Almond Oil, sweet
Saponification values, fatty acid makeup, and what this oil does in a bar of soap.
Saponification values
Grams of lye needed to saponify one gram of almond oil, sweet. Multiply by your oil weight, then apply your superfat.
- NaOH (bar soap)
- 0.139
- KOH (liquid soap)
- 0.195
- Iodine
- 99
- INS
- 97
INCI: Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) OilSaponified name (for labels): Sodium Sweet Almondate
Fatty acid profile
| Fatty acid | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Oleic | 71% |
| Linoleic | 18% |
| Palmitic | 7% |
Soap qualities at 100%
What a bar made entirely of almond oil, sweet would score. Almost nobody soaps a single oil at 100% — this is here so you can see what the oil contributes to a blend. The shaded band is the range most makers aim for in a finished recipe.
What that means in a recipe
Almost no cleansing contribution (0) against high conditioning (89). Gentle on skin, but a bar built mainly on this will be slow to trace, slow to harden, and low on bubbles without something to balance it.
Very little hardness (7). Expect a soft bar and a longer cure unless it is combined with a harder fat or butter.
Derived from the numbers above rather than written by hand, so it stays in step with the data. Tendencies, not guarantees — your oils, water, and technique all move the result.
Oils that behave similarly
Closest matches by fatty acid makeup — the usual starting point when you have run out of almond oil, sweet and need a substitute. Check the lye maths again after swapping: SAP values differ even between oils that behave alike.
- Safflower Oil, high oleicSAP 0.135 NaOH
- Plum Kernel OilSAP 0.138 NaOH
- Canola Oil, high oleicSAP 0.133 NaOH
- Karanja OilSAP 0.13 NaOH
- Tallow BearSAP 0.139 NaOH
Recipes using almond oil, sweet
- Conditioning Shampoo Bar 15%Softer and less stripping, aimed at dry or curly hair. Lower coconut, more butter and high-oleic oils.
- Gentle Unscented Bar 10%Low cleansing, high superfat, no fragrance. Intended for sensitive skin. Give it a long cure -- mildness improves with time.
- Classic Olive & Coconut 10%A balanced everyday loaf: olive for mildness, coconut for lather, shea and almond for a softer feel.
- Goat Milk & Honey 10%Creamy and mild, the classic milk soap without the temperature headaches.
Open the calculator to load any of these from the recipe library.