Tallow soap not working:(

[EmBlakey]

I'm so sad, my second batch of tallow soap has failed and I'm not sure why
I made a batch a week ago, 100% tallow at 5%sf. I cut it the next day and it crumbled. I read around a lot but it was difficult finding any info on 100% tallow soaps. Anyway, what I found suggested that the sf was fine (tho it can contribute to it being crumbly) but the soap needs to gel completely and I should also mix lye with oil at a higher temperature. I did all of that and increased sf to 8%. Just now I cut it and it crumbled to pieces again I don't know what to do to fix it...Has anyone made 100% tallow soap before?? :cry:

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[shunt2011]

Couple things, are you sure your not lye heavy? Are you using a steep liquid discount? Perhaps it's just a matter of cutting them sooner. I've not made 100% tallow soap so can't speak first hand.

 

[not_ally]

I like tallow but 100% seems pretty high, seems like it would create a v. hard/crumbly bar. Are you opposed to adding some proportion of softer oils in your recipe?

 

[EmBlakey]

No, definitely correct amount of lye. A friend is desperate for some 100% so I said I would try to make it for her! Another page says I must mix lye/oil at 55 degrees and I did it at 45...perhaps that's the difference :|

 

[Dorymae]

Well I don't soap tallow at that high a temperature, I soap it at room temp. Also 100 percent tallow needs to be cut sooner than 24 hours. I usually cut mine at around the 12-16 hour mark. When I make it I do so first thing in the morning or the last thing at night.

If I wait too long to cut it does get crumbly around the corners and edges.

Also I superfat it at 6%

 

[EmBlakey]

Wow ok! Thanks! Anything else I should know about? What temperature do you mix ingredients?
Cheers

 

[EmBlakey]

...I ask about the temperature because it's usually about 45-50 here most of the year

 

[Obsidian]

I've made 100% tallow before. I think I mixed it around 100* F and cut it as soon as I could (8 hours or so) since tallow makes a very hard bar. The SF really shouldn't affect crumbly, I believe mine was 8%.

 

[Dorymae]

...I ask about the temperature because it's usually about 45-50 here most of the year

I soap at about 75 degrees F (23 - 24 degrees c ) that is for the lye water, the oils are as cold as I can get them for them to still be clear.

 

[newbie]

That gets so hard that if you cut too late, it could break up. I assume it's not zapping so you could either try to clean up the bars you have or try again but cut much earlier, like at 12 hours as someone else suggested.

 

[IrishLass]

I agree with the others who say to cut it sooner. Anytime you make a soap with 100% of a fat that makes as hard of a soap as tallow does, you'll want to cut that baby as soon as it has firmed up enough from gel to handle being unmolded, but still quite warm to the touch. If you wait until it's completely cool, it will tend to crumble and crack into pieces when cut.


IrishLass

 

[Jstar]

Ditto on cutting sooner...8-12 hrs

 

[regansoap]

Melt it or re batch whip it up and you have pure white soap that floats in Bath but lathers beautifully. I think I super fatted with she a butter.