Sunflower oil, high oleic: SAP value and fatty acids

Sunflower oil, high oleic has a saponification value of 188 mg KOH/g. One gram needs 0.134 g of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) for bar soap or 0.188 g of potassium hydroxide (KOH) for liquid soap to turn fully into soap, before any superfat.

Key numbers

SAP, NaOH
0.134022 g per g oil
SAP, KOH
0.188 g per g oil
Saponification value
188 mg KOH/g
Iodine value
84
INS
104
INCI name
Helianthus Annuus Hybrid Oil

Example: 100 g of Sunflower oil, high oleic with no superfat needs 13.4 g of 100% NaOH, or 18.8 g of 100% KOH. A 5% superfat uses 5% less.

Open in the lye calculator

In soap

Its main fatty acids in our cited profile are oleic (81.9%) and linoleic (9.5%). The eight fatty acids used in soap-quality scores make up 100% of the profile.

On its own it scores 8 for hardness, 0 for cleansing and 92 for conditioning, with a saturated : unsaturated split of 8 : 92.

Fatty-acid profile

Fatty acid% of fatty acidsCounts toward
lauric0%hardness, cleansing, bubbly lather
myristic0.1%hardness, cleansing, bubbly lather
palmitic3.8%hardness, creamy lather
stearic4.5%hardness, creamy lather
ricinoleic0%conditioning, bubbly and creamy lather
oleic81.9%conditioning
linoleic9.5%conditioning
linolenic0.2%conditioning

Basis: Codex CXS 210 Table 1 (sunflowerseed oil, high oleic acid) midpoints; Codex range midpoints; 'ND' = 0, 'ND–x' or '<x' = x/2; scaled to 100% from 101.2%.

Soap-quality scores (this oil alone)

Hardness8
Cleansing0
Conditioning92
Bubbly lather0
Creamy lather8
Iodine84
INS104

Each score adds up certain fatty acids, the way Soap Ledger scores a whole recipe. They are for comparing recipes; they don't predict how a bar will feel, and they say nothing about safety or skin.

Sources

SAP value: 188 mg KOH/g (Codex CXS 210 range midpoint), from Codex Alimentarius CXS 210-1999, Standard for Named Vegetable Oils (Table 2: chemical and physical characteristics), FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission. Printed value: 182–194 mg KOH/g.

Published values we checked:

Fatty acids and iodine: Codex Alimentarius CXS 210-1999, Standard for Named Vegetable Oils (Table 2: chemical and physical characteristics), FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission. Also checked: USDA Agricultural Research Service (SR Legacy release 2018-04 (bulk CSV food_nutrient.csv); fatty acids in g/100 g food); Deutsche Gesellschaft für Fettwissenschaft (DGF) (Iodine value table).

NaOH and KOH values are converted from mg KOH/g with the molar masses 39.997 and 56.106 and rounded to 6 decimals, exactly as in the Soap Ledger app. Real oils vary by origin, grade and lot: check your supplier's certificate of analysis. Verify every weight before you make this, and follow lye safety. Not a safety or compliance certification.

Last updated .