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Oat 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 oat oil. Multiply by your oil weight, then apply your superfat.

NaOH (bar soap)
0.135
KOH (liquid soap)
0.19
Iodine
104
INS
86

INCI: Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Oil

Fatty acid profile

Fatty acidPercentage
Oleic40%
Linoleic39%
Palmitic15%
Stearic2%

Soap qualities at 100%

What a bar made entirely of oat 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.

  • Hardness17
  • Cleansing0
  • Conditioning79
  • Bubbly lather0
  • Creamy lather17

What that means in a recipe

Almost no cleansing contribution (0) against high conditioning (79). 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.

A high iodine value (104) points the same way: more unsaturated, softer, and quicker to go off than a saturated fat.

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 oat oil and need a substitute. Check the lye maths again after swapping: SAP values differ even between oils that behave alike.

Build a recipe with Oat Oil →