Over the years this Journal has featured articles on the history of soap, the industrial process of

saponification, and laboratory-ready experiments. The experiments and those in organic laboratory
textbooks have described the hot and cold processes for making opaque soap, eq 1, and the
conversion of commercially-available, opaque soaps into transparent or solid potassium soaps.

In the experiments, typically one fat or oil is saponified with a stoichiometric excess of sodium
hydroxide. In the hot process, excess base is usually removed by filtration and rinsing of the soap
precipitated by the addition of aqueous sodium chloride. Alternatively, Evans suggests adding
coconut oil or dilute hydrochloric acid to the melted soap, exposing thin pieces of solid soap to air,
or beating the melted soap to remove the excess base. In the latter two methods the base reacts
with the CO2 in the air, eq 2

Hill and Lehman rinse the filtered soap with water. As soap containing excess base will irritate the
skin, students have been prohibited from using the prepared soap. Students will be able to use soaps
from this experiment as they contain 5% excess fat.

This experiment introduces students to the industrial method of making opaque or transparent soap
and formulations chemistry. It can accompany lectures on personal care products or lipids in a first-
year or organic chemistry course. The procedures can be used independently or, as one reviewer
noted, as a multiweek project. Over three weeks, students can make opaque soap in one two-hour
period or transparent soap in one three-hour period and formulate a soap and test its effectiveness
alongside commercial surfactants.

Opaque and transparent soaps are made using the cold and “semi boiled” processes, respectively.
In both processes, permeated fats and oils are combined with base. In the “semi boiled” process,
heat is applied. Complete saponification occurs in one week in the cold process, and a couple hours
in the “semi boiled” process. The byproduct glycerin is retained in both methods. As some
individuals find soap dehydrates the skin, the presence of the humectant glycerin in the finished
soap is advantageous.

Soap Formulation

Fats and Oils

Commercial manufacturers use 1–7% excess fat to reduce the harshness of soap, to produce a dense
creamy lather, and to leave the skin feeling smooth and soft. The formulations in this article use 5%
excess fat. Effective soaps are made from a mixture of fats and oils because each component
contributes different properties. These properties are determined by the type and percentage of
the fatty acids in each fat or oil (see Tables 1 and 2 in the Supplemental MaterialW). For example,
lauric acid, the predominant fatty acid in coconut oil (48.0%), produces a hard and effective cleanser
with a fluffy lather. Unfortunately, lauric acid does not condition the skin nor provide a stable lather;
therefore, other fatty acids are warranted. Table 3 in the Supplemental MaterialW gives the percent
maximum recommended usage of fats and oils based on therapeutic benefits, cost, and fatty acid
content. Beeswax and coconut and palm oils harden an otherwise soft soap. Manufacturers
preferentially use coconut and palm oils because they are cheap, and they produce an effective
cleanser with fluffy lather.

Base, Water, and Scent

After selecting the fats and oils, the mass of required sodium hydroxide is determined from the
saponification (SAP) value of the soap. The SAP value of the soap is calculated from the sum of the
product of the SAP value of each fat or oil and the percent of this component in the soap (see Table
3 in the Supplemental MaterialW). Because SAP values are defined as the number of milligrams of
potassium hydroxide per one-gram fat or oil, the SAP value of the soap is converted to mass of
potassium hydroxide per gram fat or oil and subsequently multiplied by the total mass of fats and
oils. Since potassium hydroxide is typically used to make liquid soap while sodium hydroxide is used
to make solid soap, the required mass of potassium hydroxide is converted to mass of sodium
hydroxide. Because commercial soap contains excess fats and oils to moisturize the skin, the mass
of sodium hydroxide is multiplied by 0.95. The mass of deionized water and scent are determined
by multiplying the total mass of fats and oils by 0.375 and 0.0125, respectively; if the manufacturer
of the scent provides a usage rate, then this value should be used instead.