Base Oils for Soap Making

There are many more soapmaking oils available than the short list I have put below, however, these are the most commonly used. In general, the base oils you use in your soap bar, should be inexpensive and chosen for the qualities that they produce in the final product.

If you are making a hard soap bar for shaving for example then you will not choose to make it predominantly sunflower oil, no matter what the skincare qualities of that oil is.

A successful bar of soap is a balanced mixture of two or three (or more) soapmaking oils. If you want to make homemade soap with expensive gourmet oils then of course you can, but you will find these oils are best kept for use in small quantities with the bulk of the soap mixture being made up of a nicely balanced blend of cheaper but more reliable soapmaking oils.

Almond (Sweet)

Acid make up: Oleic 64-82 %, Linoleic 8-28%, Palmitic 6-8%. Soft bar, Medium bubbles - Good skincare, Tracing times: average/long

Apricot Kernel

Acid make up: Oleic 58-74%, Linoleic 20-34%, Palmitic 4-7%. Soft bar, medium bubbles - Good skincare, Tracing times: average/long

Castor

Acid make up: Ricinoleic 90%, Linoleic 3-4%, Oleic 3-4%. Generally a soft bar is produced (long curing times are required for large quantities of this oil to harden)Good bubbles/creamy - Good skincare, Tracing times: Quick

Cocoa Butter

Acid make up: Oleic 34-36%, Stearic 31-35%, Palmitic 25-30%, Linoleic 3%. Hard bar, light bubbles/poor lather - Good skincare, Tracing times: Quick

Coconut Oil

Acid make up: Lauric 39-54%, Myristic 15-23%, Palmitic 6-11%, Oleic 4-11%, Stearic 1-4%, Linoleic 1-2%. Hard bar, fluffy bubbles - Not usually attributed with good skincare qualities but depends upon skintype, Tracing times: Quick

Corn Oil

Acid make up: Linoleic 45-56%, Oleic 28-37%, Palmitic 12-14%, Stearic 2-3%. Generally a soft bar, light bubbles/poor lather - Good skincare, Tracing times: Long

Jojoba

Acid make up: Oleic 10-13%, Palmitic 1 - 4%, Linoleic 1 - 5%, Stearic 0.3 – 1%. Very soft bar, medium bubbles - Good skincare, Tracing times: Quick

Lard

Acid make up: Oleic 46%, Palmitic 28%, Stearic 13%, Linoleic 6%, Myristic 1%. Hard bar, creamy bubbles - cleansing, Tracing times: Quick

Olive Oil

Acid make up: Oleic 63-81%, Palmitic 7-14%, Linoleic 5-15%, Stearic 3-5%. Very hard bar (eventually), light bubbles/poor lather - Good skincare, Tracing times: Medium to Long (dependant upon grade of oil)

Palm Kernel Acid make up: Lauric 47%, Oleic 18%, Myristic 14%, Palmitic 9%.Hard bar, fluffy bubbles - cleansing, Tracing times: Quick

Palm Oil

Acid make up: Palmitic 43-45%, Oleic 38-40%, Linoleic 9-11%, Stearic 4-5%. Hard bar, medium bubbles - cleansing, Tracing times: Quick

Safflower Oil

Acid make up: Linoleic 70-80%, Oleic 10-20%, Palmitic 6-7%. Soft bar, medium bubbles/thin lather - Good skincare, Tracing times: Medium to Long

Shea Butter

Acid make up: Oleic 40-55%, Stearic 35-45%, Linoleic 3-8%, Palmitic 3-7%. Very hard bar, creaminess but scarcity of bubbles - Good skincare, Tracing times: Quick

Sunflower

Acid make up: Linoleic 70%, Oleic 16%, Palmitic 7%, Stearic 4%. Soft bar, medium bubbles - Good skincare, Tracing times: Medium to Very Long

Wheat Germ Oil

Acid make up: Linoleic 55-60%, Oleic 13-21%, Palmitic 13-20%, Stearic 2%. Soft bar, medium bubbles/creamy lather - Good skincare, Tracing times: Long

Once you decide on a balance of three or perhaps four soapmaking oils that you wish to put in your soap, then you can choose a final oil to use as a superfat - a small quantity of this oil would be added to the soap mixture at trace, just prior to pouring into the mould. This oil would preferably be one chosen for it's skincare qualities.