Properties – The tricky thing about soap making is that it almost always takes more than one type of oil to get a good bar of soap. Some are very moisturizing but aren’t so great at scrubbing off dirt. Others are great cleansers but will leave your skin feeling tight. Some last forever while others will spoil in just a few months. Try combinations of complimentary oils to get the right balance.

Bar density – A really soft bar of soap won’t last long in a humid shower, but a rock-solid piece of soap can scratch your skin.

Suds – Soap bubbles are usually described on a continuum from bubble to creamy. Occasionally certain soaps can even feel waxy, sticky or slimy. A good bar will be bubbly enough to froth up but creamy enough to stick around when you start washing.

Trace – Different fats come to trace different. Some are incredibly fast and require cooling so that the mixture doesn’t seize up when lye is added. Others won’t get thicker than cake batter, so you can save yourself some time and wrist pain by knowing ahead of time. The goal of trace is to get your oils and lye water to mix enough that they won’t separate when the soap sits.

Special instructions – Just what it sounds like. The density, bubbliness, self-stability, and moisturizing qualities of the oils often means that you don’t want to use too much in a recipe.

Melting point – Knowing the melting point of oils can help you plan when to scoop them into your double boiler so that no oil has to cook longer than necessary.

Fatty acids – All fats are made of triglycerides which are, in turn, made of fatty acids. Knowing the fatty acid composition of a certain oil can be beneficial when you’re wondering why one oil acts or doesn’t act like another or if you’re looking for something similar to an oil you don’t have on hand.

Saturated fats

Lauric	hard, cleansing (too much can be drying), bubbly lather
Myristic	hard (but softest of the saturated fats), cleansing (too much can be drying), bubbly lather
Palmitic	hard, cleansing (too much can be drying), creamy lather, long life
Ricinoleic	soft, conditioning, creamy lather
Stearic	hard, creamy lather

Unsaturated fats

Linoleic	conditioning, silky, short life
Oleic	conditioning, slippery, long life

SAP value – The saponification value is used to calculate how much lye is needed to react with 1 gram of the fat. Lye calculators do the same job, but if you want to do it by hand, this is all the information you need.

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I know that this chart is damn near impossible to read. I’m open to any HTML/Wordpress tricks to make it skinnier

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Oil Name	Properties	Bar Density	Suds	Trace	Special instructions	Melting Point	Fatty Acids xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx	Shelf life	SAP Value
Avocado Oil	Vitamins A, D, E, many unsaponifiables, moisturizing	Very soft	Creamy		Good for superfatting	0ºF	58% oleic, 12% linoleic, 20% palmitic	1 year	.132
Beeswax	Hardening					145ºF		Forever
Castor Oil	Moisturizing, humectant	Soft	Bubbly, creamy	Thick, fast, can be slower with a low temperature	5-10% max	0ºF	90% ricinoleic	1 year	.127
Cocoa Butter	Vitamin E, antioxidants, cleansing	Hard	Creamy	Thick	15% max	95ºF	30% stearic, 27.5% palmitic, 32.5% oleic	1-2 years	.136
Coconut Oil	Very cleansing, too much can be drying	Hard	Bubbly, semi-creamy		20% max	77ºF	48% lauric acid, 19% myristic, 10% palmitic	> 1 year	.178
Grape Seed Oil	Increases slipperiness, moisturizing	Soft	Creamy, sticky		5-10% max; not great to use	14ºF	65% linoleic, 23% oleic	3 months; 1 year refrig.	.134
Jojoba Oil	Liquid wax, moisturzing, shelf stable, many unsaponifiables	Very soft	Creamy	Slow, thin	10% max for hardness; good for superfatting	50ºF	72.5% eicosenoic, 15% erucic	Forever	.064
Lanolin		Soft				100ºF	lanolin		.070
Mango Butter					15% max	90ºF	45% oleic, 44% stearic	1 year	.134
Olive Oil	Moisturizing	Soft, slimy	Creamy	Thin, faster with lower grade	Up to 100%	21ºF	75% oleic, 15% linoleic, 10% palmitic	2 years	.133
Palm Oil	Low glycerin yield, cleansing	Hard	Creamy	Fast	30% max	ºF	44% palmitic, 39% oleic	1 year	.142
Rice Bran	Moisturizing, similar to olive	Hard	Creamy		Up to 100%	ºF	43% oleic, 26% linoleic, 22% palmitic	1-2 years
Safflower Oil	Moisturizing	Soft	Slimy		20% max	2ºF	75% oleic, 15% linoleic	1 year	.135
Sesame Oil	Earthy smell, moisturizing	Hard			10% max	21ºF	45% oleic, 40% linoleic	6 months – 1 year	.135
Shea Butter	Moisturizing	Hard	Creamy	Fast, thick	15% max; Good for superfatting	95ºF	47% oleic, 43% stearic	1 year	.126
Soybean Oil	Moisturizing, cheap, short shelf life	Hard	Creamy, sticky		20% max	3ºF	50% linoleic, 30% oleic, 11% palmitic	3 months refrig.	.134
Stearic Acid	Not very cleansing	Very hard	Waxy	Fast	5% max	70ºF	100% stearic		.147
Sunflower Seed Oil	Short shelf life	Soft	Slimy		20% max	1ºF	72% lineolic, 16% oleic	3 months refrig.	.134
Sweet Almond Oil	Moisturizing	Soft/Hard	Creamy, silky		12.5% max; good for superfatting	0ºF	70% oleic, 20% linoleic	6 months – 1 year	.137