Our Grass Fed Tallow Soaps

I make four different tallow bars here at Hen Valley Soap, each one is formulated differently to offer different results depending on your preferences and skin type. Two of the soap recipes are coconut free and perfect for people who want to try cold process soap but have a coconut allergy. All four recipes are “Naked” bars of soap. Naked means there are no added scents or colourants, you’re getting natural soap. Let’s jump right in and compare the four recipes.

Lather from 100% Grass fed Tallow soap

100% Grass Fed Tallow

This is a return to traditional soap making. Beef fat (tallow), wood ash, and water used to be boiled together to make soap. There were no exact recipes, and this was a time-consuming process. The heated wood ash and water would react to create a “soft Lye” (potassium hydroxide) and that would react with the beef fat to start the saponification process (the chemical reaction that creates soap). My recipe used sodium hydroxide and water, no heat, (I use the cold process method) to create the saponification reaction to make soap. No added ingredients. Just the three basic ingredients to make soap. I use a recipe of course to ensure the soap is not lye heavy and that there is a left over superfat in the bar to leave the skin feeling moisturized. Superfat is fat that remains in the bar that does not get turned into soap. 

The Benefits of Tallow

Tallow works differently than other soap making ingredients because it’s biocompatible. That means it matches your biology: Grass-fed tallow’s fatty acid profile is nearly identical to human sebum (a natural, oily, and waxy substance in the skin that moisturizes, lubricates, and protects skin and hair). Tallow is also naturally packed with Vitamins A, D, E, and K. With tallow you skin isn’t just getting cleaned it’s also getting nourishment. Since this recipe use 100% grass-fed, the soap is high in stearic acid which creates a hard, long-lasting bar.

The Lather

This bar does not lather like a store bought “Soap” bar (store bought soaps aren’t real soap they are made with synthetic detergents). It’s not bubbly. Its lather is kind of flat and creamy. I personally had a hard time adjusting to this the first time I tried a 100% Tallow bar of soap because I’m used to a bubblier lather.

 Lather from the Tallow & Olive Oil Bar

Grass Fed Tallow & Olive Oil

While Tallow on its’ own is a wonderful and gentle way to clean, it can feel a bit heavy for some people. This recipe adds Olive oil and Castor oil to make the soap more conditioning and creamier.

The Benefits of Olive Oil

Olive oil is added to soap primarily for its mildness and conditioning properties. Olive oil is a great ingredient for sensitive skin and can be made into a 100% olive oil soap called Castile soap.  Olive oil is high in oleic acid which adds emollient (softens and sooths skin) properties to the soap. Olive oil is also rich in antioxidants and Vitamin E. It provides a gentle, smooth "slip" (lubricating feel of the soap) and ensures the bar is mild enough for faces.

The Lather

The two fats combined produce a different lather than a pure tallow bar. Olive oil produced small slippery bubbles. To make this soap lather like the synthetic detergents bars you’re used to, I added castor oil to the recipe. Castor oil acts as a lather booster. It contains ricinoleic acid which stabilizes bubbles and turns a milky lather into a thick bubbly foam. One of my customers sent me a video of her lathering up with this soap, and she was able to blow a bubble between her hands!

 Tallow & Coconut Oil Lather

Grass Fed Tallow & Organic Coconut Oil

Adding coconut oil to a tallow soap increasing the cleaning power of the bar and the bubble size of the lather. Olive oil and Castor oil round out this soap recipe to add some gentleness and conditioning.

The Benefits of Coconut Oil

While olive oil is slow-lathering and conditioning, coconut oil is the cleanser. It creates big, fluffy bubbles and a very hard bar. When organic coconut oil is paired with the creamy, skin-matching fats of grass-fed tallow, you get a bar that is both a heavy-duty cleaner and a deep moisturizer.

The Lather

Pure tallow can be stubborn to lather in cold or lukewarm water. Coconut oil increases the overall solubility of the bar, meaning you get a rich lather right away upon contact with water. Castor oil again helps to stabilize the bubbles and adds a richness to the lather. This combination gives you the lather you are used to without the harsh chemicals.

Grass Fed Tallow & Olive, Coconut, Shea Butter & Castor Oil

This oils, fats and butters combination is currently only available in my beer soap. My first batch of this “Naked” bar is due to be ready in Mid-April.

I put everything in this bar! That doesn’t make it better than the others, it simply makes it different. You have the Traditional gentle heavy cleansing of tallow, the cleansing of organic coconut oil, the conditioning of olive oil, the lather boosting of castor oil and the conditioning and luxury feel of shea butter.

The Benefit of Shea Butter

Shea butter focuses on skin conditioning and adds to the hardness of the soap bar. Unlike most fats, shea butter is said to contain high percentages of unsaponifiables-compounds like phytosterols and vitamin E that do not turn into soap when mixed with lye. These remain in the bar as raw nutrients, providing a noticeable lotion-like feel on the skin after rinsing.

The Lather

Tallow already has a creamy lather, but shea butter makes it dense and silky. Shea contains high levels of stearic acid which stabilizes the bubbles created by other oils like coconut and castor. This bar has a bubbly and creamy lather that is very abundant!

Conclusion

Which soap is best depends on your personal preferences. If lather is important to you than you won’t like the 100% grass fed tallow soap, because its lather is not bubbly and is rather flay and lifeless. You would prefer any of the three that contain castor oil to help boost the lather to create a sensory experience for your hands. If tradition and simplicity is important, then the 100% grass-fed tallow might be for you. If you’re allergic to coconut but want a traditional lather than the Olive oil & tallow soap should be your go to soap. All my vegan soaps contain coconut oil. I hope this post helped explain the different soap types to you. If you have any questions drop a comment below and I’ll get back to you.

Comparison Chart of all Three Main Ingredients

 Here's a video that shows you the lather of the three soaps that are currently ready.

https://youtube.com/shorts/oaOJ-1aV5zI?si=37ckI_hLTA1njnIG