What are tallow soaps and what's the benefit of using them ?
Tallow soaps
- Thread starter Charlie NJ
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dunno if there is a REAL benefit..its what they had in those days..glycerine is better with slickness IMO
Soaps made with some amount of saponified animal fats. Almost universally beef.
Well regarded because tallow was cheap and as such was used in a lot of soaps in the past and most soaps in the past are good. Then people reformulated and often simultaneously removed tallow from soaps. More often than not, they ruined great soaps doing this because they were stupid. This gave the impression that no tallow is bad, although it really was a case of correlation does not equal causation.
Mantic59 did a tallow breakdown that I skimmed and I recall got everything right as far as I could tell, though it was just an overview, it should be required reading for people buying shaving soaps.
Well regarded because tallow was cheap and as such was used in a lot of soaps in the past and most soaps in the past are good. Then people reformulated and often simultaneously removed tallow from soaps. More often than not, they ruined great soaps doing this because they were stupid. This gave the impression that no tallow is bad, although it really was a case of correlation does not equal causation.
Mantic59 did a tallow breakdown that I skimmed and I recall got everything right as far as I could tell, though it was just an overview, it should be required reading for people buying shaving soaps.
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- #4
Thanks for the insight, I'm asking because the stroppeshop is giving away tallow soap to get feedback from us. It's very nice soap and I got a great shave with it. I'm going to give it a week before I give it the thumbs up but first shave was great. You might want to grab one, 2 bucks shipping is all you need for a full puck in a tin.
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Took awhile but I found it.
Ingredients are very minimal, which I like. It's all about ratios though. Stearic>Tallow>Coconut is one of my favorite soaps if the ratio's good, but if they get it wrong it can be useless. I'll also say that I love the combination of peppercorn and leather. I've used (that combo of Scent oils) a few times and it smells great.
That said, it's showing $9 + shipping for me.
Ingredients are very minimal, which I like. It's all about ratios though. Stearic>Tallow>Coconut is one of my favorite soaps if the ratio's good, but if they get it wrong it can be useless. I'll also say that I love the combination of peppercorn and leather. I've used (that combo of Scent oils) a few times and it smells great.
That said, it's showing $9 + shipping for me.
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- #6
Just checked, it's done. I must say I have 2 other soaps from them and they work well. Thanks for the help here.
I wonder why only beef tallow is used? Almost all animal fats go through saponification. That includes human tallow...for the most dangerous soap...
I think the only animal fat produced in the quantity beef is would be lard. Lard is much much much more heavily used in culinary. And I believe it was (and might still be) used pretty commonly as an industrial lubricant and as a food for cultures used in pharmaceuticals.
Also beef is higher in stearic and lower in Oleic acids than lard, so it's more suited for shaving soap (and arguably less suited for hand soap, which makes me suspect the above reasons had more to do with the use of beef tallow over lard in soaps). It also makes a harder soap than Lard.
And it could just be partially psychological. Beef Tallow soap sounds nicer than Lard soap.
I try, Leon.
Also beef is higher in stearic and lower in Oleic acids than lard, so it's more suited for shaving soap (and arguably less suited for hand soap, which makes me suspect the above reasons had more to do with the use of beef tallow over lard in soaps). It also makes a harder soap than Lard.
And it could just be partially psychological. Beef Tallow soap sounds nicer than Lard soap.
I try, Leon.
Traditionally, Tallow referred to the rendered fat from beef or mutton (sheep). Today, commercial grade tallow is any rendered fat that fits a specific specification. A large percentage of the fatty acid chains in tallow are stearic acid and sodium stearate makes good shaving soap.
There are a number of us on here that are very fond of vintage tallow soaps and would be quite content using them if you took all of our modern soaps away. When I think of the performance of Shulton Old Spice, Barbershop, Avon, Seaforth and others I am glad that I have some of each in stock. I am sure that others would include Williams and Colgate cup soap but I can not comment on them because I have never used them...as surprising as that may be. I am certain that I have left out a few other good ones. To be sure there are some great tallow soaps still available like the D.R. Harris line and of course Tabac. Again there are others as well. While I prefer the tallow based soaps, I do enjoy many of the modern soaps as well.
Regards,
Doug
Regards,
Doug
It doesn't have to be vintage.
The best tallow based soaps ARE better than their veggie counterparts.
The best tallow based soaps ARE better than their veggie counterparts.
Mystic Waters is tallow based, works well and smell wonderful!
ymmv!
I find tallow soaps to be good for shaving, bit not good for my oily skin. What many find moisturizing, I find greasy. My preference is for soaps to leave my skin's surface clean and dry once I rinse it off. I know I'm in the minority here, but my mileage does vary!
- Thread starter
- #17
Try the regular shave soap from the stropshoppe, it is very good but sometimes I need a good balm after a shave. It should be good for you
I prefer my tallow on my plate (as does my skin), not my face . YMMV.
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Thanks. I'll check it out, further on down the road.
Lanolin is not tallow. It's a wax that doesn't saponify extracted from wool. It's like adding aloe or beeswax or jojoba oil to your soap. The tallow in MWF is most likely beef.
