Substitute for Tallow?

[craftykelly]

I just bought a great little second hand soap making book and the recipes in there use Tallow. I don't want to use animal fats at all so was hoping that someone can tell me what is a good substitute? If I was to guess I would say Palm oil?

TIA

 

[soap_lady]

Yes Palm Oil would be correct.

But on the flip side of the coin, tallow or even lard really are awesome in soap and I personally think they are misunderstood or people are quick to jump on the bandwagon to say no animal oils before doing the research on them. Plus if your a beginner soap maker, most don't have access to palm oil without ordering it. When you can buy most of your oils in the grocery store and include lard alone or lard and crisco combination as your base oils to help provide hardness for your soap.

 

[MikeInPdx]

Yeah....Palm is the correct substitute. I just reformulated my recipes with palm....I participate in swaps, and I'm always having to remove lard or tallow for a variety of reasons.

 

[mysoapopera]

I have tried many different oils and combs. I personally like mine with lard. my objective when I first started, was to remove lard from all my recipes and sub out with something else, after it was all said and done..I like lard in my soap.

 

[craftykelly]

Thanks everyone. I can get palm oil at my local grocery shop. Almost have everything ready to start now.

 

[49.bussey]

What other oils can replace tallow?

Other than palm oil, what other options are there to replace tallow, does anyone know?

 

[Lindy]

Lard.... palm is the only direct cross-over...

 

[49.bussey]

Thanks

Thank you, that's a beautiful soap creation you have on your profile picture, by-the-way, I am a newbie but those complex beautiful colors are what I am striving for.

 

[Dahila]

Do you think I could use lard bought in store? They sell in Canada a pound of Pure lard with some citric acid in it and Bht or something like that? I would like to try soap with lard, btw what percentage should I keep. I hope original poster does not mind my hacking the thread

 

[dixiedragon]

Dahila, I use store bought lard with no problem. The brand I get is Armor and it comes in a green and white box or bucket.
Here are the ingredients:
Lard And Hydrogenated Lard, BHA, Propyl Gallate And Citric Acid Added To Protect Flavor.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Just also be aware of how some people feel about the way that palm oil is produced. If customers are squeemish about animal fats, they might not be too keen on using something that contains palm oil with out some back ground on where it's from and how it was produced.

 

[Saponista]

You can use cocoa butter to harden soap but it ends up not feeling as nice, I am toying with a few things at the moment.

 

[cmzaha]

Coco butter is also going to make an expensive bar of soap if using enough to make it harder. Fully hydrogenated soy (soy wax) will add hardness to your soap, might be able to replace palm or tallow with it. Just make sure the soy wax is 100% soy

 

[Dahila]

Dahila, I use store bought lard with no problem. The brand I get is Armor and it comes in a green and white box or bucket.
Here are the ingredients:
Lard And Hydrogenated Lard, BHA, Propyl Gallate And Citric Acid Added To Protect Flavor.

thank you so much ))

 

[seven]

Coco butter is also going to make an expensive bar of soap if using enough to make it harder. Fully hydrogenated soy (soy wax) will add hardness to your soap, might be able to replace palm or tallow with it. Just make sure the soy wax is 100% soy

is it going to inhibit lather like beeswax does?

 

[Candybee]

There just is no feeling like lard in your soap. I've heard it referred to by other soapers as the poor man's shea butter. Many have tried to reproduce the feel in an all veggie soap. The best I have found is splitting palm oil and shea butter at 2:1 and use as a sub for lard. So if your recipe calls for 30% lard sub it out for 20% palm oil with 10% shea butter. Its very close to the feel of lard.

But when you get a chance, try some soap with lard in it. You will be glad you did. Its very good for the skin and my customers swear it clears up their acne. My sensitive skin customers tell me its the only soap they can use that doesn't irritate or make their skin itch.

 

[jblaney]

Candybee,

Thanks for the tip! I too love lard in my soap, but I will try your idea tonight and see if I like it.

 

[Candybee]

Do you think I could use lard bought in store? They sell in Canada a pound of Pure lard with some citric acid in it and Bht or something like that? I would like to try soap with lard, btw what percentage should I keep. I hope original poster does not mind my hacking the thread

I use Manteca lard I buy from Walmart. The citric acid is used as a preservative which doesn't bother me in the least as I want my beloved lard to last as long as possible! You should have no problems with your store bought lard.

You can use it in varying amounts in your recipe. I typically use it at 25-30% of my oils. Just remember that lard slows trace so the more you use the slower your trace. I find it starts to effect my trace beginning at 30%. It will also depend on your other oils too. I use olive oil with lard. A good recipe trinity for lard is olive oil, lard, and coconut oil. If you throw in a little castor oil it rocks!

 

[Lindy]

Thank you, that's a beautiful soap creation you have on your profile picture, by-the-way, I am a newbie but those complex beautiful colors are what I am striving for.

Thank you...

 

[ca_soap]

I'm a few days behind on threads but I can't pass this one without saying I love lard also! It's a greasy little four letter word but oh how it does wonders in soaps!