Pure Tallow Soap Recipe | How to Make Soap from Scratch

This pure tallow soap recipe uses only 100% grass-fed tallow as the oil ingredient.

If you know me, you know that I love tallow, especially in my skincare. I talk more about the benefits of tallow in my post here. Tallow is ideal for soap making being readily available through your local farmer. Retrospectively, we had a much closer connection with our food’s source and preparation than most do now. Our great grandparents were probably experts on all sorts of traditional ingredients, including things like beef tallow. Not only did they know where their food and other daily necessities came from, they probably helped grow or make them! I am inspired by them to reconnect with nature and re-remember old rituals and ways of living. Most especially, take advantage of all of the wonderful nutrients that these products have to offer.

What is Tallow?

Tallow is simply rendered beef fat (suet). The rendering process cooks the raw fat and turns it into hot liquid fat (solid fat at room temperature). Beef tallow from healthy, grass-fed cattle is truly an amazing thing. It contains a huge array of nutrients. These are beneficial both internally and externally. Here are some of the nutrients found in grass fed beef tallow:

• Vitamins A, D, K, & E, & B12
• Rich in minerals
• Conjugated Linoleic Acid with natural anti-inflammatory properties
• Palmitoleic acid (omega 7) which is one of our skin’s basic building blocks
• Palmitic acid helps improve the protective barrier function of skin
• Stearic acid helps to repair damaged skin, and improves skin’s flexibility and suppleness

See my post on tallow if you are interested in learning more.

Things you should know about soap making:

Lye is extremely alkaline, and the lye water or liquid soap mixture can burn skin. It is recommended to:

If you’re new to making tallow soap from scratch, there are a few safety precautions to keep in mind. Soap making uses lye to turn the oils into soap. No lye is left over after the soap making is complete and the bars are cured, so there’s no reason to worry about residual anything. However, during the soap making process, we do have to handle the lye, and it’s important to take that with care.

• wear gloves
• long sleeves
• eye protection
• mix the lye water outdoors

Here is a list of everything you’ll need for your tallow soap recipe as far as equipment:

• Scale that reads to two decimal places
• Crockpot or large pot for the stove
• Immersion blender
• Spatula
• Large heat-safe container or sturdy plastic bucket
• Wooden spoon
• Thermometer
• Soap molds
• Soap slicer
• Wax paper
• Towels
• White vinegar
• Rubber gloves
• Safety glasses

Pure tallow soap recipe directions

Ingredients:

• 32 oz. tallow
• 4.2 oz. lye
• 12.16 oz. water

InstructionsTo Make Tallow Soap:

1. Weigh tallow and put into your large pot or crockpot. If the tallow is not yet melted (below 100 degrees F), turn the crockpot on low to gently heat the tallow.
2. Weigh the water in a heat-safe container or sturdy plastic bucket, and weigh the lye separately.
3. Check the temperature of the tallow. You want it to be 100 degrees F. Let tallow cool if necessary.
4. Once the tallow is 100 degrees F, take the lye and water outdoors. Wearing gloves and safety goggles, carefully and slowly pour the lye into the water. Stir gently.
5. Once the lye water has turned from cloudy to clear, leave it to cool for 10 minutes.
6. Carefully pour the lye water into the tallow.
7. Add other optional ingredients (Niacinamide, Iodine, Magnesium Chloride & honey) if using.
8. Use an immersion blender to mix the soap. After a few minutes, it will grow creamy, and start to thicken. Mix until it has reached “trace,” the light pudding consistency.
9. Add the essential oils (if using) and blend again to incorporate.
10. Pour soap into molds, top with wax paper, and wrap molds in towels.
11. After 24 hours, remove soap from the mold and slice it into bars. Let cure in an area with good airflow for 4 weeks.

IMPORTANT: Do not use tallow soap until after 4 weeks from completing this process.  Lye needs time to be fully incorporated and removed from soap. If you use too early, you may find mild irritation on skin.