Teach Soap

Since lard costs me 7 cents an ounce here, widely available in nice four lb. tubs (or eight lb., if I wanted), one of my first batches used lard. It is only three weeks old so I haven't tried it yet. I also made a batch of 100% lard bars with 0% superfat that I converted after a week into laundry "detergent"--awesome stuff, my husband's sweaty basketball jersey and socks came out smelling beautifully fresh and clean, and it costs me $1.15 for 64 loads (I had been making detergent with all-natural melt and pour soap base, but this stuff is way better. Commercial detergents make my son break out; also, I don't like to pay for them). My philosophy on animal fats is this: If you eat pork and beef, why not use the fat from these animals to make great soap? I also use lard--leaf lard, the good stuff, not hydrogenated--to make baked goods because we are allergic to butter. There's nothing like lard in homemade flour tortillas. Lard such a blessing, and is definitely the cheapest ingredient I use -- the lye costs more per oz.

Use whatever you are confortable with. Yes, lard makes good soap, but it's not for everyone.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

I use tallow, from a local farm. I agree if you eat beef why waste the byproduct if it is good in soap , and locally obtained.

I wouldn't mind trying some laundry soap that some folks are talking about. If you don't mind sharing your recipe that would be fantastic

Do you use the cp lard soap shredded in the washer?

I use 100% CO soap with 0% superfat. But a Lard soap will work too. Just be sure to use a 0% superfat or you will be adding the extra oils to your laundry.

16 oz shredded soap (shred while fresh and let the soap dry out for a day or two after shredding)
2 cups of Borax
2 cups of Washing Soda
Mix together in a food processor or blender.

I use about 3 Tablespoons per load in a large capacity washing machine. I also replace the fabric softener with vinegar for a natural rinse agent. And no my laundry does not smell like vinegar; just fresh and clean.

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I tried my first tallow soap (bison tallow that I rendered myself...). Using soapcalc I tried to come up with a combo with a similar INS score as my favorite all-veggie soap.

I ended up using 50% tallow, ~20% coconut oil, and ~30% olive oil, and 5% super fat. BUT my soap leaves my skin dry and itchy ! It is otherwise nice, but smells a little like beef

So, now I have about 1.5 lbs of soap that I don't want to use. Any ideas for rebatching to make a more mild soap.

Or, more importantly, did I do something wrong. Is tallow soap supposed to be so distinctively smelling? Did I use too much coconut oil? For reference, my favorite (adapted from the Miller Soap website) calls for about 30% OO, 30% CO, 20% palm oil, and 20% canola oil, and 3%. I was looking for a soap made from more local ingredients and therefore wanted to try the bison suet/tallow.

I have another 2 lbs of suet to render and want to try again...hopefully with more success.

Your insights would be most welcome!

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Sister Notes

That's a lot of tallow. I would have used less and added the difference to olive oil. I would have also done a higher superfat; like 7%. Leave that soap be for a while. It might still turn out nice. Sounds like ti just needs more curing time. I've soap with deer fat once. It was a little stinky. Maybe it wasn't rendered enough, I don't know.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Thanks, I'll test it again. I made it a couple months ago as a CPHP, but maybe I didn't "cook" it long enough. I plan to try the rendering again tomorrow to see if the result is similar or better.

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Sister Notes

I've never used palm oil because of the deforestation issue. My soaps are vegan, so I wouldn't use lard either. Instead, I use Crisco which is soy oil and cottonseed oil. I like it a lot. They also have a new formula that does have palm oil, so you just have to check the label. SoapCalc has both on their oils list.

Update: I tried my tallow-based soap again. It does seem more mild. I really like its creamy lather! But, I still think its a little drying. I'm going to try rebatching it with some shea butter that I just received (fair-trade too!).

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Sister Notes

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

My laundry soap recipe is . . .

4 oz cut up 100% lard, 0% superfat bar of soap
1 cup borax
1 cup washing soda

Melt cut up soap in 4 cups water (saucepan on low). Add the borax and washing soda. Dump in a big plastic tub (5 gallon buckets with lids from a hardware store are great). Add 2 gallons water, stir well. Put a lid on it and let sit overnight. Whisk vigorously the next day to break up clumps, pour in to rinsed out gallon milk containers or vinegar jugs. Use 1/2 cup per load of laundry. I also use 1/4 cup white vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser--gets all the soap out of the clothes.

I recommend you play with the soap/borax/washing soda/water ratios until you find one that works for your needs. I wash dirty lights/whites on hot, so that probably influences how clean my clothes get with this formula (but it does get the body odor from my husband's nasty work-out clothes, when I wash on hot and rinse cold).