Saponification values and soap making: lye chart and guide
A saponification value is the amount of lye needed to turn a set weight of oil or butter into soap. It is a soapmaker's figure, not an ingredient: no Baraka butter or oil contains lye, and the value does not matter for skincare. Baraka's shea butter, shea oil, African black soap, kombo butter and baobab oil are made by hand by the women of the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre in Wa, Ghana.
What is a saponification value
It is a number that tells you how much lye turns 1 oz of a particular oil into soap. Soapmakers use sodium hydroxide for bar soap and potassium hydroxide for soft or liquid soap. Each oil has its own value, so coconut oil needs more lye per ounce than shea butter. The lye is used up as the oils become soap, leaving soap and glycerin. If you use a butter on skin, hair or lips, you can ignore the number completely.
Does shea butter contain lye
No. Baraka shea butter is unrefined, strained and filtered only, with no lye added. Lye only enters the picture when a soapmaker adds it to shea butter on purpose to make a bar, and the saponification value says how much. The same is true of every Baraka oil and butter.
What are the best oils and butters for soap making
Soap cleanses, and the oils you choose shape how the bar lathers and feels. No single oil is best, so most recipes blend a hard fat, a bubbly-lather oil and a conditioning oil. Here is what each of ours brings to a bar:
- Shea butter gives a creamy, conditioning lather and a harder bar at moderate amounts.
- Cocoa butter adds hardness. It is unrefined and keeps its chocolate smell.
- Virgin coconut oil gives big, bubbly lather and hardness.
- Palm kernel oil gives a hard bar with quick lather. It is white, with very little smell and no colour. It is pressed from the kernel inside the palm fruit's stone, so it is not red palm oil.
- Red palm oil keeps its natural colour and tints the bar. It comes from the flesh around the stone, so it is not palm kernel oil.
- Shea oil makes a softer, conditioning bar.
- Kombo butter is a distinctive traditional West African butter, softer than cocoa butter and firmer than shea. If you try it, patch test on the inside of the arm for 24 hours first.
- Baobab oil is a conditioning oil. The fruit falls naturally from wild trees and women gather it from the ground.
Our shea butter, shea oil, kombo butter and baobab oil are unrefined and made by hand at the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre. Baraka is Community Certified Fair Trade, and the Impact Report has the detail.
What does shea butter do in soap
Shea butter gives soap a creamy, conditioning lather and a harder bar at moderate amounts. Because it is unrefined, its natural colour (ivory to pale yellow) and a mild nutty smell can carry into the bar and vary between batches. Pair it with coconut or palm kernel oil for bigger bubbles, or with cocoa butter for extra hardness.
What is the saponification value of shea butter
Shea butter's value is 0.128 for sodium hydroxide: 0.128 oz of lye per 1 oz of butter (0.128 g per 1 g). For potassium hydroxide it is about 0.180 (multiply by 1.403). These are standard published soapmaking values, as used by common lye calculators. Because the value is a ratio, the same number works in any unit. Here is the full chart for our oils and butters:
| Oil or butter | Sodium hydroxide, oz per 1 oz (g per 1 g) | Potassium hydroxide, oz per 1 oz (g per 1 g) |
|---|---|---|
| Shea butter | 0.128 | 0.180 |
| Shea oil | 0.128 | 0.180 |
| Cocoa butter | 0.137 | 0.192 |
| Coconut oil | 0.183 | 0.257 |
| Palm kernel oil | 0.156 | 0.219 |
| Red palm oil | 0.142 | 0.199 |
| Baobab oil | 0.143 | 0.201 |
| Kombo butter | 0.137 | 0.192 |
Kombo butter's figure of 0.137 is the value our kombo soap recipes use. Published figures vary from about 0.10 to 0.17, so always check your recipe in a lye calculator before you make it.
What is the saponification value of coconut oil
Coconut oil's value is 0.183 for sodium hydroxide: 0.183 oz of lye per 1 oz of oil (0.183 g per 1 g). For potassium hydroxide it is about 0.257. That is the highest figure in our chart, so coconut oil needs more lye per ounce than shea butter. In soap, virgin coconut oil contributes hardness and abundant lather.
How much lye do you need to make soap
Multiply each oil's weight by its saponification value, add the results, then reduce the total for superfat. Here is a worked example for a 16 oz (454 g) batch of oils at about 5% superfat, using sodium hydroxide:
- Shea butter: 6 oz (170 g) × 0.128 = 0.768 oz
- Coconut oil: 6 oz (170 g) × 0.183 = 1.098 oz
- Olive oil: 4 oz (113 g) × 0.135 = 0.540 oz
- Total for all the oils: 2.406 oz
- At 5% superfat: 2.406 × 0.95 = about 2.29 oz (65 g) of sodium hydroxide
- Water, about twice the lye: about 4.6 oz (130 g)
For potassium hydroxide, multiply the sodium hydroxide figure by 1.403. If you scent the soap, we recommend no more than 0.5 oz (15 g), about 300 drops or 1 tablespoon (15 ml), of essential oil in total per 16 oz (454 g) of oils. This is an example, so check it in a lye calculator before you make it.
Lye is caustic. Wear gloves, goggles and long sleeves, work in a ventilated space, add lye to water and never water to lye, use heatproof containers that are not aluminium, and keep children and pets away.
What is a lye calculator and how do you use one
A lye calculator is an online tool that works out the lye and water for a soap recipe from the weight of each oil. Enter every oil and its weight, choose sodium or potassium hydroxide, set your superfat (about 5% is a common starting point), then read off the lye and water amounts. Weigh everything rather than measuring by volume. Check every recipe, ours or anyone else's, in a reputable calculator before you start.
What is superfat in soap making
Superfat is the share of the oils that the lye is not calculated to turn into soap. It leaves a little oil in the finished bar and builds in a margin so no lye is left over. At 5% superfat you calculate the lye for 95% of your oils, as in the example above. A higher superfat leaves more oil in the bar.
How long does homemade soap need to cure
Homemade cold process soap needs about 4 to 6 weeks to cure. Here, curing means drying time: extra water evaporates and the bar hardens. Set the bars on a rack with space between them, out of damp and direct sun, and turn them now and then.
Can you make soap without handling lye
Yes, if you start with soap that is already made. Our Black Soap Base is sold as crumbs for soap making, so you shape it without working with lye. African black soap is made the traditional way, by cooking shea butter and palm kernel oil with potash from plant ash. The potash turns the oils into soap and is used up, so it does not remain in the finished soap. The Base shares the bars' ingredients and contains raw honey, so it is not vegan. For a step-by-step walkthrough, see how to make black soap bars from crumbs.
Our soap recipe books
DIY Soap Making with Shea Butter Vol. I is the first volume of our shea butter soap recipes.
DIY Soap Making Recipe Book with Shea Butter Vol. II is the second volume of shea butter soap recipes.
Kombo Butter Soap Making: 20 Recipes from Beginner to Master Gives 20 kombo butter soap recipes, from beginner to master.
16 Shea Oil DIY Soap Recipes gives recipes for a softer, conditioning bar.
20 Black Soap Bar DIY eRecipe Book collects 20 black soap bar recipes.
More soap guides and recipes
- DIY soap making methods
- Basic DIY soap making information
- How to source shea butter for soap making
- Rebatch magic: save soap, save money, save planet
To stock up in one go, see the DIY pack, the butter and oil bundle and the Baraka x La Fille de la Mère bundle.
Popular recipes to try first:
- Shea butter and cocoa butter soap
- Classic kombo butter soap
- Shea butter and goats milk soap
- Oatmeal and shea butter soap
- Activated charcoal soap recipe
- Hibiscus and coconut oil soap
Quick answers
What is a saponification value
A saponification value is the amount of lye needed to turn a set weight of an oil or butter into soap. It is a soapmaker's figure, not an ingredient, and it does not matter for skincare. No Baraka butter or oil contains lye.
Does shea butter contain lye
No. Baraka shea butter is unrefined, strained and filtered only, with no lye added. A soapmaker adds lye to shea butter on purpose when making a bar.
How much lye do you need to make soap
Multiply each oil's weight by its saponification value, add the results, then reduce the total for superfat. For 6 oz (170 g) shea butter, 6 oz (170 g) coconut oil and 4 oz (113 g) olive oil at about 5% superfat, that is about 2.29 oz (65 g) of sodium hydroxide. Always check a recipe in a lye calculator first.
What is the saponification value of shea butter
It is 0.128 for sodium hydroxide, which means 0.128 oz of lye per 1 oz of shea butter (0.128 g per 1 g). For potassium hydroxide it is about 0.180. These are standard published soapmaking values, so check your recipe in a lye calculator.
What is the saponification value of coconut oil
It is 0.183 for sodium hydroxide, which means 0.183 oz of lye per 1 oz of coconut oil (0.183 g per 1 g). For potassium hydroxide it is about 0.257. This is a standard published soapmaking value.
What is a lye calculator and how do you use one
A lye calculator is an online tool that works out the lye and water for a soap recipe. Enter each oil and its weight, choose sodium or potassium hydroxide, set your superfat, then read off the amounts. Check every recipe in a reputable one before you make it.
What are the best oils and butters for soap making
Most recipes blend a hard fat, a bubbly-lather oil and a conditioning oil. Shea butter gives creamy lather, cocoa butter adds hardness, coconut and palm kernel oil give big bubbly lather, and red palm oil keeps its natural colour. Shea oil and baobab oil make a softer, conditioning bar.
What does shea butter do in soap
Shea butter gives soap a creamy, conditioning lather and a harder bar at moderate amounts. Unrefined shea can carry its natural ivory-to-pale-yellow colour and mild nutty smell into the bar.
What is superfat in soap making
Superfat is the share of the oils the lye is not calculated to turn into soap. It leaves a little oil in the finished bar and builds in a margin so no lye is left over. At 5% superfat, you calculate the lye for 95% of your oils.
How long does homemade soap need to cure
Homemade cold process soap needs about 4 to 6 weeks to cure. Curing means drying time, when extra water evaporates and the bar hardens.
Can you make soap without handling lye
Yes, if you start with soap that is already made. Baraka's Black Soap Base is sold as crumbs for soap making, so you shape it without working with lye. It contains raw honey, so it is not vegan.
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