whats the deal with fatty acids and how do fatty acids and soap making relate?
Well, the fatty acid content of your ingredients will largely determine the characteristics found within your finished product. It’s that important! Whether your bar ends up with a creamy lather or a bubbly lather, turns out hard or soft, has conditioning properties or great cleansing abilities depends largely on what fatty acids make up the ingredients you are using. Remember that your acids (soap making oils) are made up of a combination of different fatty acids. I came up with this integrated saponification table to kind of give you an idea of what the oil with its particular fatty acid combination will do to your soap. Keep in mind that not all soap makers care to learn about this information. In fact, some like to stay far away from any hint of the chemistry side of soap making. If that’s you… it’s OK. Other soap makers love to learn all they can about their art! Although understanding fatty acid values used to be more important for creating successful recipes, with the use of a
