Tallow Soap Recipe

This easy to make tallow soap recipe uses only 3 ingredients and leaves the skin nourished, hydrated, and soft. This recipe is very simple, requiring little time or expertise. If you have never made soap before, give this option a try!

tallow soap bars made from pure beef tallow

Why Use Tallow Soap?

What we put on our skin can be just as important as what we put inside our bodies! Our skin absorbs a remarkably high amount- over 90% of some substances-into our bodies (source). As our family learned more about the importance of nourishing our bodies with ancestral foods, avoiding topical chemicals became a priority as well. Unfortunately a lot of commercial hygiene and beauty products contain many toxins that can be easily absorbed into our bodies. Alternately, when we choose healthier options, like this tallow soap recipe, our skin absorbs the good vitamins and minerals, too!

Where to Get Tallow

To save time and money, each year we buy a whole beef from a local farmer. This is also a healthier option for our family, as he uses grass-fed and finished practices. If possible, buy meat from a local farmer who uses grass-fed and organic practices. If you do not know of a farmer, check your local Weston Price Chapter. When you buy beef from the farmer (ask for the tallow!), this soap is VERY inexpensive. Alternately, ask can ask your local butcher for tallow or order it here.

What is Tallow?

Tallow is simply the product of rendered animal fat. The fat can come from animals like cows, sheep, or deer. Rendered fat from pigs is called lard, which produces a softer fat than tallow. I used rendered beef fat in this tallow soap recipe. Rendering fat means to convert it from a raw fat into a hard, tasteless, odorless form. This involves heating the fat and straining out any chunks of animal tissues, such as meat or cartilage. The tallow will be solid at room temperature and can also be used in cooking or making candles. One of our favorite ways to eat tallow is by cooking French fries in it! We also use it on our skin in this whipped tallow balm recipe.

Beef Tallow Soap Recipe

I wish I would have known about this tallow soap recipe sooner! When our oldest was a toddler, he had eczema due to gut dysbiosis. Tallow is soothing, hydrating, and healing for skin. After following the GAPS protocol and making other intentional product swaps, his skin healed beautifully. In addition to making our own soap, we use this DIY foaming hand soap recipe with a non toxic soap. This works beautifully for hand washing, body wash, and even “shampoo” (for the boys in our home).

Health Benefits of Eating Tallow

Tallow is packed with restorable vitamins and minerals. We try to use animal fats in our diet whenever possible, as they are so important for maintaining a healthy gut and hormones. Research shows when beef fat is consumed from healthy animals (grass fed), it does not have negative health effects. While following a low-cholesterol diet is controversial, it is interesting to note that:

“Data suggest that lean beef is no more hypercholesterolemic than chicken or fish and, therefore, lean beef need not be eliminated from cholesterol-lowering diets.” (source).

Health Benefits of Tallow For Skin

A study was conducted to determine how the structure and composition of tallow make it an efficacious agent for the skin. (Another reason why we used this whipped tallow balm!) In other words, scientists wanted to study how or why applying tallow topically improved the skin. The study found:

Tallow is primarily composed of oleic acid, palmitic acid, and stearic acid and that tallow increases plasma fatty acid concentration. Topically, it is of notable significance that tallow may increase fatty acid concentration in the skin.
The second objective was to analyze the benefits of tallow on the skin. Tallow was found to offer hydrating and moisturizing properties.
The third objective was to determine the therapeutic properties of topical tallow. Research indicated that tallow may be beneficial in helping with skin conditions such as topical dermatitis (eczema), psoriasis, dry skin, and wounds. (source)

How to Make Soap From Beef Tallow

This tallow soap recipe calls for only 3 ingredients: tallow, lye, and water. Using distilled water is considered “best practice” amongst many soap makers. However, I have used filtered water and the recipe turns out just fine. A few tips I have found helpful when preparing to make soap:

Pre-weigh ingredients ahead of time, using a kitchen scale. If you want to make a smaller or larger recipe, simply use this soap making calculator to find the weights needed of each ingredient.
Gather your materials: crock pot or stock pot, immersion blender, thermometer, soap molds, spatula, protective eye wear, gloves, vinegar bottle ( in case lye accidentally comes in contact with skin)
Plan for ventilation when mixing lye and water (open a window, turn on oven ventilation fan, mix outdoors, etc.)

Dangers of Lye and How to Use Carefully

Lye is considered caustic, and it can burn skin, eyes, and cause lung damage if not used properly. When mixing water and lye, be in a well-ventilated area and always add the lye to the water. Never pour water into lye, or it can cause an explosion. Use safety goggles and gloves to protect your skin. If you do have accidental contact with lye, spray your skin with white vinegar and rinse under cool water to neutralize. I used to be afraid to make soap because of the potential dangers of lye. It is very simple