Soap Oils Properties Chart: A Comprehensive Guide for Every Soap Maker

Discover the diverse properties of soap oils in this comprehensive guide. Each oil brings unique characteristics to your soap creations, from the rich, nourishing avocado butter to the lightweight sweet almond oil.

Knowing these oils’ shelf life, benefits, and potential downsides is the secret to creating your own successful soap recipes.

Get acquainted with the different oils, understand their properties, and learn how to make the most of each one in your cold-process soap recipes.

It’s crucial to understand not only the benefits but also the limitations of each oil.

Knowledge about their shelf life, the nourishment they provide, and any potential downsides is essential for creating perfect, high-quality soaps.

Categories of oils

The most common soapmaking oils are affordable, easy to find, and balance each other well for a simple, basic bar.

But there is a whole world out there to explore of luxury oils and butters.

Common Soap Oils

Olive oil, a staple in soap making, provides excellent moisturization and a creamy lather, though it may create softer bars.

Coconut oil contributes to a hard bar with a fluffy lather, but can be drying in higher percentages.

Palm oil also adds hardness and creamy lather, playing a significant role in achieving a balanced soap recipe.

Rarer oils

Beyond the realm of common oils lie exotic and intriguing options, each adding a unique touch to your soap creations.

Take Lingonberry Seed Oil, a lesser-known oil packed with antioxidants and essential fatty acids, beneficial for nourishing and protecting the skin. Or consider the gentle and moisturizing properties of Green Tea Seed Oil, ideal for sensitive skin types.

 Caribbean Coastal Delights Unrefined Raw Shea Butter – 2 lb – Ivory – Ghana Africa Leven Rose Green Coffee Bean Oil 100% Natural Pure Cold Pressed Unrefined Coffeebean Oil For Around Eyes, Face, Nails, Skin, And Hair- 1 oz Bottle (1 ounce) Yellow Brick Road Raw Mango Butter 8oz

 

While these rarer oils can elevate the quality and appeal of your soap, it’s essential to understand that they have downsides and are best used at lower percentages. They also tend to be quite expensive!

Butters in Soap Making:

Butters, like Avocado and Shea Butter, bring luxurious richness to soap, offering exceptional moisturizing and nourishing properties.

Including butters in your soap recipe enhances the feel and performance of the final product, leaving skin feeling pampered and cared for with every use.

Understanding the roles and properties of these butters is fundamental in crafting a bar of soap that is as delightful to use as it is beneficial for the skin.

How to Pick the best oils for you

This is a balance of personal preference and what your skin needs.

Do you like a hard bar? Do you want lots of lather?

Is your skin dry? Is it important to you to have a vegan recipe?

Glance through the chart and look at the properties that interest you, taking note of the downsides. Pay special attention to the percentages.

Try a bar that’s 30% each palm, olive, and coconut as a starting point, then pick 1-2 “fun” oils to make up the remaining 10%.

Properties of commonly used soapmaking oils

Name of Oil	Highlights	Usage in Cold Process Soap	Downsides
Apricot Kernel Oil	Lightweight, conditioning, easily absorbed produces small bubbles.	Up to 15%	Produces small bubbles
Argan Oil	Silky, moisturizing, vitamin rich.	Up to 10%	Expensive
Avocado Oil	Rich in vitamins A, B, D, E, high levels of fatty acids.	Up to 20%	Softens bar
Beeswax	Hardens bar	10%	Reduces lather, comes to trace very quickly
Babassu Oil	Firm, cleansing, good palm oil replacement	33%	More expensive and hard to find than palm oil for similar performance
Castor Oil	Amazing lather	10%	Makes bar soft and sticky at high levels
Canola Oil	Affordable olive oil substitute	33%	GMO concerns, can cause orange spotting in finished bar
Cocoa Butter	Moisturizing	15%	Makes bar crack or crumble at high levels
Coconut Oil	Very cleansing, hard bar	33%	Drying at high levels
Grapeseed Oil	Lightweight, skin softening	15%	Goes rancid quickly
Hemp Seed Oil	Very hydrating, great lather	15%	Strong natural odor
Jojoba Oil	Firms bar	10%	Reduces lather
Mango Butter	Firming, moisturizing	15%	Can crack at high levels
Meadowfoam Oil	Moisturizing	15%	Small lather
Olive Oil	Moisturizing, make bar easy to work with (slows trace)	100%	Small lather, soft bars
Palm Oil	Hardens bar, good lather	33%	Environmentally controversial
Rice Bran Oil	Vitamin-rich olive oil substitute	100%	More expensive than olive oil, small lather
Sunflower Oil	Lightweight but still moisturizing	20%	More expensive than sweet almond
Sweet Almond Oil	Lightweight but still moisturizing, affordable	20%	Limited shelf life

Less Commonly Used oils

Name of Oil	Highlights	Usage in Cold Process Soap	Downsides
Avocado Butter	Very rich and creamy	12%	Can feel heavy
Carrot Seed Oil	Lightweight but still moisturizing	15%
Chia Seed Oil	Vitamin-rich, moisturizing	12%	Expensive
Coffee Butter	Rich, creamy, very moisturizing	7%	Contains coffee scent
Coffee Seed Oil	Thick and moisturizing	10%	Expensive, hard to find
Cucumber Seed Oil	Very moisturizing	15%	Not suitable for oily skin
Emu Oil	Lightweight and moisturizing	15%	Possible ethical concerns
Green Tea Seed Oil	Lightweight, moisturizing, rich in vitamins	6%	Expensive
Hazelnut Fixed Oil	Lightweight, slows down trace	15%	Reduces lather, possible allergy concerns
Kukum Butter	Lightweight and moisturizing	10%	Reduces lather
Lingonberry Seed Oil	Silky, lightweight, lots of antioxidants.	15%	Very expensive
Oat Oil	Quickly absorbs, hydrating	15%	Does not provide long-lasting moisture
Peach Kernel Oil	Moisturizing, stable lather	25%
Raspberry Seed Oil	Lightweight, quick absorption	15%	Expensive
Red Palm Oil	Firm bars	33%	Stains, orange color carries through bar
Rosehip Seed Oil	Vitamin-rich, hydrating	10%	Expensive
Sesame Oil	High in antioxidants and fatty acids	Up to 10%	Expensive
Tamanu Oil	Lightweight and moisturizing	5%	Limited use in cold process (up to 5%)
Walnut Oil	Antioxidant-rich, conditions, moisturizes	15%	Very short shelf life (3 months)
Wheat Germ Oil	Nutrient-rich, very light feeling	10%	Limited use percentage

How do you turn this into a workable recipe?

It’s easy! (Sort of.).

First, you need to convert percentages to weights. This will require a little thinking because you need to know how much your mold holds. Also, about a third of it will be water.

So let’s say you have a 3-pound mold that holds 36 ounces. You’ll need to allow 12 ounces of water. So you have 24 ounces of oils to work with. If 25% of your recipe needs to be olive oil, that will be 6 ounces of olive oil. Keep going down your recipe converting into weights.

Then, use a soap calculator, enter the weights of the oils you want to use, and it will let you know how much lye and water is needed for your recipe.

Enjoy your soapmaking journey

Knowing about different soap oils is very important for creating your own soap recipes. Whether using common oils like olive oil or trying out less common ones like lingonberry seed oil, making the right choice will help your soaps work well and feel nice on the skin. Use the Soap Oils Properties Chart to help you pick the right oils and create a balanced bar you love.