NEWBIE here : -) and if course i have a question lol

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Lady_A

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Hemp soap question

First HELLO!!!!
I've been reading the forum for a bit and decided to finally jump in.
You guys/gals are a great bunch of folks!!!

I've been helping a neighbor make soaps for some time but I'm going to attempt my hand at one myself (other half is out of town so he can't complain about the smell lol).
Also, I can, and have in the past, rendered my own tallow from bones I make soup and such with. Waste not want not!!!

I have a recipe I created and I'd like to get your opinions on.
I do have some Shea butter, but when should I add it? With the oils or before trace?
(I do know if I add I have to rerun the lye calc.)

The recipe is using the oils I have on hand and available to me.
I do not live in the city and the closest town is 40 minutes away so no running out to get something I forgot...

I've been dying to make soap with hemp oil because of the wonderful things it does for your skin (I already use it on my skin, it's awesome and full of antioxidants and omega oils)

Anyway, enough rambling, let me attach the recipe lol

Thank you all for being such a great group!!

hempsoap.jpg


In case the image doesn't show up it's located here:
http://www.htmlgurulady.com/soap/hempsoap.jpg
.
 
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Hi, and Welcome!

That looks like an awesome soap! I might would add a bit of castor oil or sugar for bubbles, but that is my own preference, not mandatory. The shea needs to be figured in with the oils in the calculator. I would substitute out a bit of the tallow to make room for it. I would probably start with 5%.

I really don't find much benefit to using shea in soap, but I am not in the majority here. You need to try making soap with it, then without it, and make up your own mind. The shea will affect the lather, so I would probably add castor oil AND sugar(1-2 teaspoons PPO is what I like) to help with that.
 
Is there a difference between marrow and tallow? I had always thought marrow would be what came from bones, and tallow was hard fat from suet (the fat around kidneys,etc)
 
I would lower the amount of Hemp oil to get the iodine below 70. Hemp has a short shelf life and you don't want your soap to be get DOS. I normally keep the Hemp below 10%, but you can play around with soap calc.
 
Is there a difference between marrow and tallow? I had always thought marrow would be what came from bones, and tallow was hard fat from suet (the fat around kidneys,etc)

Of course there is a difference between marrow and tallow. But anyone who has access to one probably has access to the other. AND, since she knows how to render it, I am going to give her the benefit of the doubt and go with the likelihood that she knows the difference. And marrow has a LOT of fat in it. That is what gives it the rich flavor.
 
Of course there is a difference between marrow and tallow. But anyone who has access to one probably has access to the other. AND, since she knows how to render it, I am going to give her the benefit of the doubt and go with the likelihood that she knows the difference. And marrow has a LOT of fat in it. That is what gives it the rich flavor.

My question came up precisely because she said she was rendering tallow from bones, Susie. Please don't pick a fight.
 
Is there a difference between marrow and tallow? I had always thought marrow would be what came from bones, and tallow was hard fat from suet (the fat around kidneys,etc)

Yes, that is correct. But the bones have a lot of fats/oils with in the marrow that you can get from them. It just takes patience and the willingness to go through all the cooking & straining over and over again to separate the "uck" from the fats.
Is not worth the time or hassle for most people. It's much easier to buy it or render from suet.
I'm not sure yet what that will do to the shelf life of the soap.

I also use the fats (suet) I get from the local hunters and render that.
I suppose i will have to start separating the different types of fats I get from the hunters as I get deer & wild pig and i get beef from local farms. I don't know for sure, but since soap calc had them listed differently I am assuming they have different characteristics?

Just so folks know, I love animals!!!
I would love to have at least 2 of every creature (except misquotes and cockroaches lol)
But if someone has killed one I do not believe in allowing useful parts to go to waste. It gave its life to become a food source. I didn't believe it should go to waste.
 
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I would lower the amount of Hemp oil to get the iodine below 70. Hemp has a short shelf life and you don't want your soap to be get DOS. I normally keep the Hemp below 10%, but you can play around with soap calc.

Thank you ma'am, I hadn't thought of that!!!
DOS is"ugly" but the soap is still usable (if everything I've read on it is true). Is that correct??

If it's still safe to use I won't mind, it's just for myself and my sweety to use, I'm not selling it. The woman I referenced in my original post distributes locally, I would not want to interfere with her livelihood/income. She is after all the one who introduced me to soap making.
 
I can't get my post to work :(, but I was trying to post a comparison of tallow fatty acids to marrow fatty acids - they differ but I don't know if it is enough to make much difference to the outcome or the SAP. I have to leave for a while, so I have to quit trying. Google brought up several articles on the two though.
 
I can't get my post to work :(, but I was trying to post a comparison of tallow fatty acids to marrow fatty acids - they differ but I don't know if it is enough to make much difference to the outcome or the SAP. I have to leave for a while, so I have to quit trying. Google brought up several articles on the two though.

Thank you Cana for your interest in that. But that's not what my post is about.
If you'd like to start a new topic on the differences I'm sure there are people here that may be interested.
However, my post is about my recipe and getting suggestions for it, you are taking it in a different direction.
I don't want to sound ungrateful but I'd like this post to stay on topic.
Thanks for all your input
 
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I probably go overboard to avoid DOS, as I understand it involves the oils becoming rancid and breaking down. I've heard when it is in an advanced stage it will smell bad. I don't think it would hurt you, and you could probably soap a small batch, and use before it went bad. Your recipe is close to the 70 mark, and I was thinking you could subtract maybe 2% and see if you get it down. If not like you say, you are just making it for you and your honey so it should be fine. I'm making a recipe today that includes hemp & lard. I love hemp, but don't buy it often because of the cost and shelf life.
 
Thank you Cana for your interest in that. But that's not what my post is about.
If you'd like to start a new topic on the differences I'm sure there are people here that may be interested.
However, my post is about my recipe and getting suggestions for it, you are taking it in a different direction.
I don't want to sound ungrateful but I'd like this post to stay on topic.
Thanks for all your input

I do think she was still on topic and trying to post in reference to the recipe. If they do have different SAP values, it would affect the amount of lye needed. It might be a neglible difference, but I think she was curious about any differences and trying to address the recipe.

As far as the combination of oils, seems like a nice combination. I love tallow in soap as well as olive and coconut. I haven't used hemp so I don't really have an opinion. If a soap develops DOS, sometimes the whole soap smells rancid and isn't useable (IMHO). If it's only a small dot, it may still be useable.
 
I do think she was still on topic and trying to post in reference to the recipe. If they do have different SAP values, it would affect the amount of lye needed. It might be a neglible difference, but I think she was curious about any differences and trying to address the recipe.

Thank you, kharmon320 this is exactly, precisely WHY I was asking.

If the two different fats have different SAP values, it could affect the recipe, since marrow is NOT tallow, and I wanted to be sure that although you said you were rendering tallow from bones, you understood it was actually marrow, not tallow, and made sure the differences between the two would not affect your recipe (one is soft, one is hard, I am fairly sure there is a SAP value difference). I WAS going to dig into those SAP values for you, but at this point, I will wish you best of luck with your recipes and hope that by bringing up the difference, I may have inspired you to check into them yourself and see if the SAP needs to be addressed.
 
Thank you, but you don't need to look those up for me I'm well aware of the differences.
Ok, apparently either you aren't getting what I wrote or I wrote it wrong, either way. ..
I am using beef tallow not marrow "tallow". Beef tallow is identified in the recipe.
I simply mentioned that I render my own tallows as an identifier about myself and my background. It has absolutely nothing to do with this recipe.
I am looking for suggestions for the recipe as written.
A debate over suet vs marrow is for another post.
 
ok. You said in your initial post you were rendering tallow from bones, which is NOT where tallow is found, so it seemed like a valid issue to bring up, directly in relation to your recipe, since if you were writing "tallow" and in fact *using* marrow you might have run into problems with your recipe as written. No matter what your background, you won't get tallow from bones. I'm not interested in debating, was only trying to help, but feel entirely discouraged from bothering now, due to the rather hostile responses to my posts. Let's just let it drop now, please. I was only trying to help, based entirely on what you had written, in direct relation to the recipe as posted.

Also, I can, and have in the past, rendered my own tallow from bones I make soup and such with
 
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Susie, Oliveoil & kHarmon, thank you for your assistance and your suggestions.
They were indeed helpful.
As suggested I have adjusted the hemp oil by 2%.
Although the INS is still in the low range, now at least it is within range :)
Hopefully (fingers crossed) I can avoid the dreaded DOS
 
When asking for assistance, it helps to graciously accept all attempts to offer information, whether we perceive it pertinent or not. I know I sometimes get my feelings bruised, and I am sure it is unintentional. Please make your replies as cordial as possible. I think that we are one of the friendliest forums available and we sure want to keep it that way.:razz:
 
Many times when reading a posting we will pick out something and comment on it whether it was the main content of the post or not. It just happens and it is just how forums usually go. Sometimes a thread will absolutely take on a life of its own! It is part of forum life!!!
 
Just going to step in here to say that tallow is fat that is rendered from an animal. Yes the "purest" is around the kidney but any fat can be rendered. Tallow is not marrow. There is however tallow IN marrow. Beef tallow is beef tallow and although it may have a sap range it does not matter whether it is rendered from the marrow or from the shoulder trimmings or from the kidney. It does not vary so much as to greatly effect the lye amount, especially when we super fat.

I think there was some confusion over whether what was being used was marrow or tallow, however op made it clear she is rendering the tallow.
 
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