Checking some older soaps to see if they may be tallow based. Does stearic acid as an ingredient mean tallow? Wikipedia indicates that stearic acid comes from tallow, but not sure that that is the only place it could come from. Thanks!
Looking for Tallow Indicators
- Thread starter john parker
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Look for just tallow or *something* tallowate. That's all I know and you prob already do too.
Apparently you can also cook with it. From americanheart.org:
What is stearic acid?
Stearic acid is a saturated fat that's mainly in animal products. It's also in some plant foods like chocolate. It's very stable in storage and during frying. A relatively large percentage of stearic acid consumed is converted to oleic acid (a monounsaturated fat). Stearic acid is used to form margarines, shortenings, spreads, and as a cream base for baked products. Even though stearic acid is a saturated fat, studies have suggested that it has little effect on blood cholesterol levels, because such a high proportion is converted to oleic acid.
EDIT: FWIW, one of my best soaps -- Boellis Panama 1924 -- uses stearic acid as one of the primary ingredients. The lather is absolutely incredible -- similar to the dense lather you get from a high-end cream. But I can't recommend the taste.
What is stearic acid?
Stearic acid is a saturated fat that's mainly in animal products. It's also in some plant foods like chocolate. It's very stable in storage and during frying. A relatively large percentage of stearic acid consumed is converted to oleic acid (a monounsaturated fat). Stearic acid is used to form margarines, shortenings, spreads, and as a cream base for baked products. Even though stearic acid is a saturated fat, studies have suggested that it has little effect on blood cholesterol levels, because such a high proportion is converted to oleic acid.
EDIT: FWIW, one of my best soaps -- Boellis Panama 1924 -- uses stearic acid as one of the primary ingredients. The lather is absolutely incredible -- similar to the dense lather you get from a high-end cream. But I can't recommend the taste.
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Stearic acid comes from tallow but can come from plant sources too, like palm. It is not a synonym for tallow but often coexists with tallow in shaving soaps as it boosts the lather. A good tallow-based shaving soap will generally contain stearic acid in the form of stearic acid or potassium stearate (but not sodium stearate).
- Thread starter
- #5
Let me be more specific. The ingredients are sodium palmate, potassium palmate, sodium palm kernelate, water, glycerin, potassium palm kernelate, stearic acid, fragrance, isopropryl myristate, tetrasodium EDTA, sodium chloride, BHT, tetrasodium etidronate, pentasodium penetate, titianium dioxide and some dyes. This is an older soap I am looking at, and cannot find if it is tallow or not from any other line of research.
Edit: by "looking at", I do not mean I have it in hand.
Edit: by "looking at", I do not mean I have it in hand.
According to your list, the soap contains no tallow.
- Thread starter
- #7
Thank you very much; just what I needed to know!
John, I don't use tallow soaps, yet nearly all my soaps have stearic acid listed as an ingredient. A key word for you to look for is tallowate, whether sodium tallowate, potassium tallowate, etc. It will almost always be one of the first six ingredients. That has been my experience, and I check a lot of soap ingredient lists.
R
rum
According to a chemist here at home, stearic acid derives from steak, hence stearic. It may sound strange, but it's true. He pointed out without me even asking, so I am quite confident about that one.
Not sure if there are other forms of it, but definitely likely to be animal-fat-based IMHO.
Not sure if there are other forms of it, but definitely likely to be animal-fat-based IMHO.
It's amazing how tallow has disappeared from our soaps (damn tree huggers). Even a cheap bar of Ivory has tallow- why not Penhaligon's?
fyi. the first ingredient listed is the most abundant one, and the last is the least. so if tallow is listed as the last one, there isn't any.
R
rum
Just wanted to note, that if your Vintage Soap dates to an era before ingredients were required to be placed on the packaging, it will be more difficult to determine the soaps contents.
However, quite a few of the Vintage Shaving Soaps were tallow based, as a non-tallow based soap would have been a bit of an oddity back then.
However, quite a few of the Vintage Shaving Soaps were tallow based, as a non-tallow based soap would have been a bit of an oddity back then.
Is this lack of tallow problem really a tree hugger thing? I was under the impression that fat was a by-product of an already dead animal. Are there really people that believe that animals are killed for the fat to make soap and the meat discarded? They must be of the global warming genetic line.
This is an endless argument around here, but for the record a lot people look at it as follows
1. As a vegetarian/vegan/etc they wish to minimize or eliminate all un-necessary animal products from their lives, and
2. Although animals are not killed for their tallow exclusively, having a market for secondary products like tallow and leather makes the slaughter more economically viable. By reducing demand for these byproducts, the cost of farming animals will go up and possibly fewer will end up being killed.
Whether or not you share these feelings, insulting the intelligence of someone who disagrees with you is pretty low, imo
This is an endless argument around here, but for the record a lot people look at it as follows
1. As a vegetarian/vegan/etc they wish to minimize or eliminate all un-necessary animal products from their lives, and
2. Although animals are not killed for their tallow exclusively, having a market for secondary products like tallow and leather makes the slaughter more economically viable. By reducing demand for these byproducts, the cost of farming animals will go up and possibly fewer will end up being killed.
Whether or not you share these feelings, insulting the intelligence of someone who disagrees with you is pretty low, imo
OK, but consider that vegetarians of the ovo/lacto persuasion depend on dairy herds and battery hens for protein and yes something better tasting than tofu. These animals have a "productive" life. When they no longer put out enough milk or eggs we kill them. What harm is there in obtaining the maximum value from their used up carcasses ? The whole matter of the animal's inhumane treatment in factory farms is a different question entirely.
I can see both sides of the question - since I had a nice tri-tip for dinner last night and shave with nothing but tallow-based soaps, I'm obviously playing Devil's Advocate
but I also understand the importance of reducing our red meat consumption and production.
Er, sidling back closer to the original topic. I had a vintage soap for which the first two ingredients listed were "tallow, stearic acid". So I guess they just started with some animal fat, processed it, and added other stuff. The modern equivalent starts the list with "potassium stearate, sodium tallowate". Still would be considered a tallow soap, apparently, and some quick googling gives me an idea of what sodium tallowate is, a sodium salt produced by processing tallow. Any opinions on how soaps with tallow, and those with sodium tallowate compare, in general?
