AO has its place right up there with VO
- Having been raised on a farm, I know the benefits of raising animals for food...to let the fat go unused is a total waste, and it makes a wonderful moisturizing bar of soap that cleans gently and thoroughly. I do make both AO and VO soaps, but I do label them as such for the less hardy individual. "Waste not, want not", my Grandma always said - and on the farm we had plenty of AO to use at fall butchering time. Call me a 'hick' or a 'redneck'...I wear the name proudly.
- —Guest FarmGirl
meat fat in soaps
- I think that using about 15% lard in my soap makes a bar that is gentle on my skin. I am a nurse, so before I started making my own soap, my hands were cracked and bleeding by the middle of Dec.
- —Guest mavanbeke
Animal Fat in soap
- Yes, I use animal fats in my soaps. I raised 2 grassfed pigs a couple years ago and used the scraps for some excellent soap, as well as all the deer tallow from hunting each year. My neighbor raises beef and the butcher gives me all the extra fat in exchange for a few bars( just like his Gramma used to). It's a sad waste to throw away animal parts that could be used in such a healthy thing.
- —LibbyMN
Thank You chickenjane
- Thank you for calling it what it is...lunacy....to consider it "green" to waste a valuable resource. Tallow is going to be produced because we all eat. Too many people have gotten the mistaken idea that animal products are "bad" because there are some activities in this world where animals are abused. But soapmaking is not one of them. Especially now that we are becoming more health-conscious and not eating as much animal fat, I think it is a much better idea to use the fat for a useful purpose than throw it away. Soap made from tallow, in combination with other oils, is excellent in quality and super good for your skin. I agree, it's time to stop this ridiculous search for the exotic oils that may be the result of unethical practice, and use the things we have available locally. And THAT is the most natural thing you can do in soapmaking. Use what you have on hand, prevent waste, recycle, and make the world a cleaner, healthier place.
- —Guest jeanene72
I use lard
- I have used homemade soap with both Vo and AO. I have very oily skin and olive just makes it worse for me. I started making my own soap because I could not buy AO soap locally. Since then skin has gotten better. Hubby loves my real white hard soap. He grew up raising cows and pigs his grandma made soap. So now I do too and love it alot better than anything I have bought handmade or store bought.
- —Guest Tamara
Feel better about Animal Fats
- Think of it as "green" re-use and recycling. It removes eye make-up to engine grease - and gently! Helps a variety of skin conditions and makes a beautiful hard bar - nothing else like it. It's abundant, made in the USA, and complements many existing "engines" in the economy: farmers, ranchers, distributors, processors, your local butcher and you. Left over renderings can be molded, frozen, and gifted or sold to bird sanctuaries and bird aficionados in cold climes where birds will appreciate the additional sustenance over winter.
- —JoanfromNorthernCA
Soap Crafter
- Yes, I do! I make both with and without. Growing up in the mountains we used everything we had, no waste. I love all of the soaps I make, both ways.
- —Guest S. M. Babcock
Why not?
- We butcher a beef each year for food. Why not use the tallow for soap? Why let it go to waste?
- —Guest Mary
Yes, I use animal fat.
- We raise our own beef, so there is a lot of tallow that we would be wasting if it wasnt for my soapmaking. It makes a good hard bar of soap that cleans well. I usually use other oils in conjunction with the tallow to give me the properties I want for that particular batch of soap.
- —Guest Jerye
Nothing beats tallow!
- I've tried just about every oil available and - in my opinion - tallow makes THE best, most well-balanced bar of soap. I render my own fat, which I get from a local butcher. He's happy to give it to me, because otherwise it would go to waste. Tallow has been given a bad rap, unfairly. It's not bad for your skin as many people believe. The unfounded claims that it irritates your skin stem from back when households made their own soap and the chemistry was not precise, often times resulting in lye heavy soap. This is what irritated the skin, not the tallow. Around this time vegetable oil soaps started being made by companies with greater knowledge of chemistry than your grandma. This is the only reason vegetable oils are considered superior. It has nothing to do with the oil and everything to do with the chemistry. My family and friends have been using my tallow soap exclusively for ages now, and our skin is more beautiful and healthy than it's ever been!
- —Guest Summer - EraWeb Tallow Works
Gotta have it.
- Most of my soaps are 5 veggie blend. I make Grandpa's Lye Soap from lard and saddle soap from beef tallow. To use any other oils in these soaps would be inappropriate to the traditions of these soaps.
- —Guest Sunfloweranne
No AO for me
- Personally I do not use tallow or lard inmy soaps. When I got into soap making, I made my own bars before buying other homemade soaps and I knew that I didn’t care to use tallow or lard with my soaps. I am not vegetarian and I am not vegan as I eat salmon on occasion, but I have always tried to limit my use of animal products. I really appreciate being able to source local ingredients and using up any leftovers that would otherwise go to waste, but I didn’t care to handle tallow myself. When I started buying homemade soap from other makers I preferred soaps without animal products, but I figured it wouldn’t matter if the soap did have tallow in it. I learned really quickly, after the first set of soaps I ordered that contained tallow that I not only hated the smell, but also hated how I felt when I lathered up animal fat onto my skin. I tried it, but it drove me crazy and I ended up giving the entire order away.
- —Guest Danielliia
I will look for AO
- I love soap, and the amazing idea occurred to me today that I could make it myself! While researching, I came across this debate. Based on what I've been reading, I will definitely be using AO in my soap, and it will likely be a combination of veggie and animal oils. I live in a city that has many farms in the surrounding area, and I'm thinking about posting an ad to obtain tallow from any farmers who don't use it on their own. That's a nice way to be sustainable, and keep it local. Just thoughts!
- —Guest jenntropy
Animal oils/fats in soap
- I personally do use animal oils in my soap. I do make some batches without for those opposed. When I was growing up, I was taught about Native Americans in school, and how they would never let any part of an animal go to waste. Every part had a need and a purpose. Would I want animals to be used solely for their oil? Of course not, but in the case of tallow and lard, my two favorites, if it was going to go to waste anyhow, then I will use it in my soap, almost as a sort of respect to the animal, because every bit had it's purpose.
- —Guest Mish314
I use AO
- I make soap for a living history farm and use AO. I am a volunteer and other volunteers save animal fat for me. That is what was done in the time period of the history farm and we give samples to visitors, especially school children and they find it fascinating that fat can turn into something useful. ao
- —Guest Rayne
