Using Tallow in Soap Making - the benefits of Tallow Soap

Before we explore why you might want to use tallow in soap making, lets first have a look at what tallow is.

What is Tallow?

Tallow is a healthy fat made from rendering suet, which is the hard white fat found around some of the organs and major joints in cattle and sheep. Once rendered into its pure form, the resulting tallow can be using both in the kitchen and to make your own sustainable body products. This is a great way to use what is a waste product of meat production. This is a useful, sustainable resource for people who raise their own or who have access to pasture raised animals.

How do you make tallow?

There are various methods you can use to render suet into tallow, you can make it on a stove top or in a slow cooker, with or without adding salt and water. I personally like to use a slow cooker and I do not add anything to my suet and I am very happy with the resulting tallow. You can learn more on rendering tallow in a slow cooker from my post here.

Why add Tallow to your soap?

Pasture raised tallow is nutrient dense. It contains higher omega-7, omega-9, conjugated linoleic acid, and vitamins A, D, E, K, and B12 than plant-based fats, all of which are essential to radiant, healthy skin. The fat saturation content of beef and lamb tallow is very similar to human fat, the vitamins within it are also more bioavailable and readily absorbed. In addition to its incredible moisturizing properties, tallow's abundant nutrient profile also makes it a natural anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antioxidant, helping to preserve your skin's natural beauty.

Tallow soap is a long-lasting moisturising soap.

Tallow soap is a hard, long-lasting soap due to the palmitic and stearic acid found in tallow which means it doesn’t melt away quickly when wet. It also helps to produce rich, creamy lather that is gently cleansing and wonderful for skin. Pure tallow soap is very popular for people who have various skin conditions because it is so gentle and effective at the same time. Other more cleansing oils, like coconut oil and olive oil go very nicely in a soap bar along with tallow, as the different properties complement each other well.

Tallow Hydrates Dry Skin

One of the most common issues people have with their soap is that it dries out their skin, often leaving them feeling itchy and uncomfortable. Tallow soap does just the opposite. The unique structural properties of pasture raised tallow and its high oleic acid content allow it to balance out dry and oily skin types, clear out clogged pores, and deeply hydrate and restore skin at a cellular level. Tallow assists your body in producing its healthy collagen, a nourishing and vital protein that helps repair and regenerate skin's natural elasticity and slows down the appearance of wrinkles. Regular use of tallow soap and other skincare products like my cremes, balms and scrubs help to build up your skin's sebum content, creating soft and healthy-looking skin.

Using Pasture Raised Tallow rather than Factory Farmed

All tallows are not created equally. Unsurprisingly, pasture-raised tallow rather than factory farmed tallow, has the benefit of being healthier for your skin. It is higher in all the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients you would want due to the naturally more diverse and healthy diets of pasture-raised animals, which of course translates into a richer, more nutrient-dense tallow for use in skin care products. It also does not contain potential contaminants such as growth hormones and antibiotics, which can be stored in the fat of factory farmed animals.

Tallow and sustainability.

Another popular ingredient that can help produce hard bars is palm oil. Tallow is a much better choice, because of how sustainable tallow is. Palm oil isn’t as sustainable as a choice, because so much work goes into growing, harvesting, processing, and transporting it. There are also concerns about palm oil production not being environmentally friendly.

Conversely, tallow is always produced on a continual basis since it is a byproduct of beef and lamb meat production. It can be produced locally and made right at home. Tallow is also a very inexpensive soap making ingredient.

If you’re concerned about a smell from tallow in soap making, don’t be! If you render tallow properly and gently, you can get it to where there is pretty much no smell at all. Check out my post on rendering tallow here.