Jeanine Gurley Jacildone wrote:Can I use lard and tallow in the same recipe for soap?
Anyone have a favorite 'easy' beginner recipe for bar soap that lathers well?
It has been over 30 years since I have made soap so I'm feeling very much like a beginner here!
Hi Jeanine,
No reason you couldn't combine lard and tallow in the same soap. Just have to factor the saponification values for whatever amount you choose to use of each. There are a lot of saponificaiton charts and calculators online.
For good lather, you need a fat that has that property. Animal fats don't lather a great deal. Tropical oils really lather. Coconut oil particularly, but also palm. I'd suggest using a percentage of coconut oil in your animal fat recipe to make it lather more. Having not used that particular combo, I'm not exactly sure how much you'd need. But you could try it in a few small batches at 10% or maybe even 20%. Too much coconut is a bit drying, but a little can go a long way to make a lot of suds. Palm tends to have finer, creamier bubbles. And of course there are ethical objections to palm as well. We had a business making soap and other skincare for over a decade.
Hope this helps!
John
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