PURELY SOAPIN' HANDMADE SOAP

Lye Chart With More Instructions

 
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Frequently Asked Questions about Lye Soap

This type of Lye (NaOH) on the chart below is used to make hard bars of soap. If you would like to make liquid soap, you need to use Potassium Hydroxide (KOH) I am now working on a chart for KOH and will post it as soon as it's done.

This chart gives the original SAP numbers first (in black), and the milder SAP numbers second (in blue). The milder numbers give you a 5% discount. You have to be extremely accurate if you use the first numbers, or you could end up with lye in your finished soaps! The milder numbers leave just a bit of room for small mistakes, and just enough unsaponified oils for really wonderful soap that won't go rancid too soon.

To use these numbers, take the amount of fat you plan to use in your recipe (in ounces) and multiply it by the decimal number assigned to that type of fat. The resulting answer will be the amount of lye needed (in ounces). When you are finished calculating all of your fats and oils, add the numbers together. Then round up if you are using the numbers from the milder column. (If using the numbers from the old column, I would just use the exact number)

For the amount of water needed, add up the weight of the fats and oils and divide that number by 3. That number will be the amount of water to use in ounces (but I always add just a couple more ounces to this number because it works better).

Saponification Numbers for Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH)

Milder Column with a 5% Discount

Oil
Almond Oil (Sweet)
Apricot Kernel Oil
Avocado Oil
Babassu Oil
Bear Tallow
Beef Tallow
Bees Wax (white)
Brazil Nut Oil
Butterfat, Cow
Butterfat, Goat
Camellia Oil
Canola Oil (Rapeseed )
Castor Oil
Chicken Fat
Cocoa Butter
Coconut Oil
Cod Liver Oil
Corn Oil
Cottonseed Oil
Crisco/Veg. Shortening
Flaxseed Oil
Grapeseed Oil
Hazelnut Oil
Hemp Seed Oil
Java Cotton Oil
JoJoba Oil
Karite Butter (Shea)
Kukui Nut Oil
Lanolin (Wool Fat)
Lard
Macadamia Oil
Maize Oil
Old
.136
.135
.133
.175
.139
.140
.069
.175
.1619
.1672
.1362
.124
.1286
.1389
.137
.190
.1326
.136
.1386
.136
.1357
.1265
.1356
.1345
.137
.069
.128
.135
.0741
.138
.139
.136
Milder
.129
.128
.126
.166
.132
.133
.069*
.166
.154
.159
.129
.129*
.125*
.132
.130
.1805
.126
.129
.132
.129
.129
.120
.129
.128
.130
.066
.122
.128
.070
.131
.132
.129
Oil
Mink Oil
Mustard Oil
Neat's Foot Oil
Neem Oil
Niger Seed Oil
Nutmeg Butter
Olive Oil
Olive Pomace Oil
Palm Butter
Palm Kernel Oil
Palm Oil
Peanut Oil
Perilla Oil
Poppyseed Oil
Pumpkinseed Oil
Rapeseed Oil (Canola)
Rice Bran Oil
Ricinus Oil (Castor)
Safflower Oil
Sesame Seed Oil
Shea Butter
Shortening (Vegetable)
Soybean Oil
Sunflower Seed Oil
Tallow, Deer (Venison)
Tallow, Bear
Tallow, Beef
Tallow, Sheep (Mutton)
Tallow, Vegetable
Tallow, Goat
Walnut Oil
Wheatgerm Oil
Wool Fat (Lanolin)
Old
.140
.124
.136
.136
.135
.116
.134
  
.156
.156
.141
.136
.137
.138
.133
.124
.128
.129
.136
.133
.128
.136
.135
.134
.138
.139
.141
.138
.135
.138
.135
.131
.074
Milder
.133
.118
.129
.132
.129
.110
.128
.126
.148
.148
.134
.129
.130
.131
.126
.129*
.122
.125*
.129
.126
.122
.129
.128
.1275
.131
.132
.134
.131
.128
.131
.129
.124
.070
 
* These numbers have been altered from the 5% difference because a slightly higher ratio will work better.

For a printable version of this chart click here

A very big THANK YOU to Kathy Miller for allowing me to put this chart on my website. You can see her site at millersoap.com

Do you still have questions? Click here