Intro

This is the Tallow/Lard Soap part of my blog series of giving you more exact soap recipes because y’all asked for them! This recipe is for tallow or lard that you either bought or rendered yourself.

I get unrendered beef fat included in the half-cow that we buy from a local farm and I get unrendered pork fat-back from a local hog farmer. It is INCREDIBLY easy to render your own tallow and lard, I will make another post on this soon. I also have a Youtube video on how to easily render your own lard/tallow!

Simply put: Rendered beef fat = tallow and Rendered pig fat = lard

I want to be clear that I’m not here to be a soap expert. I’m here to show you that you can take steps towards soap-making and other healthy changes in your home WITHOUT being an expert. I’ve been making all of my family’s soap for 4 years with the same simple recipe and I have personally not adjusted it for different fats or oils. I’ve just been okay that my soap comes out with slightly different textures each time lol.

However, many of you wanted my help formulating your recipes for more consistent bars of soap. Here are the calculations for a bar soap made with 100% tallow or lard.

Tallow/Lard Soap

This recipe can be used with all tallow, all lard, or a mixture of both together.

Tallow (beef fat) and Lard (pig fat) react with lye and make good hard, long-lasting bars of soap with a creamy, stable lather. They are generally VERY moisturizing so a lower 1-5% superfat is a good range for 100% tallow or lard soap. Both usually reach trace fairly easily and hardens in 3-4 weeks with curing.

Tallow tends to make a slightly firmer bar, while lard can produce a particularly creamy, silky lather. But I am including them in the same post because they mostly behave fairly similarly and I use them interchangeably. They are both wonderfully simple fats for making an everyday bar of soap – my personal favorite!

Recipe for 100% Tallow/Lard Soap

Materials

Vinegar
Eye protection
Stainless steel pot or bowl
Immersion blender
Kitchen scale
Soap mold

Ingredients**

8oz filtered water
22oz melted lard or tallow
2.92oz lye

Instructions

Measure out and melt your lard and/or tallow
1. Your fat just needs to be a liquid to pour into the soap pot
Set your fat aside
Pour 8oz water into pot
1. Tap water is fine as long as it’s not “hard” water
Pour 2.92oz lye into water and stir to combine
1. Go slowly, *don’t put your face directly over pot, fumes can be strong*
Pour 22oz melted fat into pot and begin immersion blending
Keep stirring/blending until you get trace (pudding consistency)
Pour soap mix it into soap mold
Let cure for 1-2 weeks to solidify before cutting
Then cure cut soap for 1-2 more weeks before using (do zap test)

If you want more expert opinions on soap making, I think https://www.ellyseveryday.com/ has a wealth of useful information.

To calculate your own soap recipe with varying ratios: https://soapcalc.net/calculator

Types of Tallow/Lard in SoapCalc.net

If you use a soap calculator, you will see several kinds of “tallow” based on the animal. This recipe is for BEEF tallow. (I have never used bear, deer, goat, or sheep tallow.. though hopefully I will some day!). You will only see one kind of lard labeled “Lard, Pig Tallow (Manteca)”. That is the same thing this recipe is using.

Links for Tools and Supplies

For your convenience, here are the links to all of the tools/supplies I personally use! If you do not want to purchase on Amazon, another option would be to check Facebook Marketplace. Often, people are getting rid of their hobby items right when you are starting, so you can buy a whole bundle of supplies for much cheaper! Worth a check.

Pork Lard or Tallow
Sodium Hydroxide (also called NaOH or Lye)

Happy soap making and remember, all glory to the One who created it all!

❤️ Rachel

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