Pure Tallow Soap is a simple soap that is made with 100% rendered tallow. This simple soap is gentle on even the most sensitive of skin!
Soap with Beef Fat? Who Knew?
Grass-fed tallow is wonderful for skin. Not only is it great for aging, it’s also rich in antioxidants, and is easily absorbed. It’s rich in vitamin A, D, E and K, and closely resembles the human skin cell structure.
Tallow contains 50-55% saturated fat (just like our cell membranes) and is very similar to our own skin’s sebum.
Tallow is great for making your own herbal balm, even your own magnesium body butter because it’s a superior skin healer – it can support everything from eczema to dry skin, wrinkles and skin sounds and irritations.
More than anything, I love using tallow to make handmade soap. There’s something just so incredible about a simple white soap that’s unscented, and made with nothing but pure rendered beef tallow.
Tallow is a superior skin healer for supporting everything from eczema to dry skin, wrinkles and wounds of many types.
WHAT EXACTLY IS TALLOW?
Tallow is rendered suet. Suet is fat that surrounds the organs/kidneys of deer, cattle, sheep or even goats. Once heated, that suet will liquify – it turns gold in color as it separates from the tissues originally intertwined in the suet (muscles, etc).
The liquified fat is then strained through a fine filter to remove any particles and impurities. It’s then chilled, re-melted, and re-washed before it is stored. (You can render by following my tutorial).
The final color of tallow is light, odorless and pure. And no — using tallow won’t make you smell like beef fat. I promise.
Pure Tallow Cold Process Soap Recipe
I love simple soap – this pure tallow soap is made with simple tallow and lye – nothing more, nothing less. It is super easy to make and takes several weeks to cure.
The best part about this soap is that it’s unscented, and wonderful for even the most sensitive of skin.
This soap makes 8 bars of pure tallow soap that weigh 4-5 oz. each.
Oils and Fats:
- 35 oz beef tallow
Lye and Liquid:
- 4.61 oz lye (6% superfat)
- 10.30 oz distilled water
First: Prep Work:
#1: Suit up for safety. Put on goggles, wear gloves and don clothes that have long sleeves. Go a step further and make sure all distractions are out of the room/house – kids, pets, etc. Use a well-ventilated area (I like to use my kitchen sink because I have a few windows behind it that provide ventilation).
#2: Weigh out the water/liquid you will be using in a plastic cup or pitcher and set aside.
Second: Mix up the Soap
#3: Prepare all of your ingredients – and have everything set aside to start:
- Thermometer (one that you don’t use for food)
- 1 loaf mold
- Pyrex 8 cup measuring device – not required, but so handy to have!
- Immersion Blender – you don’t have to spend oodles but you will want something reliable with a metal stick, not plastic.
- Lye – this is the brand I use
- Digital Scale to measure your ingredients
#4: Sprinkle the lye into your water/liquid, a little at a time. Stir slowly as you continue to add little bits of lye until the lye is fully dissolved. Set the mixture aside to cool to a temp of 90-115 degrees F.
#5: Melt your tallow. You will want to make sure your melted tallow is between 90-100 degrees F – if the tallow isn’t 90-100 degrees, you can add to a pot on the stove and heat slowly.
#6: Pour the lye mixture into the melted tallow. Use your immersion blender to stir mixture together, making sure to pulse the immersion and take 15-20 second breaks. Don’t overheat your stick blender. The mixture can take anywhere from 3-8 minutes to trace (if not more). You’ll want the mixture to thicken like pudding.
#7: Pour the batter into the mold. Tap the mold on the counter to make sure you eliminate any air bubbles. Use a paddle or long spoon to spoon out as much of the batter as you can. Set in a cool area away from little hands for 24 hours.
Third: Cut the Soap
After 24 hours remove your soap from the mold. Allow the soap to stand on its side or end for a few hours, then slice into bars. Allow those bars to cure for 4-6 weeks before using.
Don’t want to make this soap?
If you prefer to purchase tallow soap, you can find it in my Etsy shop along with many other varieties of soap, salve and lip balms.
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