Tallow in LS?

[fuzz-juzz]

I belong to this liquid soap makers group on FB and someone posted 100% tallow LS photo and it looks wonderful, it's opaque but it's got this lovely pearly shine. Apparently it's a nice soap too.
So I know we don't believe everything we see on FB groups but has anyone tried tallow in LS and does it really go pearly? :think:

 

[Susie]

Yes, yes it does. With lard or tallow, you get that pearlescence. And I am a member also. I just keep my opinions to myself for the most part over there.

 

[IrishLass]

I add stearic acid to my cocoa butter/shea butter GLS formula and it finishes out beautifully opaque and pearly. It's my favorite liquid soap formula to use. It also contains coconut oil, olive oil, castor and meadowfoam seed oil.

If I remember rightly, our Susie here makes a liquid soap with lard that finishes out beautifully opaque and pearly, too.

Basically, any time you make liquid soap with enough stearic acid in it (either from butters and/or other high stearic fats, and/or actual stearic acid), it will go opaque and pearly. However, if you don't add enough of these things, the soap will only turn into a dull and murky-looking amber. At least that has been my own experience. You don't have to use 100% tallow or 100% other high stearic fat to get the opaque/pearly look, though. My own soap is proof of that.


IrishLass

Edited to add that Susie and I were cross-posting.......so yes, I do remember rightly! WooHoo!

 

[fuzz-juzz]

Thank you both
I just bought some tallow and I'm thinking of starting with about 60-70% tallow and rest CO and castor.

 

[DeeAnna]

Yep, saw that LS too -- very attractive looking.

I've been wanting to convert the classic 75-80% lard, 20-25% coconut oil, and 5% castor bar (NaOH) soap recipe into a LS version. This recipe is nice as a bar soap, so I'd expect it to be nice as a LS too. And hopefully pearly looking too.

 

[Soapmaker145]

I made a laundry LS with 50% Tallow and 50% soybean oil from the grocery store. It ended up opaque and pretty. It doesn't lather very well without the coconut oil (good for HE washing machine) but works better than the tide detergent I was using. I added 1% limonene which masks the smell of tallow and works great as a cleanser. For some reason, I can smell tallow in LS but not in bar soap. I don't smell it once the clothes are dry.

 

[Arimara]

I have the ingredients to make this except for glycerin. Would I really need stearic acid for a nice finish? Also, like in NaOH formulas, would making a batch with 8oz of oils be ill-advised.

Fuzz, I apologize for stealing the thread but hey, good info is good info.

 

[Susie]

You don't have to have glycerin (but, wow, does it ever help!), but it is available at CVS, and Walgreens here.

Small batches are always ill-advised due to the small size magnifying small errors. Lard will give a pearly look, but not as much as that photo.

 

[fuzz-juzz]

Well it's cooking away
I'm impatient so I'm letting this one cook on low.
I will really busy next week but I hope I will remember to post a photo if it works out.
Arimara, I would also stay away from tiny batches, 500 grams is low as I would go. I usually make LS in 500gr because it lasts for ages.

 

[Arimara]

Well it's cooking away
I'm impatient so I'm letting this one cook on low.
I will really busy next week but I hope I will remember to post a photo if it works out.
Arimara, I would also stay away from tiny batches, 500 grams is low as I would go. I usually make LS in 500gr because it lasts for ages.

I have a 1 qt crockpot and it could not handle all the soap paste I made. I had to divide the paste. I also cannot buy a larger one nor even a regular pot for space issues. I only made a 1lb batch as I was afraid 500g would be a little much.

 

[fuzz-juzz]

Well, it turned out murky and amber after all :crazy:
It still a lovely soap, but not the look I was expecting. I used 65% tallow.
Time to put stearic acid on my shopping list.

 

[Arimara]

Well, it turned out murky and amber after all :crazy:
It still a lovely soap, but not the look I was expecting. I used 65% tallow.
Time to put stearic acid on my shopping list.

I have some but I'm not sure if I have to take it into account on Soapcalc or Soapee (like as part of my batch of oils).

 

[IrishLass]

Fuzz- how long have you let your dilution sit? I ask, because when I make my pearly/creamy looking coco-shea formula with the stearic, it takes about 24 to 36 hours to turn from murky amber to creamy/opaque/pearly. It's actually quite fascinating to watch. I have pics of the gradual transformation and I'll see about posting them sometime today (got to find what folder I stored them in first, lol).


IrishLass

 

[IrishLass]

Found my transition pics!

This is what things look like, right after diluting (I dilute my paste in canning jars placed in a pot of boiling water). Only murky amber yet:

I leave the jar on my counter to slowly cool down, and this is what it starts to look like about 12-18 hours later....like a weird science-experiment gone bad:

Over the next few hours, it gradually gets more and more opaque as the stearic reveals more and more of itself:

And this is what it looks like when the stearic is done doing it's thing, about 24 hours later or so from the time I took the jar out of my pot of boiling water:

To be continued with one more pic in the next post, since I'm only allowed so many images in one post.

 

[IrishLass]

It's hard to see the pearliness in this pic, but if I had a video of it swirling around in my hand, the pearliness would be quite evident:

IrishLass

 

[shunt2011]

That's some gorgeous soap IL. I'm still wanting to try that method.

 

[IrishLass]

You should try it, Shari- it's actually quite fun....and rewarding!


IrishLass

 

[fuzz-juzz]

I have some but I'm not sure if I have to take it into account on Soapcalc or Soapee (like as part of my batch of oils).

Arimara, I'm pretty sure it's listed with other oils, so you just have to plug it in and put amount/percentage that's in your recipe.

Thank you IL for sharing :clap:
These are awesome and end product is so creamy and lovely looking. No wonder it's a great soap to use.
I've started diluting in later on Sunday night, now is Wednesday, so nothing has changed. It is just a tiny bit more opaque and less amber than yours in the first photo but that's it. It's nothing like your soap in last photo.
I've got some stearic acid coming in mail next week and will give it a shot.

 

[IrishLass]

It sounds like there might not be enough of an amount of naturally-occurring stearic in your soap. The stearic you have coming in the mail will definitely do the trick for sure.

My recipe up front- without the added stearic that I add at dilution- contains 20% cocoa butter and 5% shea, which isn't enough naturally-occurring stearic to turn things opaque/creamy..... the diluted soap just stays a murky amber for me. But the 3% stearic as per my paste's weight that I add at dilution is plenty enough to push things over into the lovely land of creamy/opaque/pearly.


IrishLass

 

[doriettefarm]

Holy smokes IL, that is some gorgeous pearly soap and I'm so jealous! Thanks for posting pics of how things develop over the course of 24hrs. I'm afraid my 50% tallow liquid soap isn't even in the ballpark. I've been too chicken to try adding the stearic during dilution because I don't have any PS80 yet. Though I have been pondering if you could get a similar effect by adding 3% stearic in with the rest of the base oils before the lye?