Lard soap

[BoomerBandit]

Hey guys,

I was wondering what types of oils you use with Lard? Also what percent of Lard do you use if you do use it. I have never used animal fat in cp soap and was wanting to try. Any info would be great!

Thank you,

 

[bohunk]

I HP and have used anywhere from 30-70% lard in my soap over the years. Most people, from what I've seen over the years, tend to use 30-50% lard. You can use it in conjunction with any other oils; the blend depends on what you're seeking in your soap. I'm currently using lard in conjunction with olive, coconut and castor as my base oils.

 

[Susie]

I use this recipe, I am not telling secrets, as I have posted it many times before.

Lard 65%
Coconut Oil 15%
Olive Oil 15%
Castor Oil 5%

Superfat- I used 5-8% before I moved where there is hard water. Now I am loving the 2-3% range better.

Sugar- 1 Tablespoon PPO

 

[bohunk]

Susie, that's very very close to my current formulation. I'm using 60% lard, 20% Olive Oil, 10% coconut Oil and 10% Castor.

 

[BoomerBandit]

I use this recipe, I am not telling secrets, as I have posted it many times before.

Lard 65%
Coconut Oil 15%
Olive Oil 15%
Castor Oil 5%

Superfat- I used 5-8% before I moved where there is hard water. Now I am loving the 2-3% range better.

Sugar- 1 Tablespoon PPO

Have you had any luck with FO's or colorants?

 

[shunt2011]

I use 45% lard with avocado/rice bran/olive or sunflower, CO, Shea and castor. I have no issues with micas or fragrances FO/EO.

 

[cmzaha]

I use 45% tallow and 25% lard in my non vegan soaps. I am one of the few that has dos problems with lard if I go over 25%.

 

[lsg]

I use coconut, Castor and rice bran oil with lard.

 

[MGM]

I have made a number of batches with 100% lard...keeping meaning to post some pics/complaints/questions about it. Apparently, it's one of the (relatively) rare mono-oil possibilities.

 

[Obsidian]

I use 50% lard along with safflower or sunflower, coconut and castor.

No issues with FOs or color. Makes a nice hard, long lasting bar.

I have also made 100% lard. Nice, very gentle soap but it very lacking in lather. A better combo is 80% lard, 20% coconut.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

You can sub lard for shea butter or palm oil in any recipe you already have (recalculate NaOH, of course). My favorite LS is 50/50 lard and PKO. Good lather. Feels wonderful on the skin, but probably not a good combo for hard bars.

TIP: Use oakmoss to neutralize the odor of lard in hard soap. Link:
https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/oakmoss-to-offset-the-odor-of-lard-tallow.64271/

 

[Susie]

I have found that almost any EO/FO will cover the scent of lard. Just be sure to use something that sticks.

 

[Saponomancer]

I've used up to 100% in soap before! But usually when I want to do a lard specific soap I do 75%lard, 20% coconut oil and 5% castor oil.

 

[DeeAnna]

...I have also made 100% lard. Nice, very gentle soap but it very lacking in lather. A better combo is 80% lard, 20% coconut.

That's been my experience as well -- an all-lard soap is mild and long lasting, but it doesn't necessarily lather all that well. Add 15% to 20% coconut and the result is really pretty nice, especially after a generous cure time. In my experience, a mostly-lard soap is decent after the usual 4-6 week cure time, but will improve a lot as the months go by.

I normally use a little less lard for most of my batches, because I think a little less stearic and palmitic acid and a little more oleic acid helps the soap to build a nice lather quicker and more easily. My current recipe is similar to Susie's --

Avocado Oil 5.0%
Coconut Oil 15.0%
Sunflower high oleic 20.0%
Lard 60.0%

The avocado is in there for fun and label appeal. If I didn't want to use it, I'd add the avocado's 5% to the sunflower.

One could sub any high oleic oil for the sunflower -- olive, safflower, canola, etc. You'd want to use a high-oleic or mid-oleic version of these oils, not the conventional high-linoleic type.

Another tip to increase the solubility and lathering ability of an all-lard or high-lard soap is to use a "dual lye" mixture. I normally use 5% KOH and 95% NaOH, rather than all NaOH.

 

[cmzaha]

I find the dual lye at 95 % NaOH and 5% KOH work in my high tallow high palm soaps

 

[Cosmo71]

I use this recipe, I am not telling secrets, as I have posted it many times before.

Lard 65%
Coconut Oil 15%
Olive Oil 15%
Castor Oil 5%

Superfat- I used 5-8% before I moved where there is hard water. Now I am loving the 2-3% range better.

Sugar- 1 Tablespoon PPO

Thank you for this! I have home rendered lard and want to make a mostly lard bar and have been hemming and hawing over a recipe. I will try this! What was the general color of your bar? I am looking to get a white bar but natural color is more important to me than adding TD.

 

[Ladka]

I've made 80 % lard and 20 % coconut oil to obtain lovely white bars with good lather and bubbling but a bit drying to my skin. Next time I'm going to reduce CO to 15 or even 10 %.
Often I make CP soap with about 50 % lard (sometimes I have leaf lard which is even whiter) and sunflower, CO and castor oils.

 

[CathyB]

My recipe is 55 lard, 20 coconut, 10 olive, and 5 each caster and canola. Or 35 lard, 20 tallow, then the same liquid oils.

 

[Angie Gail]

I use 30% Lard (the highest percentage of any oil/fat) and then other oils including coconut oil, avocado oil, sunflower oil, and olive oil. I also add in reconstituted goat milk after the hot process cook. I'm in Texas with very hard water and this soap has a lot of great lather and is gentle on the skin.

 

[Hope Ann]

I use 30% Lard (the highest percentage of any oil/fat) and then other oils including coconut oil, avocado oil, sunflower oil, and olive oil. I also add in reconstituted goat milk after the hot process cook. I'm in Texas with very hard water and this soap has a lot of great lather and is gentle on the skin.

Could I ask if you have found 20% coconut oil too drying with that low of lard? I'm still playing with percentages trying to find that sweet spot for my hard water.

Hope