Lanolin (Wool Fat)
INCI Lanolin. CAS 8006-54-0; EC 232-348-6, as CosIng gives them. Also: Wool fat, Adeps lanae, Wool wax, Anhydrous lanolin, Purified lanolin.
Published values
| Saponification value | 90–105 mg KOH/g |
| Used by the calculator | 97.5 mg KOH/g (midpoint) |
| SAP for NaOH | 0.0695 g/g |
| Iodine value | 18–36 g I₂/100 g |
| INS (SAP − IV) | 71 |
| Melting point | 38–44 °C |
| Unsaponifiable matter | — |
Soapmaking books print about 0.074 g NaOH per g (median of 6 books). Books print 0.070-0.075 g NaOH per g for lanolin, inside the pharmacopoeia's 90-105 mg KOH/g. We use the middle, 97.5 (0.070), because lanolin only partly saponifies in cold process and a higher figure would leave spare lye.
A bar made of 100 % Lanolin
The soap qualities are derived from the fatty-acid profile, which is below. They are shown here only for records the calculator can use.
How much lye
| Oil | NaOH | KOH |
|---|---|---|
| 500 g | 33.0 g(30.5–35.6) | 46.3 g(42.8–49.9) |
| 1 kg | 66.0 g(61.0–71.1) | 92.6 g(85.5–99.8) |
| 1 lb (454 g) | 30.0 g(27.6–32.3) | 42.0 g(38.8–45.2) |
| 2 lb (907 g) | 59.9 g(55.3–64.5) | 84.0 g(77.6–90.5) |
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
| Fatty acid | Published range, % | Used | |
|---|---|---|---|
| This is a true wax — esters of long-chain acids and alcohols rather than a triglyceride — so a fatty-acid profile in the soapmaking sense does not describe it. | |||
Where these numbers come from
Values are the Ph. Eur. 11.0 monograph limits as stated by the producer: acid value max 1.0; peroxide value max 20.0 meq O2/kg; drop point 38-44 C; saponification value 90.0-105.0 mg KOH/g; loss on drying max 0.5 %; sulphated ash max 0.15 %.
Mirror site hosting the USP 29-NF 24 text; values transcribed from that page. Newer USP editions may differ.
JP XVIII 'Purified Lanolin' (Adeps Lanae Purificatus): melting point 37-43 C; acid value NMT 1.0; iodine value 18-36 (Hanus).
Lanolin is a WAX (esters of lanolin alcohols - sterols, triterpene and aliphatic alcohols - with C10-C30 normal, iso and anteiso fatty acids and hydroxy acids), not a triglyceride; it saponifies slowly and incompletely under soap-making conditions and is used as a superfatting/conditioning additive rather than a soap base. SAP 90.0-105.0 mg KOH/g, drop point 38-44 C, acid value max 1.0, peroxide max 20 from the Ph. Eur. 11.0 'Wool fat' (Adeps lanae) limits as transcribed on the Gustav Heess specification sheet. Iodine value 18-36 from USP 29 'Lanolin' (melting range 38-44 C, water NMT 0.25 %) and JP XVIII 'Purified Lanolin' (iodine value 18-36, melting point 37-43 C, acid value NMT 1.0). Unsaponifiable matter (~40-50 % lanolin alcohols) not specified numerically in these sources.
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.