# Substitute Lard for Tallow?



## sillysharly (Oct 3, 2015)

Hello, I am a newbie here and have a question. I am trying to make a shampoo bar from this recipe http://wellnessmama.com/26682/shampoo-bar-recipe/. I started by making the lye solution, but realized that the recipe calls for tallow and I have lard. Can I just substitute the lard for tallow or will I need to recalculate a new recipe and make a new lye solution? I'm hoping there is a way to use the lye solution I've already made so that it will not go to waste. Thank you for any help you can provide!!! :-ohttp://www.soapmakingforum.com//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/


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## Susie (Oct 3, 2015)

The SAP values are slightly different.  Tallow is 0.143 where lard is 0.141.  I would re-calculate, but there should be no reason you can't use the lye solution.  You may have to fiddle with how much lard in the calculator to use it all up, but your lye solution should not change.


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## sillysharly (Oct 3, 2015)

My next question would be: when I run my recipe through soapcalc.net what exactly am I looking for? You said the SAP values are different, what am I aiming for? (Sorry if my questions don't make sense, again I am new to this


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Oct 3, 2015)

When you put the recipe in, change the tallow for lard and when you click on calculate, the lye amount will be based on using lard and not tallow so all will be well.

The SAP value is not like a 'cleansing' value or 'conditioning' value. It is the value that tells us how much lye we need to saponify this oil. The calculator will handle that for you, don't worry


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## DeeAnna (Oct 3, 2015)

Put this recipe into Soapcalc. Each number in the list below refers to a section in the Soapcalc form. 

1. Type of lye: NaOH

2. Weight of oils: Ounces

3. Water: Click the button by Lye Concentration. Type 30% in the box to the right of Lye Concentration. 

4. Superfat: Leave at 5%. 

4. Fragrance: Either leave at 0.5 oz/lb or change to 0.66 oz/lb (The default is 0.5 oz/lb. Wellness Mama's recipe uses 0.66 oz/lb. Pick one and go with it.)

5. Find "Coconut Oil, 76 degree" in the list of fats. Double click on it. It should now appear in the list to the right in Section 6.

6. Click on the round button above OZ because you want to enter your recipe in ounces not in percentages.
6. Enter 10 in the green box below OZ and to the right of Coconut Oil.

5 and 6. Find "Lard, Pig Tallow" in the list of fats. Double click on it to add that to your recipe. Enter 10 oz as the weight.
5 and 6. Find Olive Oil and put 10 oz of olive oil into your recipe.
5 and 6. Repeat with 6 oz of castor oil.

7. When you are happy with the recipe, click Calculate Recipe. 
7. Next, click View Recipe. A new window should open in your browser and you should see something that looks like the pic below. Your numbers may be a bit different than mine if you chose to use different numbers for the superfat, lye concentration, or fragrance dosage. The result is your new recipe using 10 oz lard instead of 10 oz tallow. The lye weight you should use for this revised recipe is on the Pink line toward the top.

Hope this answers your questions....


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