Coconut oil vs fractionated coconut oil (MCT) in soap
Fractionated coconut oil is a different product from the oil it is named after: at least 95 % caprylic and capric acid, with at most 3 % lauric. Short chains mean more molecules per gram, so it takes 30.6 % more lye, and on its own it scores 4 for hardness and 4 for bubbly lather against coconut oil’s 80 and 68. Never swap one for the other: weigh the lye for fractionated oil and use ordinary coconut oil, and the bar below is lye-heavy, at −4.1 % superfat.
Coconut Oil Medium-Chain Triglycerides (fractionated coconut oil) Compare them with other oils
The published figures
| Coconut oil | Fractionated coconut oil (MCT) | |
|---|---|---|
| Saponification value, mg KOH/g | 248–265 | 310–360 |
| Used by the calculator, mg KOH/g | 256.5 (midpoint) | 335.0 (midpoint) |
| SAP for NaOH, g/g | 0.1829 | 0.2388 |
| Iodine value, g I₂/100 g | 6.3–10.6 | ≤ 1 |
| INS (SAP − IV) | 248 | 334 |
| Melting point, °C | 23–26 | — |
| Unsaponifiable matter, % | ≤ 1.5 | ≤ 0.5 |
| Name on a soap label | Sodium Cocoate | — |
Each oil alone
| Coconut oil | Fractionated coconut oil (MCT) | Usual range | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardness | 80 | 4 | 29–54 |
| Cleansing | 68 | 4 | 12–22 |
| Conditioning | 9 | 0 | 44–69 |
| Bubbly lather | 68 | 4 | 14–46 |
| Creamy lather | 12 | 0 | 16–48 |
A single oil’s hardness, cleansing and the rest are the same sums the calculator shows for a recipe, applied to that one oil. They explain what the oil brings to a blend; they do not predict how a soap of only that oil would feel.
Swapping one for the other
Gram for gram, fractionated coconut oil (MCT) takes 30.6 % more lye than coconut oil. For a kilogram of oil at a 5 % superfat, that is 173.7 g of sodium hydroxide for coconut oil and 226.9 g for fractionated coconut oil (MCT).
In the bar below, where it is 25 % of the oils, weigh the lye for one and put in the other without recalculating, and the superfat moves:
| Lye weighed for | Oil used | Superfat |
|---|---|---|
| Coconut oil | Fractionated coconut oil (MCT) | 13.3 %far more oil left: recalculate |
| Fractionated coconut oil (MCT) | Coconut oil | −4.1 %lye-heavy: never swap without recalculating |
The superfat is the share of the oils the lye leaves unsaponified, planned here at 5 %; below zero, there is more lye than the oils can take. Put the oil you actually have in the lye calculator and it works out the lye for that oil.
The same bar with either
The bar: 25 % of the one or the other, at a 5 % superfat, for 1,000 g of oils. The rest: 50 % olive oil, 20 % shea butter, and 5 % castor oil.
| With coconut oil | With fractionated coconut oil (MCT) | Usual range | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sodium hydroxide, g | 138.6 | 151.9 | |
| Hardness | 37 | 19 | 29–54 |
| Cleansing | 17 | 1 | 12–22 |
| Conditioning | 59 | 57 | 44–69 |
| Bubbly lather | 21 | 5 | 14–46 |
| Creamy lather | 25 | 22 | 16–48 |
| Iodine value | 59 | 57 | 41–70 |
| INS | 146 | 167 | 136–165 |
| Linoleic and linolenic acid, % | 8.4 | 7.9 |
Open the bar with coconut oil Open the bar with fractionated coconut oil (MCT)
Fatty-acid profile
| Fatty acid | Coconut oil | Fractionated coconut oil (MCT) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caproic acid | C6:0 | 0.4 (0–0.7) | 2.0 (≤ 2) |
| Caprylic acid | C8:0 | 7.3 (4.6–10) | 58.0 (50–80) |
| Capric acid | C10:0 | 6.5 (5–8) | 41.0 (20–50) |
| Lauric acid | C12:0 | 49.2 (45.1–53.2) | 3.0 (≤ 3) |
| Myristic acid | C14:0 | 18.9 (16.8–21) | 1.0 (≤ 1) |
| Palmitic acid | C16:0 | 8.9 (7.5–10.2) | 0.0 |
| Stearic acid | C18:0 | 3.0 (2–4) | 0.0 |
| Oleic acid | C18:1 | 7.5 (5–10) | 0.0 |
| Linoleic acid | C18:2 | 1.8 (1–2.5) | 0.0 |
The figure the calculator uses for each oil, as a percentage of its fatty acids, with the published range in brackets.
Recipes with coconut oil
- Hundred percent coconut bar 100 % of the oils
- Zero-superfat coconut laundry bar 100 % of the oils
- Seawater marine soap 90 % of the oils
- Coconut liquid dish soap 85 % of the oils
- Sea salt bar 80 % of the oils
- Solid dish and kitchen bar 80 % of the oils
Guides
- The soaping oils: what each one brings to a bar
- SAP values: what they measure and why tables disagree
Other comparisons
Where these numbers come from
Coconut Oil
Verbatim mirror of the FAO file CXS_210e.pdf; the official FAO link (https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/sh-proxy/en/?lnk=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fworkspace.fao.org%2Fsites%2Fcodex%2FStandards%2FCXS%2B210-1999%2FCXS_210e.pdf) was Cloudflare-gated at retrieval. Table 1 (Section 3.1) = mandatory GLC fatty-acid ranges, % of total fatty acids, ND = not detectable (<=0.05%). Table 2 (Appendix 'Other quality and composition factors') gives saponification value, iodine value (Wijs) and unsaponifiable matter of CRUDE oils; the Appendix is explicitly ADVISORY (a product not meeting it may still conform). This print predates the 2021-2025 amendments; the 2024 additions (avocado, camellia seed, sacha inchi, high-oleic soya bean) are not included.
Slip melting point 23-26 C (Ph. Eur. 2.2.15); unsaponifiable max 1.0 %; refractive index (40 C) ca. 1.449.
JP XVIII 'Coconut Oil': melting point 20-28 C; acid value NMT 0.2; saponification value 246-264; unsaponifiable matter NMT 1.0 %; iodine value 7-11.
Medium-Chain Triglycerides (fractionated coconut oil)
Mirror site hosting the USP 29-NF 24 text; values transcribed from that page. Newer USP editions may differ.
MIGLYOL 812 N complies with Ph. Eur./BP 'Triglycerides, Medium-Chain' and USP 'Medium-Chain Triglycerides'. Spec/typical: acid value max 0.2 (0.02); hydroxyl value max 10 (3); water max 0.2%; caprylic acid C8:0 50.0-80.0% (typical 58); capric acid C10:0 20.0-50.0% (typical 41); C8+C10 min 95.0% (typical 99).