FYI - Tallow Lovers

[Rusty Jackknife]

Guys,

For all of us tallow based shaving soap fans, I thought I would send along a "FYI".

I am one of many that is disgruntled at some of our favourite companies that have turned their backs on us customers and moved away from animal tallow in their soaps.

At this point, I could care less about the reasoning behind these decisions. If these companies wish to ignore customer complaints - so be it.

I have taken this on as a personal project. I have contacted several manufacturers that are in the know on how to make triple-milled tallow shaving soap. I am going to attempt to have a heavy, super thick, tallowy shaving soap manufactured.

I have been collecting formulas and will be connecting with my suppliers next week. If anyone has any suggestions, tallow recipes, comments, scents, etc. please feel free to PM me.

Cheers,

Craig

 

[adonnellyr]

Will the scents be (semi)complicated blends of fragrances (something blended like pen's BB, or a "cologney" soap like St James or Eton College), or would they be single-scented soaps (ie: rose)?

 

[Groundhog]

I applaud your efforts and wish you well. I don't have much to add, but I do believe the world would be a better place if QED's B&B scent came in a triple-milled tallow-based soap.

 

[krissy]

Would you be interested in a hand made and hand poured soap made with tallow instead of the triple milled soap. The soap I make has it's glycerin left in it and I use many wonderful skin loving oils.

I'm working a specific recipe now. I need to get some beef fat to render down for tallow although I do have lard. But if you want to make your own I can actually take the time to teach you how to do it safely and easily. Making soap using a method that I use is very simple it's a variation of the cold process method. BTW, I am the owner of soap making forum where I teach others there to make soap. And think of the rewards of your effort. Many soaps with the profits kept in your own pocket. If your looking for suppliers and recipes and how to instructions I can help you out with all that stuff. It's what I do on another forum.

Triple Milled Soap
Is a commercial process where soap (typically made from synthetic detergents) is made, dried into crystals then rolled three or more times through steel rollers. This repeated milling crushes the crystals turning them into a fine paste. This paste is then pressed and formed into bars. Removing glycerin from the soap is necessary to keep the soap from being too sticky and adhering to the rollers. French/Triple milled soap means that all soap bars will be identical with no variations in color and texture. True milled soap is impossible to do if you are not a commercial manufacturer with the steel rollers.

 

[Rusty Jackknife]

Hi Krissy,

Thanks for the offer, but my plan is to have this soap extensively milled by a machine and manufactured by a supplier with significant soap making experience.

Craig

Would you be interested in a hand made and hand poured soap made with tallow instead of the triple milled soap. The soap I make has it's glycerin left in it and I use many wonderful skin loving oils.

I'm working a specific recipe now. I need to get some beef fat to render down for tallow although I do have lard. But if you want to make your own I can actually take the time to teach you how to do it safely and easily. Making soap using a method that I use is very simple it's a variation of the cold process method. BTW, I am the owner of soap making forum where I teach others there to make soap. And think of the rewards of your effort. Many soaps with the profits kept in your own pocket. If your looking for suppliers and recipes and how to instructions I can help you out with all that stuff. It's what I do on another forum.

 

[Rusty Jackknife]

Not sure at this point... but likely single or semi-complicated.

I am tending towards a fern/fougere scent.

Will the scents be (semi)complicated blends of fragrances (something blended like pen's BB, or a "cologney" soap like St James or Eton College), or would they be single-scented soaps (ie: rose)?

 

[cymric]

I'll probably be torn to bits by the angry tallow mob, but still: can someone please remind me again why tallow is special given that its major constituents are nothing out of the ordinary and can be replaced with a little effort by a mixture of various plant oils (especially palm oil) and fats? Not saying that tallow is bad and that plants are good or vice versa or anything else (especially not that a guy can't heave a hobby project): I am questioning this rather odd fixation on tallow.

That said, be careful not to overdo it on the heavy and thick department. Cushion is nice, but the blade should at some point reach the skin in order to cut away hairs. It should't be so that I must press against the blade to achieve that. Scent... since you're customising anyway, create a Musgo Real-like scent. I might even forget this silly fixation on tallow if it the soap you're making becomes the hypothetical Musgo Real soap. (I suppose that would mean creating another product with lanolin, though.)

 

[xgunterx]

Whatever you do with the scent. Do not imitate (unless it is a common uncomplicated scent) and do not provide more than a few scents.
More scents is not always commercially better.

 

[SepticTank]

For all that tallow can be replaced by palm oil on paper, I don't shave on paper... it has a totally different behaviour in real life - witness the Erasmic stick (formerly tallow based, now palm based) where the old formula provides a cushioning shave with long-lasting lather and the new formula provides the most transient lather imaginable.

 

[Jim]

Would you be interested in a hand made and hand poured soap made with tallow instead of the triple milled soap. The soap I make has it's glycerin left in it and I use many wonderful skin loving oils.

I'm working a specific recipe now. I need to get some beef fat to render down for tallow although I do have lard. But if you want to make your own I can actually take the time to teach you how to do it safely and easily. Making soap using a method that I use is very simple it's a variation of the cold process method. BTW, I am the owner of soap making forum where I teach others there to make soap. And think of the rewards of your effort. Many soaps with the profits kept in your own pocket. If your looking for suppliers and recipes and how to instructions I can help you out with all that stuff. It's what I do on another forum.

Krissy, thats a generous offer!

Many of the premium high end, tallow based, triple milled soaps have been reformulated over the years. The quote that you have in your post is not an accurate description of the soaps that Craig is trying to make.
Many of our experienced soapers on the board have tried to make a tallow based version of shave soap, but none have been wildly successful doing so.
Thanks again for the very generous offer. If you decide to make a tallow based shave soap I would be delighted to test it and give you specific feedback on it.

Thanks,

 

[Jim]

I'll probably be torn to bits by the angry tallow mob, but still: can someone please remind me again why tallow is special given that its major constituents are nothing out of the ordinary and can be replaced with a little effort by a mixture of various plant oils (especially palm oil) and fats? Not saying that tallow is bad and that plants are good or vice versa or anything else (especially not that a guy can't heave a hobby project): I am questioning this rather odd fixation on tallow.

That said, be careful not to overdo it on the heavy and thick department. Cushion is nice, but the blade should at some point reach the skin in order to cut away hairs. It should't be so that I must press against the blade to achieve that. Scent... since you're customising anyway, create a Musgo Real-like scent. I might even forget this silly fixation on tallow if it the soap you're making becomes the hypothetical Musgo Real soap. (I suppose that would mean creating another product with lanolin, though.)

You sould know that would never happen! No flaming on the B&B.

Yep on paper it may be true, not on the face.

 

[Shane]

I have been looking into making tallow based soaps for a week or so now. I don't know if I will get around to doing it, but if I do, I'll keep everyone posted.

 

[thanks]

I'm all about it, especially if it's a fern scent. Fern triple milled tallow soap, mmmmmm. As long as the price comes out to be less than 60 something dollars I'll be all about it, just to clarify.

 

[cleancut]

Let's have some scents that are no longer available and dearly dearly loved by many on this forum. I talking about the scent of Old Spice shave soap and Yardley shave soap! Count me in for testing

 

[dpm802]

Whatever you do with the scent. Do not imitate (unless it is a common uncomplicated scent) and do not provide more than a few scents.
More scents is not always commercially better.

+1 ... and make sure that one of the products available is UNSCENTED.

 

[Ignatius]

For all that tallow can be replaced by palm oil on paper, I don't shave on paper... it has a totally different behaviour in real life - witness the Erasmic stick (formerly tallow based, now palm based) where the old formula provides a cushioning shave with long-lasting lather and the new formula provides the most transient lather imaginable.

+1

A wheelbarrow, technically, has wheels and is capable of locomotion. It is not, however, the same as a Cadillac.

 

[bokaba]

Perhaps a lime would be nice

 

[riooso]

You are my hero!


R

 

[BarryR]

I'll probably be torn to bits by the angry tallow mob, but still: can someone please remind me again why tallow is special given that its major constituents are nothing out of the ordinary and can be replaced...

I was wondering the same thing.
Which tallow soaps (other than Erasmic) have been replaced by palm oil or other substitutes? Is the result always inferior?

Aren't AOS and Pre de Provence non-tallow? They're excellent.

Out of MWF, DR Harris, GFT, and Floris, which are tallow?

I guess the reformulated Pens will also help answer the question of whether tallow is inherently better.

 

[The Nid Hog]

If you have some simple, old-school fragrances, I'm in. Sandalwood would be a big plus.