Avocado Oil
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 avocado oil. Multiply by your oil weight, then apply your superfat.
- NaOH (bar soap)
- 0.133
- KOH (liquid soap)
- 0.186
- Iodine
- 86
- INS
- 99
INCI: Persea Gratissima (Avocado) OilSaponified name (for labels): Sodium Avocadate
Fatty acid profile
These figures account for 92% of avocado oil. The remainder is made up of fatty acids this model does not track, so treat the derived qualities below as indicative rather than complete.
| Fatty acid | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Oleic | 58% |
| Palmitic | 20% |
| Linoleic | 12% |
| Stearic | 2% |
Soap qualities at 100%
What a bar made entirely of avocado oil 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 (70). 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.
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 avocado oil and need a substitute. Check the lye maths again after swapping: SAP values differ even between oils that behave alike.
- Goose FatSAP 0.137 NaOH
- Olive Oil pomaceSAP 0.134 NaOH
- Olive OilSAP 0.135 NaOH
- Buriti OilSAP 0.159 NaOH
- Avocado butterSAP 0.133 NaOH
Recipes using avocado oil
- Avocado & Shea 20%Conditioning-focused and gentle, aimed at dry or easily irritated skin.
- Castor-Rich Shampoo Bar 16%Castor drives the thick lather people want from a shampoo bar. An acidic rinse afterwards helps hair that feels waxy.
- Creamy Shea & Oat 10%Butter-heavy and low-cleansing, for a creamy, lotion-like bar.
- Coffee & Cocoa 10%Dark, firm, and lightly exfoliating. Cocoa butter gives hardness; coffee handles kitchen smells.
- Beer Soap 10%Beer replaces some or all of the water. The sugars give a notably thick, stable lather.
- Shea & Cocoa Butter Bar 5%A richer everyday bar. The butters add hardness and a dense, creamy lather without much cleansing punch.
Open the calculator to load any of these from the recipe library.