Products · 21min read
Plant-Based Fats & Oils in Soaps
Explore our detailed overview of fatty acid profiles for soap-making. Take a closer look at organic cocoa butter, shea butter, coconut oil and sunflower oil’s soap-making properties, including their saponification values.
Soap-Making Fatty Acid Profiles
|
Fatty Acid
|
Type of Fat
|
Functions in Soaps
|
Resulting Lather
|
Plant-Based Oils
|
|
Lauric acid
|
saturated
|
hardening, cleansing
|
big & fluffy
|
coconut oil, palm kernel oil, babassu oil
|
|
Myristic acid
|
saturated
|
hardening, cleansing
|
fluffy
|
murumuru butter, tucuma seed butter, monoi de tahiti oil, cohune oil
|
|
Palmitic acid
|
saturated
|
hardening
|
creamy
|
coconut butter, palm oil
|
|
Stearic acid
|
saturated
|
hardening
|
stable
|
shea butter, soybean oil, kokum oil, illipe butter, sal fat, mango butter
|
|
Oleic acid
|
unsaturated
|
conditioning, moisturising
|
slippery
|
olive oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, canola oils
|
|
Linoleic acid
|
unsaturated
|
conditioning, moisturising
|
silky
|
hemp oil
|
|
Linolenic acid
|
unsaturated
|
conditioning, moisturising
|
silky
|
sunflower oil, hemp oil, olive oil, rapeseed oil, pomegranate seed oil, flax oil
|
|
Ricinoleic acid
|
unsaturated
|
conditioning, moisturising
|
slippery
|
castor oil
|
Sources: modernsoapmaking.com, ultimatehpsoap.com
At foodcircle, we take great pride in the quality of our organic ingredients. We’ve compiled the following overview to give you a better feel for the individual soap-making qualities of some of our best-selling plant-based fats. For an overview of all ingredients in our portfolio for soap-making, to request samples or place an order, please sign up or log in to your digital dashboard.
Cocoa Butter
Our 100% raw organic cocoa butter is available in two variants: natural or deodorised. The deodorised variant is favoured by most soap-makers because it is scent-free. If, however, you would like your soap to carry a chocolatey smell, it is also possible to saponify our natural cocoa butter.
|
Saturated fats |
60% |
|
Unsaturated fats |
40% |
|
Main fatty acids |
Palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid |
|
Properties in soap |
Conditioning, moisturising, hardening |
|
Lather |
Rich, stable, lotion-like |
|
Saponification |
Lye (Sodium Hydroxide), NaOH: 0.1378 Caustic Potash (Potassium Hydroxide), KOH: 0.1941 |
|
Recommended usage in soap |
5% - 15% |
|
Soap bar |
Hard and long-lasting |
|
Nutritional benefits |
High levels of vitamin E, antioxidants |
|
Scent |
Neutral (deodorised cocoa butter), chocolate scent (natural cocoa butter) |
|
Colour |
Creamy white with a hint of yellow |
Sources: ve.scielo.org, simplelifemom.com, iamcountryside.com
Shop wholesale organic cocoa butter for soap-making at foodcircle.
Shea Butter
Our organic shea butter is extracted from shea nuts using mechanical pressure and then carefully refined to ensure its exceptionally smooth texture.
|
Saturated fats |
50% |
|
Unsaturated fats |
50% |
|
Main fatty acids |
Palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid |
|
Properties in soap |
Conditioning, hardening |
|
Lather |
Stable |
|
Saponification |
Lye (Sodium Hydroxide), NaOH: 0.1296 Caustic Potash (Potassium Hydroxide), KOH: 0.1359 |
|
Recommended usage in soap |
5% - 20% |
|
Soap bar |
Medium-hard and long-lasting |
|
Nutritional benefits |
High levels of vitamin A and E |
|
Scent |
Nutty |
|
Colour |
Ivory |
Sources: verywellfit.com, researchgate.net, simplelifemom.com, iamcountryside.com, lovinsoap.com
Shop wholesale organic shea butter for soap-making at foodcircle.
Coconut Oil
Our wholesale organic coconut oil contains high levels of lauric acid (44.0% - 53.2%). Its natural cleansing and conditioning properties alongside the bubbly lather it creates make it an all-time favourite in soap-makers' books.
|
Saturated fats |
80-90% |
|
Unsaturated fats |
10-20% |
|
Main fatty acids |
Lauric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid |
|
Properties in soap |
Cleansing, conditioning, hardening |
|
Lather |
High with stable bubbles |
|
Saponification |
Lye (Sodium Hydroxide), NaOH: 0.1910 - 0.2321 Caustic Potash (Potassium Hydroxide), KOH: 0.2690 - 0.3269 |
|
Recommended usage in soap |
15% - 50% |
|
Soap bar |
Hard |
|
Nutritional benefits |
High levels of vitamin E |
|
Scent |
Coconutty (virgin coconut oil), neutral (refined coconut oil) |
|
Colour |
Milky-white |
Sources: sciencedirect.com, hsph.harvard.edu, simplelifemom.com, iamcountryside.com, lovinsoap.com
Shop wholesale organic coconut oil for soap-making at foodcircle.
Sunflower Oil
If you’re looking to produce a mild soap with a silky feel, our organic sunflower oil might just be the key ingredient you’re looking for. Our organic sunflower oil is available on two variants, linoleic sunflower oil and high oleic sunflower oil. High oleic sunflower oil has a longer shelf life in soapmaking than its linoleic counterpart.
|
Saturated fats |
≈11% |
|
Unsaturated fats |
≈89% |
|
Main fatty acids |
High oleic acid, linoleic acid |
|
Properties in soap |
Conditioning |
|
Lather |
Low, silky |
|
Saponification |
Lye (Sodium Hydroxide), NaOH: 0.1351- 0.1358 Caustic Potash (Potassium Hydroxide), KOH: 0.1903 - 0.1913 |
|
Recommended usage in soap |
20 - 35% |
|
Soap bar |
Soft |
|
Nutritional benefits |
High levels of vitamin E |
|
Scent |
Neutral |
|
Colour |
Slightly opalescent, light yellow |
Sources: healthline.com, iamcountryside.com, soapqueen.com
Shop wholesale organic sunflower oil for soap-making at foodcircle.
What is Saponification?
In soap-making, the term ‘saponification’ refers to the chemical reaction that takes place between fats, such as natural butters or oils, and an alkali solution, such as sodium or potassium hydroxide. This process is a crucial step in the soap-making process. Its resulting effects are influenced by a number of factors, including the levels of unsaturated and saturated fatty acids in the fat which, in turn, impact the final hardness, moisturising abilities, cleansing abilities and lather of the soap. The ‘saponification value’ or ‘saponification number’ thus differs between fats and refers to the amount of alkali (or base) required to saponify the fat.
For a comprehensive list of saponification values visit certified-lye.com.
Imagery: (1) Aurelia Dubois and (2) Daniele Levis Pelusi via unsplash.com, (3 - 6) foodcircle.com