Find the right oils and butters for your bar.
Compare soap effects and workability across 42 oils and butters. Notes are practical guidance, not safety ratings; verify the supplier's product grade and SAP.
Apple Seed Oil
A specialty liquid oil that can contribute a soft, mild-feeling quality in a blended bar. As a liquid oil, it does not provide the firming role of solid fats.
Check that the product is neat apple seed oil, not an extract or an infused carrier oil.
Apricot Kernel Oil
A soft liquid oil that can add a mild, smooth feel to a blended cold-process bar. It is not a hard-oil or big-bubble substitute on its own.
It blends like other liquid oils; confirm the product is apricot kernel oil before recalculating a substitution.
Argan Oil
A liquid specialty oil suited to a supporting role in a blend; it contributes softness rather than the firmness or large bubbles associated with some solid fats.
Match the supplier's exact argan oil and keep its own SAP reference when changing an existing recipe.
Avocado Oil
A soft liquid oil used in blended bars for a mild, conditioned feel. It generally traces more slowly than hard fats and will not firm a recipe by itself.
A familiar blending oil; check the supplier's grade and recalculate lye whenever the oil changes.
Babassu Oil
Its lauric-rich profile can contribute firm bars and abundant bubbles, with cleansing character similar to—but not identical to—coconut oil.
Melt the solid oil fully and use its own SAP reference; do not substitute coconut-oil values.
Borage Oil
A delicate, unsaturated liquid oil for specialty blends. It adds softness rather than bar structure; a formula's freshness and oxidation resistance matter.
Buy a fresh, well-stored product, identify it precisely, and avoid relying on it as the bar's main hardening oil.
Canola Oil (high oleic)
This high-oleic liquid oil can support a mild-feeling, slower-moving batter. Like other liquid oils, it contributes less firmness than solid fats.
Verify the high-oleic grade; ordinary and high-oleic canola have different fatty-acid profiles.
Carrot Seed Oil (cold-pressed)
A specialty seed oil that behaves as a liquid blend ingredient; do not assume it will add a lasting carrot color or scent to finished soap.
Check the label carefully: this entry is cold-pressed fatty seed oil, not carrot-seed essential oil or an infusion.
Castor Oil
Castor oil can support a stable, creamy lather in a balanced recipe. Its thick, sticky batter can become difficult to pour when castor dominates the oil blend.
Measure carefully: castor oil is unusually viscous. A single-oil castor batch behaves very differently from a normal blend.
Cocoa Butter
This room-temperature solid butter can add firmness and a creamy lather to a blended bar; it does not create the fluffy bubbles of lauric-rich oils.
Melt fully and combine evenly with the liquid oils before making the lye calculation.
Coconut Oil (76°)
Coconut oil can add firmness, large fluffy bubbles, and a more cleansing feel. A formula's overall balance matters; the ingredient alone does not predict the finished bar.
Melt and mix evenly; use the 76-degree product's own SAP, not values for fractionated coconut oil.
Cupuacu Butter
A firm plant butter that can add structure and a creamy quality to a blended cold-process bar.
Melt completely and identify the supplier's exact butter grade; cupuaçu is not interchangeable with cocoa or shea butter.
Evening Primrose Oil
A delicate liquid seed oil suited to specialty blends. It contributes a softer feel rather than the firmness and fluffy lather of hard oils.
Check freshness and storage history, and verify the exact supplier specification before using its reference SAP.
Fractionated Coconut Oil
This liquid caprylic/capric oil does not have the same lauric-rich profile as regular coconut oil, so it will not reproduce the same lather and cleansing role.
Confirm the product is caprylic/capric triglycerides. Never swap in 76-degree coconut oil's SAP value.
Grapeseed Oil
A light, unsaturated liquid oil that can make a bar softer. Its high-linoleic profile makes freshness and oxidation considerations important in a formula.
Use a fresh, properly stored product and keep the exact grade in mind when reformulating.
Hemp Seed Oil
A soft, unsaturated liquid oil for blended recipes; it contributes less firmness than room-temperature solid fats.
Protect this delicate oil from heat, light, and air, and distinguish plain seed oil from blended hemp products.
Jojoba Oil (golden)
Jojoba is a liquid wax ester, not a typical triglyceride oil. Its unusual composition means it does not behave like common soapmaking oils.
Use only a jojoba-specific SAP reference and test cautiously; its very low saponification value and unusual behavior make substitutions tricky.
Kokum Butter
A very firm plant butter that can contribute structure and a harder feel to a blended bar.
Break up and melt fully before blending; confirm the exact butter because its reference SAP differs from other butters.
Kukui Nut Oil
A soft liquid nut oil for blended recipes. It contributes less bar firmness than solid fats, so the full formula determines hardness and cure behavior.
Check that the oil is fresh and confirm its botanical/product identity in the supplier specification.
Mango Butter
A room-temperature solid butter that can increase firmness and contribute a creamy lather in a balanced blend.
Melt completely and weigh accurately; mango butter's SAP is not the same as shea or cocoa butter.
Marula Oil
A liquid specialty oil for balanced blends. Its liquid-oil character adds softness rather than the firmness or large bubbles supplied by hard fats.
Match the supplier's exact marula oil and recalculate lye if replacing another ingredient.
Moringa Seed Oil
A high-oleic liquid oil that can suit a mild-feeling blend. It remains a soft oil, so the complete formula provides the bar's structure.
Choose the pressed seed oil, not a botanical extract, and verify the product's stated grade.
Murumuru Butter
A hard, lauric-rich butter that can contribute a firm bar and abundant lather. Its SAP is notably different from many common butters.
Melt thoroughly and recheck the exact supplier SAP; do not substitute a generic butter value.
Neem Oil
A liquid specialty oil with a strong, distinctive odor that may remain noticeable in finished soap. It contributes softness, not bar structure.
Plan for its strong natural scent and verify that the product is neem seed oil rather than an extract or blend.
Oat Oil
A soft liquid oil that can add a mild-feeling quality to a blend; it does not provide the firming effect of solid fats.
This entry is oat-derived oil, not colloidal oatmeal, oat extract, or oat protein; confirm the supplier's exact product.
Olive Oil
Olive oil contributes a mild-feeling bar and a small, dense lather. A high-olive recipe can trace slowly and may need extra time to harden and cure.
A familiar liquid oil, but patience may be needed before unmolding and during the cure of olive-heavy recipes.
Olive Oil (pomace)
Pomace olive oil contributes a mild-feeling bar with dense lather, much like other olive-oil soaps. It can behave differently from other grades during mixing.
Identify the pomace grade and follow a recipe designed for it; do not assume every olive oil has identical handling or SAP.
Palm Kernel Flakes (hydrogenated)
These hard flakes can add firmness and large bubbles, like other lauric-rich fats. They are a distinct grade and do not share every palm-oil property.
Melt fully and confirm hydrogenation and product identity; regular palm kernel oil and palm fruit oil are different ingredients.
Palm Kernel Oil
Palm kernel oil can contribute firmness, large bubbles, and a more cleansing feel because of its lauric-rich profile.
Melt and stir thoroughly; distinguish kernel oil from palm fruit oil and hydrogenated palm-kernel flakes.
Palm Oil
Palm fruit oil can add firmness and a stable, creamy lather to a blended bar. It is different from palm kernel oil, which has a more bubbly profile.
If the container separates, mix it evenly before weighing; verify that the product is palm fruit oil.
Plum Kernel Oil
A soft liquid specialty oil that can add a silky quality to a blended bar; it does not replace the hardening role of solid fats.
Check that the seller means plum kernel oil, not an extract, and use the specific supplier's SAP information.
Raspberry Seed Oil
A delicate, unsaturated liquid oil for specialty blends. It contributes softness, while freshness and oxidation resistance should be considered.
Use a fresh, well-stored product and confirm the seed oil rather than a fruit extract or scented oil.
Rice Bran Oil (refined)
A versatile liquid oil used in blended cold-process recipes for a mild, conditioned feel. It does not add the same firmness as palm or cocoa butter.
A useful blending oil; this reference applies to refined rice bran oil, so check the supplier's grade.
Rosehip Seed Oil
A delicate liquid seed oil best used as a specialty blend ingredient. It adds softness rather than a firm bar structure.
Buy fresh, store carefully, and confirm that the product is pressed seed oil rather than an infused preparation.
Safflower Oil
A soft liquid oil; high-oleic and conventional high-linoleic safflower can behave differently in soap and have different shelf-life considerations.
Identify whether the oil is high oleic or conventional, then match its SAP reference and freshness needs.
Shea Butter
A solid plant butter that can add firmness and a creamy, dense lather to a blend, balancing softer liquid oils.
Melt fully, blend evenly, and check whether the supplier's raw or refined grade matches the recipe.
Shea Oil (fractionated)
A liquid, processed shea ingredient that behaves differently from whole shea butter; do not expect the same solid-fat contribution to firmness.
Confirm the fractionation and product specification. Its SAP must not be replaced with the whole-shea-butter value.
Sunflower Oil
A liquid oil for blended cold-process soap. High-oleic and high-linoleic sunflower types differ in fatty-acid profile, firmness, and storage considerations.
Check the variety on the supplier label; identify whether it is high oleic before changing a formula.
Sweet Almond Oil
A soft liquid oil that can bring a mild, smooth feel to a balanced blend. It contributes less firmness than solid fats.
Straightforward to blend; this is sweet-almond carrier oil, not bitter almond essential oil.
Tamanu Oil
A liquid specialty oil with a distinct natural odor that can affect the scent of finished soap. It adds no solid-fat structure by itself.
Plan for its characteristic scent and confirm that the supplier's product and SAP match this tamanu-oil entry.
Watermelon Seed Oil
A light liquid seed oil for specialty blends. Like other soft oils, it adds little firmness on its own.
Confirm the product is pressed watermelon seed oil rather than a fruit extract or fragrance.
Wheat Germ Oil
A rich liquid germ oil that can contribute softness in a blend. Its tendency to oxidize makes freshness and finished-bar storage important.
Check the harvest/product date and store it carefully; do not treat it as a hard butter or assume it lengthens shelf life.