Almond Oil (Sweet Almond Oil)
INCI Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil. Saponified with NaOH it is listed as Sodium Almondate, with KOH as Potassium Almondate. CAS 8007-69-0, 90320-37-9; EC 291-063-5, as CosIng gives them. Also: Sweet almond oil, Amygdalus communis kernel oil, Prunus dulcis oil.
Published values
| Saponification value | 183–207 mg KOH/g |
| Used by the calculator | 195.0 mg KOH/g (midpoint) |
| SAP for NaOH | 0.1390 g/g |
| Iodine value | 85–109 g I₂/100 g |
| INS (SAP − IV) | 98 |
| Melting point | — |
| Unsaponifiable matter | ≤ 2 % |
Soapmaking books print about 0.136 g NaOH per g (median of 9 books). Why book figures and ours can differ.
A bar made of 100 % Almond Oil
Conventional qualities summed from the fatty-acid groups; a single-oil bar is a reference point, not a recipe.
How much lye
| Oil | NaOH | KOH |
|---|---|---|
| 500 g | 66.0 g(62.0–70.1) | 92.6 g(86.9–98.3) |
| 1 kg | 132.1 g(123.9–140.2) | 185.3 g(173.9–196.7) |
| 1 lb (454 g) | 59.9 g(56.2–63.6) | 84.0 g(78.9–89.2) |
| 2 lb (907 g) | 119.8 g(112.4–127.2) | 168.1 g(157.7–178.4) |
For this oil alone at 5 % superfat, with pure sodium hydroxide (NaOH) or pure potassium hydroxide (KOH); in brackets, across the published range of its saponification value. KOH is usually sold at 90 %: divide by 0.9. For a whole recipe, open the calculator.
Fatty-acid profile
Saturated : unsaturated 8 : 92
| Fatty acid | Published range, % | Used | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Myristic acid | C14:0 · saturated | 0–0.1 | 0.1 |
| Palmitic acid | C16:0 · saturated | 4–9 | 6.5 |
| Palmitoleic acid | C16:1 | 0.2–0.8 | 0.5 |
| Stearic acid | C18:0 · saturated | 0–3 | 1.5 |
| Oleic acid | C18:1 | 62–76 | 69.0 |
| Linoleic acid | C18:2 | 20–30 | 25.0 |
| α-Linolenic acid | C18:3 n-3 | 0–0.5 | 0.3 |
| Arachidic acid | C20:0 · saturated | 0–0.5 | 0.3 |
| Gadoleic acid | C20:1 | 0–0.3 | 0.2 |
| Behenic acid | C22:0 · saturated | 0–0.2 | 0.1 |
| Erucic acid | C22:1 | 0–0.1 | 0.1 |
| Lignoceric acid | C24:0 · saturated | 0–0.2 | 0.1 |
Recipes that use it
- Lemongrass and cedar camp soap 20 % of the oils
- Almond and oat exfoliating bar 15 % of the oils
- Almond milk and oat bar 15 % of the oils
- Stearic acid shaving soap 15 % of the oils
- Lemon, annatto and cocoa linear swirl bar 14 % of the oils
- Lavender goat milk bar 10 % of the oils
- Kukui and almond shampoo bar 6 % of the oils
- Kukui and nut oil bar 6 % of the oils
- Egg yolk feather swirl bar 5 % of the oils
- Shampoo bar for normal to oily hair 2 % of the oils
Guides that discuss it
Compared with other oils
Where these numbers come from
Verbatim mirror of the FAO file CXS_210e.pdf; the official FAO link 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.
Fatty acids from CXS 210 Table 1 (mandatory GLC ranges, % of total fatty acids; 'ND' = not detectable, <=0.05%, entries that are ND-only are omitted; C17:0, C17:1, C20:2, C22:2 and C24:1 columns omitted because they are outside the acids this database records). The saponification value, the iodine value and the unsaponifiable share from Appendix Table 2 (crude oils; ADVISORY, not mandatory; unsaponifiable converted from g/kg). No 'typical' values are printed in the standard, so none are given. Almond oil was added to CXS 210 in the 2019 revision. Ph. Eur. 12 'Almond oil, refined' ranges as printed on the Heess sheet: palmitic 4.0-9.0, palmitoleic max 0.8, margaric max 0.2, stearic max 3.0, oleic 62.0-86.0, linoleic 20.0-30.0, linolenic max 0.4, arachidic max 0.2, eicosenoic max 0.3, behenic max 0.2, erucic max 0.1 %; unsaponifiable max 0.9 %. Ph. Eur. gives no SAP/IV.
This record is part of the open ingredient database (ODbL), which you can download as CSV or JSON. Found an error or a better primary source? Corrections with a link to the document are welcome at support@soapformulator.com.