Babassu Oil for Soap Making
Babassu Oil is a hard hard oil dominated by lauric (50%), myristic (20%), palmitic (11%). Very high in lauric and myristic acids, it makes a hard, fast-lathering bar but is drying on its own, so most makers pair it with conditioning oils.
Quick Facts
How Much Lye for Babassu Oil?
With a SAP value of 0.175, fully saponifying babassu oil takes 0.175 grams of sodium hydroxide per gram of oil (at 0% superfat):
| Oil amount | NaOH (0% superfat) | KOH (liquid soap) |
|---|---|---|
| 100 g | 17.5 g | 24.5 g |
| 500 g | 87.5 g | 122.5 g |
| 1000 g | 175 g | 245 g |
Real recipes use a superfat discount (typically 5%) and almost always blend several oils. Always run your full recipe through the Soaply lye calculator rather than weighing lye from a single-oil table.
Predicted Bar Properties
Derived from the fatty acid profile, for a bar made of 100% babassu oil:
Fatty Acid Profile
| Fatty acid | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Lauric | 50% |
| Myristic | 20% |
| Palmitic | 11% |
| Stearic | 4% |
| Oleic | 10% |
Substitutes for Babassu Oil
The closest matches by fatty acid profile, which is what actually determines how an oil behaves in soap. Swap by weight and re-run the lye calculation, since SAP values differ:
Build a recipe with Babassu Oil
The free Soaply calculator handles the lye math, water, superfat, and property predictions for any blend of 100 oils.
Open the lye calculatorMore Hard Oils
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