ranges, which only shows that the ranges are guidelines, not rules.