Simple Tallow Soap Recipe: 7 Recipes to Try at Home

The Benefits of Homemade Tallow Soap

Tallow soap is made from rendered animal fat, typically beef tallow. This traditional soap has been used for centuries due to its effective hydrating and moisturizing features.

While you can find tallow soap in stores, making it at home offers several distinct advantages. One key benefit of homemade tallow soap is that you can adjust the recipe to meet your specific skin needs and preferences.

You can customize the ingredients to create the soap you want, whether you have sensitive skin or dry patches or prefer a particular scent.

Also, making your tallow soap at home is a cost-effective way to have a natural soap since store-bought soaps, especially those with natural ingredients, can be expensive.

Additionally, making tallow soap allows you to control the quality of the ingredients. You can choose to use organic or locally sourced tallow, natural oils, and other additives, ensuring your soap is free from harmful chemicals and synthetic ingredients.

Tallow soap is divided into different types based on the animal fat used, which affects its nutrients, features, and texture.

Learn More: The Effects of Tallow for Skin: Is It Good? Benefits and Side Effects

Types of Tallow Soap

Tallow soap can be made from different types of animal fat, each providing different features and benefits. The common types are:

• Beef Tallow Soap: It’s made from cow fat and is known for its rich, creamy lather and moisturizing qualities.
• Deer Tallow Soap: This soap uses deer fat, which is less common and more expensive than beef tallow. It’s a better choice for sensitive skin due to its soothing features and ability to moisturize without clogging pores.
• Grass-Fed Tallow Soap: This soap is made from the fat of grass-fed animals and contains more nutrients, like omega-3s and vitamins, which make it especially good for nourishing and moisturizing the skin.

You can buy these ready-to-use tallow soaps, but if you want a 100% natural soap, it’s better to make it at home with simple ingredients and the following equipment.

Learn More: Is Beef Tallow Healthier Than Vegetable Oil?

Soap-Making Equipment

If you want to make soap, having the right equipment is essential for the best result. Here’s a list of the essential tools you'll need:

• Scale: A precise scale that reads to two decimal places is crucial for measuring ingredients. This ensures that you use the correct amounts of fats, lye, and other additives, which is essential for avoiding imbalances that can affect the final product.
• Crockpot or Large Pot: Fats (like tallows or oils) are melted and blended in a crockpot or large pot on the stove. Crockpots are convenient for maintaining a steady temperature, while large pots on the stove offer more control over heat. Choose a pot that is heat-resistant and large enough to hold the mixture.
• Immersion Blender: An immersion blender, also known as a stick blender, is used to mix the soap ingredients thoroughly. It helps blend the fats and lye solution until they reach trace - a stage where the mixture thickens enough to pour into molds.
• Rubber or Silicone Spatula: A rubber or silicone spatula is used to scrape the sides of the mixing container and ensure all the ingredients are added. These materials are heat-resistant and won’t react with the lye.
• Large Heat-Safe Container or Sturdy Plastic Bucket: This container is used to mix the lye solution or to combine ingredients before pouring them into molds. It needs to be heat-safe to withstand high temperatures and handle heavy mixtures.
• Wooden Spoon: A wooden spoon is useful for stirring the mixture, especially during the initial stages of blending. Wood is non-reactive with lye and fats, so it’s a safe choice for soap-making.
• Thermometer: A thermometer is essential for monitoring the temperature of the fats and lye solution. Accurate temperature control is important for achieving consistency and ensuring the lye and fats mix properly.
• Soap Molds: They shape soap into bars, loaves, or other forms. Molds can be made from many materials, such as silicone, plastic, or wood. Soap molds are designed to hold the soap mixture until it hardens.
• Soap Slicer: If you use loaf-style molds, a soap slicer helps cut the soap into uniform bars after it has been set.
• Wax Paper: Wax paper is used to line molds and prevent soap from sticking. It also helps easily remove the soap from the mold and keeps the soap looking neat and tidy.
• Towels: They cover the soap as they cure and help stabilize the temperature. They are also handy for cleaning up spills and drips during soap-making.
• Rubber Gloves: They protect your hands from lye, which can cause burns or irritation. They also help keep your hands clean while handling oils and other ingredients.
• Safety Glasses: They protect your eyes from lye splashes and other irritants. It's essential to wear them during soap-making to avoid injury from chemical reactions.

Using these types of equipment, you can make tallow soap. But to make different kinds of tallow soap, you need varying ingredients and methods, such as hot and cold processes.

Learn More: Lard vs. Tallow: How To Use These Fat Sources?

Pure Tallow Soap Recipe - Hot Process

The hot process tallow soap recipe, also called crock pot soap, accelerates the soap-making process by using heat to speed up the chemical reaction, known as saponification. Here’s how to make 11 bars of tallow soap with a hot process.

Ingredients

• 30 oz. tallow or lard
• 4 oz. lye
• 11 oz. water

Instructions

1. Melt the tallow in a crockpot.
2. Stir the lye into the water until it dissolves. Let it sit for a few minutes as it heats up.
3. Add the lye-water mixture slowly into the melted tallow and stir.
4. Use an immersion blender to mix until the mixture reaches a thick and pudding-like texture that holds its shape. It may take 3 to 10 minutes.
5. Cover the crockpot and cook on low for 45-60 minutes. The mixture will bubble and froth.
6. Pour or scoop the mixture into a mold and let it set for 12-24 hours.
7. Remove the soap from the mold, cut it into bars, and let it cure for 1-2 weeks. The soap is usable right away, but curing makes it harder.

Learn More: The Benefits of Oil Cleansing for Skin: DIY Oil Cleanse at Home

Pure Tallow Soap Recipe - Cold Process

The cold-process tallow soap recipe uses pure tallow and coconut oil, making it a good soap bar for dry and sensitive skin.

The main difference between cold- and hot-process soap-making is their curing time and texture. Cold-process soap requires weeks to cure, which allows it to harden gradually.

In contrast, hot process soap uses heat to speed up saponification, so the soap is ready to use much sooner but often has a more rustic appearance.

Using the following ingredients, you can prepare 12 bars of tallow soap.

Ingredients

• 18 oz. beef tallow
• 4.5 oz. lye
• 12 oz. coconut oil
• 10 oz. water

Instructions

1. Pour the water into a heat-resistant glass. Carefully add the lye to the water and stir until it dissolves. The mixture will get very hot.
2. Melt the tallow and coconut oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Let them cool to 37°C (98°F), which can take a couple of hours.
3. Slowly add the lye water to the oils and blend until the mixture thickens.
4. Pour the soap into molds. Silicone molds don’t need any lining, but other molds might need parchment paper.
5. Let the soap harden in the molds for 24 hours to 3 days.
6. Remove the soap from the molds and let it cure for 3-4 weeks before using.

You can also make tallow soup with simple natural ingredients like coconut oil, olive oil, shea butter, honey, and milk. Here are the recipes to make high-quality soap with these ingredients.

Learn More: Tallow Soap Benefits and Ingredients + How to Make

Tallow and Coconut Oil Soap Recipe

Tallow and coconut oil soap is made from beef tallow and coconut oil. These two ingredients are known for their nourishing properties, which make the soap suitable for various skin types, especially those with dry or sensitive skin.

Using the following tallow soap recipe, you can prepare 16 bars of tallow soap.

Ingredients

• 24 oz. grass-fed tallow
• 8 oz. coconut oil
• 8 oz. olive oil
• 15 oz. water
• 6 oz. lye

Instructions

1. Melt the tallow in a crockpot on high or a pot on the stove on low heat, then add coconut and olive oil.
2. Check the temperature of the melted oils to ensure they are at 37°C (100°F). If the temperature is more than that, let it cool.
3. Add the water and lye separately to a heat-safe container.
4. Use a glove to slowly pour the lye into the water and stir gently. Let it cool for 10 minutes.
5. Pour the cooled lye water carefully into the melted oils.
6. Use a blender to mix until the soap reaches a creamy and pudding-like consistency.
7. Add the essential oils and blend again.
8. Pour the soap into molds, cover with wax paper, and wrap the molds in towels.
9. Remove the soap from the molds after 24 hours and slice it into bars.
10. Let the soap cure for 4 weeks in a well-ventilated area. Your soup is ready!

Learn More: Suet vs. Tallow: How Do These Dietary Fat Resources Differ?

Tallow and Shea Butter Soap Recipe

Tallow and shea butter soap is made from beef tallow and shea butter. It's known for its rich, creamy lather and excellent moisturizing properties, making it gentle and nourishing for all skin types.

This soap especially benefits dry and sensitive skin, providing deep hydration and leaving the skin feeling soft and smooth. To make 12 bars of this soap, prepare the ingredients listed and follow this recipe.

Ingredients

• 24 oz. beef tallow
• 8 oz. shea butter
• 8 oz. coconut oil
• 10 oz. olive oil
• 12 oz. water
• 4.5 oz. lye
• 1-2 oz. essential oils

Instructions

1. Melt the tallow.
2. Add shea butter, coconut oil, and olive oil to a large pot.
3. Add the lye to the water in a heat-safe container and stir until dissolved. Let it cool to about 37°C (100°F).
4. Combine the lye solution with the melted oils at about 100°F, then stir gently.
5. Mix them with a blender until it thickens to a light pudding-like consistency.
6. Pour the soap mixture into silicone molds or a lined loaf mold. Smooth the top with a spatula.
7. Cover the molds with wax paper, then wrap them in towels to retain heat. Let the soap sit for 24-48 hours until it hardens.
8. Unmold the soap and slice it into bars.
9. Cure the soap bars in a well-ventilated area for 4-6 weeks. It’s ready to use.

Tallow and Honey Soap Recipe

Tallow and honey soap combines rich beef tallow with soothing honey to create a moisturizing soap. This combination provides cleansing features and is ideal for all skin types, especially dry and sensitive skin. To make 12 bars of this soap, you need the following ingredients and instructions.

Ingredients

• 24 oz. beef tallow
• 2 oz. honey
• 4.5 oz. lye
• 8 oz. coconut oil
• 8 oz. olive oil
• 10 oz. water

Instructions

1. Melt the tallow.
2. Add coconut oil and olive oil to a large pot.
3. Add the lye to the water in a heat-safe container and stir until dissolved, then let it cool to around 37°C (100°F).
4. Add the lye solution to the melted oils and stir gently.
5. Use a blender and mix them until it thickens.
6. Add the honey to the mixture and blend fully.
7. Pour the soap mixture into silicone molds or a lined loaf mold. Then, smooth the top with a spatula.
8. Cover the molds with wax paper, then wrap them in towels. Let the soap sit for 24-48 hours until it hardens.
9. Unmold the soap and slice it into bars once hardened.
10. Cure the bars in a well-ventilated area for 4-6 weeks to allow the soap to harden. Then, it’s ready to use!

Tallow and Olive Oil Soap Recipe

Tallow and olive oil soap is made by combining animal fat (tallow) with olive oil. Tallow adds hardness to the soap, while olive oil adds moisturizing features.

This combination results in a long-lasting soap that cleans the skin effectively and gently. Here’s how to make 12 bars of this soap.

Ingredients

• 24 oz. beef tallow
• 8 oz. olive oil
• 10 oz. water
• 4.5 oz. lye

Instructions

1. Melt the tallow in a large pot or crockpot over low heat.
2. Add the olive oil to the melted tallow and stir gently.
3. Prepare the lye solution by carefully adding the lye to the water in a heat-safe container.
4. Stir until dissolved, then let it cool to about 100°F.
5. Combine the lye solution with the melted oils and stir gently.
6. Use a blender and mix them.
7. Pour the soap mixture into silicone molds and smooth the top with a spatula.
8. To harden the soap, cover the molds with wax paper and then wrap them in towels to keep in the heat. Let the soap sit for 24-48 hours.
9. Remove the soap from the mold once it’s hardened, and cut it into bars.
10. Let the bars sit in a well-ventilated area for 4-6 weeks for the soap to become harder. It’s ready to use.

Learn More: The Carnivore Diet and Skin: How Can Carnivore Improve Skin Health?

Tallow and Milk Soap Recipe

Tallow and milk soap is a traditional soap made from tallow and milk, often with additional oils. The milk adds moisturizing qualities and a creamy lather, and when mixed with tallow, it results in a nourishing soap with effective hydration features.

Let’s see how to make 12 bars of this soap with this simple tallow soap recipe.

Ingredients

• 24 oz. beef tallow
• 12 oz. milk
• 8 oz. coconut oil
• 10 oz. water
• 4.5 oz. lye

Instructions

1. Prepare the milk by freezing it into ice cubes. Once frozen, carefully add the lye to the milk cubes while stirring gently.
2. Allow the mixture to cool to around 37°C (100°F).
3. Melt the tallow in a pot. Then, add coconut oil and mix well.
4. Combine the cooled lye and milk mixture with the melted oils.
5. Use a blender and mix them until it reaches a pudding-like thickness.
6. Pour the soap mixture into molds and smooth the top.
7. Cover with wax paper, wrap in towels, and let it set for 24-48 hours.
8. Unmold the soaps, cut them into bars when solid, and cure for 4-6 weeks.

Learn More: Is Beef Tallow Healthier Than Butter? What Are The Differences?

Summary

These beef tallow soap recipes make it easy to create your favorite soap at home using simple and natural ingredients. However, before using the soap, it’s important to make sure you’re not allergic to any of the ingredients.

Allergic reactions can cause irritation or other skin issues, so it’s wise to consult a professional or conduct a patch test on a small area of your skin first.