How do I substitute another oil for Olive oil?

[Soapanic17]

Hey guys, i'm starting my first batch of soap today and have some questions so, bear with me...
In this recipe i'm using I just forgot I don't have olive oil but I can't seem to find the answer. It says to alter the amount used in your recipe because some oils are heavier than others, thus using a soap calculator. But honestly, the soap calculator is BLAH to me, I do not know how to check a recipe because I don't know the percentage for lye/water etc. But luckily this recipe is right about the amount from an answer in the comments, but I still want to keep this soap from getting too lye heavy. Can anyone give me some pointers and/or answers? Thanks in advance!

 

[TheGecko]

Olive oil substitutes include, Canola, Peanut and Rice Bran Oils. The weight of an oil/butter has NOTHING to do with it's SAP (saponification) value.

The first recipe I used only gave weights of the ingredients. So I entered those weights into the lye calculator (I use SoapCalc.net) and then started adjusting the Lye Concentration to get as close to the weight of the water and Lye. It was 33%...which is fairly standard. But you don't HAVE to use 33%...you can use 35%, 40%, 37%, 42%...up to 50% Lye Concentration. Depending on the time of the year in my area, I use 33% to 35%.

Learning how to use a Soap Calculator (find one you like and stick with it) is a MUST.

 

[Obsidian]

A lye calculator will tell you how much lye you will need once you alter the oils or size of the batch.
I use 2 parts water, 1 part lye.

 

[lsg]

I use rice bran oil as a substitute for olive oil. You must run the recipe through a lye calculator before making.