About
Regular sunflower oil is cheap and easy to find, but it calls for caution in soap making. It contains about 70% linoleic acid, a polyunsaturated fatty acid that makes a mild, pleasant soap, but a soft one that is prone to oxidation.
This rancidity shows up after a few months as orange spots ("DOS", dreaded orange spots) and a stale, oily smell. It is therefore usually kept to 5 to 15% of the oils, using fresh oil and ideally an antioxidant (vitamin E or rosemary extract).
Do not confuse it with high oleic sunflower oil, which contains 83% oleic acid: its profile is close to olive oil, it keeps much better and can be used in far higher proportions. On the label, the words "high oleic" make all the difference.
SAP value: 189 mg KOH/g, i.e. about 128 g of sodium hydroxide for 1 kg of oil at 5% superfat.
Recommended usage rate
From 5 to 15% of the oils in the recipe.
Values
How much lye for 1 kg?
For 1,000 g of Sunflower Oil with 5% superfat:
These amounts apply to a soap made with this oil only. For a blend of oils, use the calculator.
Fatty acid profile
Soap qualities (oil used alone)
Values for a soap made with 100% of this oil, compared with the recommended range for a complete recipe.
Oils with a similar profile
Fats whose fatty acid composition is closest to this one: useful to find a substitute.