Sunflower oil vs high-oleic sunflower oil in soap
The same seed, bred for a different oil. By the Codex standards, ordinary sunflower oil is 48.3–74 % linoleic acid, which makes a soft bar that goes rancid sooner, and the high-oleic kind at least 75 % oleic, which keeps far better. In the bar below, the swap takes linoleic and linolenic acid together from 18.5 % to 8.1 % and the iodine value from 68 to 59. Both carry the same ingredient name, so only the supplier’s specification tells you which you have.
Sunflowerseed Oil Sunflowerseed Oil - High Oleic Acid Compare them with other oils
The published figures
| Sunflower oil | High-oleic sunflower oil | |
|---|---|---|
| Saponification value, mg KOH/g | 188–194 | 182–194 |
| Used by the calculator, mg KOH/g | 191.0 (midpoint) | 188.0 (midpoint) |
| SAP for NaOH, g/g | 0.1362 | 0.1340 |
| Iodine value, g I₂/100 g | 118–141 | 78–90 |
| INS (SAP − IV) | 62 | 104 |
| Melting point, °C | — | — |
| Unsaponifiable matter, % | ≤ 1.5 | ≤ 1.5 |
| Name on a soap label | Sodium Sunflowerseedate | Sodium Sunflowerseedate |
Each oil alone
| Sunflower oil | High-oleic sunflower oil | Usual range | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardness | 11 | 8 | 29–54 |
| Cleansing | 0 | 0 | 12–22 |
| Conditioning | 88 | 93 | 44–69 |
| Bubbly lather | 0 | 0 | 14–46 |
| Creamy lather | 11 | 8 | 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, high-oleic sunflower oil takes 1.6 % less lye than sunflower oil. For a kilogram of oil at a 5 % superfat, that is 129.4 g of sodium hydroxide for sunflower oil and 127.3 g for high-oleic sunflower oil.
In the bar below, where it is 20 % 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sunflower oil | High-oleic sunflower oil | 4.7 %barely moves |
| High-oleic sunflower oil | Sunflower oil | 5.3 %barely moves |
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: 20 % of the one or the other, at a 5 % superfat, for 1,000 g of oils. The rest: 35 % olive oil, 25 % coconut oil, and 20 % shea butter.
| With sunflower oil | With high-oleic sunflower oil | Usual range | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sodium hydroxide, g | 139.1 | 138.7 | |
| Hardness | 37 | 36 | 29–54 |
| Cleansing | 17 | 17 | 12–22 |
| Conditioning | 59 | 60 | 44–69 |
| Bubbly lather | 17 | 17 | 14–46 |
| Creamy lather | 20 | 19 | 16–48 |
| Iodine value | 68 | 59 | 41–70 |
| INS | 137 | 146 | 136–165 |
| Linoleic and linolenic acid, % | 18.5 | 8.1 |
Open the bar with sunflower oil Open the bar with high-oleic sunflower oil
Fatty-acid profile
| Fatty acid | Sunflower oil | High-oleic sunflower oil | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palmitic acid | C16:0 | 6.3 (5–7.6) | 3.8 (2.6–5) |
| Stearic acid | C18:0 | 4.6 (2.7–6.5) | 4.6 (2.9–6.2) |
| Oleic acid | C18:1 | 26.7 (14–39.4) | 82.9 (75–90.7) |
| Linoleic acid | C18:2 | 61.2 (48.3–74) | 9.6 (2.1–17) |
| Behenic acid | C22:0 | 0.9 (0.3–1.5) | 1.1 (0.5–1.6) |
The figure the calculator uses for each oil, as a percentage of its fatty acids, with the published range in brackets.
Recipes with high-oleic sunflower oil
- Soy-free lard and sunflower bar 30 % of the oils
- Mocha swirl bar 20 % of the oils
- Rosemary and mint bar 20 % of the oils
- Three-colour hanger swirl bar 20 % of the oils
- Coconut milk bar 15 % of the oils
- Dandelion zebra-stripe bar 15 % of the oils
Guides
Other comparisons
Where these numbers come from
Sunflowerseed 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.
Sunflowerseed Oil - High Oleic Acid
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.