Coconut oil, 76°F in soap making
Published by The Soap Brain Team
Coconut oil, 76°F is a cleansing soap-making oil rich in lauric acid (48%). A gram of it turns to soap with about 0.183 g of NaOH (lye). It gives a hard bar with a big, quick lather and is usually kept to a minority of the recipe. Most soapers use it at 15–35% of their oils.
Fatty-acid profile
Coconut oil, 76°F is a strongly cleansing oil: its high lauric and myristic content produces a hard bar with a big, quick-rinsing lather. Most makers keep it a minority of the recipe (often under 30%) so the bar cleans well without stripping the skin.
Coconut oil, 76°F is about 78% saturated fat and 10% unsaturated — that saturated majority is what lets it firm up a bar and hold a stable lather.
| Fatty acid | Share | What it does in soap |
|---|---|---|
| Lauric acid | 48% | a saturated fatty acid that gives a big, fluffy, fast-cleansing lather; drying to skin above roughly 30% of a recipe |
| Myristic acid | 18% | a hard, cleansing, bubbly saturated fatty acid that usually travels alongside lauric acid |
| Palmitic acid | 9% | a saturated fatty acid that builds a hard, long-lasting bar with a stable, creamy lather |
| Oleic acid | 8% | a monounsaturated fatty acid that makes a gentle, conditioning, moisturising bar with a slick, lower lather and a slower trace |
| Stearic acid | 3% | a saturated fatty acid that adds hardness and a thick, stable lather; a large share can speed up trace |
| Linoleic acid | 2% | a polyunsaturated fatty acid that is very conditioning but oxidises readily — a driver of DOS (dreaded orange spots) at high levels |
Coconut oil, 76°F in the bar
On its own Coconut oil, 76°F throws a big, quick, bubbly lather — the kind of foam most people associate with a cleansing bar. Balance it with conditioning oils so the lather stays generous without drying the skin.
Coconut oil, 76°F traces at a moderate pace and firms up reliably thanks to its saturated fatty acids, making it forgiving for most cold-process work.
In a blend Coconut oil, 76°F is the cleansing, lather-making component. It is usually kept to a minority of the oils and paired with conditioning oils like olive or a soft butter, which offset its tendency to dry the skin at higher amounts.
Closest substitutes for Coconut oil, 76°F
Out of Coconut oil, 76°F? These oils behave most like it in a bar — ranked by how close their hardness, cleansing and conditioning profile and lye (SAP) requirement are. The numbers are predicted properties for a 100% single-oil bar, not a safety guide; always recalculate the lye when you swap an oil.
| Oil | Hardness | Cleansing | Conditioning | SAP (NaOH) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coconut oil, 76°F (this oil) | 78 | 66 | 10 | 0.183 |
| Coconut oil, virgin/92°F | 78 | 66 | 10 | 0.186 |
| Babassu oil | 74 | 62 | 15 | 0.178 |
| Palm kernel oil | 73 | 63 | 18 | 0.178 |
| Murumuru butter | 81 | 73 | 14 | 0.175 |
Using Coconut oil, 76°F in a recipe
One gram of Coconut oil, 76°F needs about 0.183 g of NaOH (sodium hydroxide) to turn fully to soap, within a documented range of 0.177–0.189 g/g across sources. The calculator below uses this value; always confirm the lye weight before you mix.
Its iodine value is about 9 — a low value, pointing to a hard, long-lasting bar with good shelf life. Iodine value is only a rough guide, not a hard rule, but it gives you a feel for how a bar built around this oil will wear.
Most soapers use Coconut oil, 76°F at roughly 15–35% of their oils.
Maker's note: Big fluffy lather, hard bar, strong cleansing (drying above ~30%). About an eighth of it is caprylic/capric acid (C8/C10), which our lather and hardness numbers don't count.
Calculate lye for Coconut oil, 76°F
The calculator below is pre-loaded with Coconut oil, 76°F. Enter your weights, add other oils, and it works out the exact NaOH (lye) weight, water and quality numbers. Always weigh lye, oils and water — never measure by volume, wear gloves and eye protection, and add lye to water (never the reverse).
Loading the calculator…
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page is backed by at least two independent references, listed below — so you can check our work instead of taking our word for it.
- Codex Alimentarius CXS 210-1999 — Named Vegetable Oils (Tables 1–2) — SAP 248–265 mg KOH/g; Table 1 C8:0 4.6–10.0 and C10:0 5.0–8.0 — the ~12% our eight acids cannot carry
- SoapCalc oil list — SAP, iodine
- From Nature With Love — Saponification Chart — SAP range
SAP data last updated · 51 oils covered.
Coconut oil, 76°F soap FAQ
- Can you make soap with 100% Coconut oil, 76°F?
- It is not recommended. Coconut oil, 76°F shows its best in a blend, usually up to about 35% of the oils. On its own the bar would be unbalanced — too harsh and drying for everyday use.
- What superfat should I use with Coconut oil, 76°F?
- A 5% superfat is a safe starting point. Because Coconut oil, 76°F is strongly cleansing, many makers superfat a little higher (around 6–8%) to soften its effect on the skin.
- Does Coconut oil, 76°F speed up or slow down trace?
- Coconut oil, 76°F traces at a moderate pace and firms up reliably thanks to its saturated fatty acids, making it forgiving for most cold-process work.