Traditional Tallow Soap Recipe
IntermediateOld-fashioned soap using beef tallow as the main fat. Produces a hard, white bar with dense, creamy lather. The way soap was made for centuries.
Load this recipe into the calculator
The calculator works out the lye and water for your batch size, lye concentration, and superfat. Those amounts are not printed here on purpose: they change with every one of those settings.
Oil blend
| Oil | Percent of oils | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Tallow (Beef) | 50% | Hard oil |
| Olive Oil | 25% | Soft oil |
| Coconut Oil (76°) | 20% | Hard oil |
| Castor Oil | 5% | Soft oil |
| Superfat | 5% | Oil left unsaponified for mildness |
Percentages are by weight of the total oils. Each oil links to its reference page with SAP value, fatty acid profile, and substitutes.
Predicted bar properties
Predicted from the fatty acid profile of the oils, the same way the calculator scores a recipe. The right-hand figures are the usual cold process ranges; green bars fall inside them.
Reading the numbers
- •Cleansing sits at 17, inside the 12 to 22 range most makers aim for.
- •Hardness is 49, a solid bar without being brittle.
- •Conditioning is 43, on the low side, which fits a utility bar better than a face bar.
Making it
Use rendered, cleaned tallow. Traces at medium speed. Makes a very white, hard bar. Cure 4-6 weeks.