Tallow Soap Benefits: What Beef Tallow Does in a Bar

Tallow soap is soap made with rendered beef fat, one of the oldest soapmaking ingredients there is. Soapmakers use it for three practical reasons: it makes a hard bar, the bar lasts a long time, and the lather is dense and creamy. Here is what tallow does in a bar, how it compares with plant-based soap, and how to choose.

What tallow is

Tallow is rendered fat, usually from beef. Rendering melts the raw fat and strains out everything else, leaving a clean, solid fat. In soapmaking, saponified beef tallow goes by the ingredient name sodium tallowate.

What is in tallow

Beef tallow is made mostly of three fatty acids. Typical figures put it at roughly:

• 36 percent oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat also found in olive oil
• 25 percent palmitic acid, a saturated fat
• 19 percent stearic acid, a saturated fat

Palmitic and stearic acids are what make a bar hard and give it a stable, creamy lather. Oleic acid adds a conditioning, gentle feel. That mix is why tallow has been a soapmaking staple for centuries.

Tallow soap benefits

1. A hard, long-lasting bar

Saturated fats like palmitic and stearic acid make firm soap. A tallow bar resists turning soft and mushy in the shower, so it lasts longer than a bar made mostly from soft oils.

2. Dense, creamy lather

Tallow gives a fine, lotion-like lather rather than big airy bubbles. Soapmakers often pair it with coconut oil for extra bubbles and castor oil for a fuller lather, which is how our Pink Prosecco bar is built.

3. A gentle, conditioning feel

The oleic acid in tallow, combined with the glycerin that stays in cold process soap, helps a well-made tallow bar feel mild on skin. Learn how that glycerin forms in our guide to cold process soap.

4. A traditional ingredient

Tallow was one of the main soap fats for generations, long before most of today's commercial bars. For people who want a classic, simple bar, that history matters.

Tallow soap vs plant-based soap

Both make good soap. The right choice comes down to how you want the bar to feel and if you avoid animal ingredients.

Does tallow soap smell like beef?

Well-rendered tallow has very little smell of its own, and once it becomes soap that faint scent is mostly gone. Both of our tallow bars are scented, so what you notice is the fragrance, not the tallow.

Our tallow soap bars

We make two cold process bars with beef tallow, both hand-poured in small batches in Temecula, California. See them together in our tallow soap collection.

• Pink Prosecco Artisan Soap: olive oil, coconut oil, beef tallow, hemp seed oil, shea butter and castor oil with French pink clay. Notes of apple, raspberry, sparkling champagne, pink lily, jasmine and peach.
• Sea Salt + Yuzu Artisan Soap: made with olive oil, coconut oil and beef tallow, cured four weeks, with bright notes of bergamot, yuzu and sea salt over driftwood and amber.

Each product page lists the full ingredients and scent notes.

Prefer a plant-based bar?

If you avoid animal ingredients, choose a bar marked plant-based in its description, such as Pink Neroli or Vetiver + Tobacco, or browse the full Cleanse collection.

How to make a tallow bar last

• Keep it on a draining wooden soap holder so it dries between uses.
• Keep it out of the direct shower stream.
• Store spare bars somewhere cool and dry.

Tallow soap FAQ

Is tallow soap good for your skin?

Many people like tallow soap for its creamy lather and mild feel. As with any soap, results vary by skin type, so patch test a new bar if your skin is sensitive.

Is tallow soap vegan?

No. Tallow is an animal fat. Look for a bar that is plant-based throughout if you want a vegan soap.

What is sodium tallowate?

It is the ingredient name for beef tallow after it has been turned into soap. If you see it on a label, the bar contains tallow.

Which Kanna Botana soaps contain tallow?

Pink Prosecco and Sea Salt + Yuzu. All other bars list their full ingredients on the product page.