How to Make Soap With Animal Fat

You can make handmade soap out of animal fat.

Although most modern soaps are created using oils, such as olive or coconut oil, old-fashioned soaps used to be made with whatever fat was available. Most often, the fat used to make soap was rendered animal fat, otherwise referred to as tallow. If you are interested in creating an old-fashioned batch of soap using animal fat as the base, there are a few important precautions you should take to ensure that the soaps will be free of impurities.

Things You'll Need

• 48 oz. animal fat (after purification)
• Empty coffee can
• Double boiler
• 16 oz. water
• Oil separator
• Measuring cup
• 8 oz. lye
• Pot
• Glass beaker
• Wooden spoon
• Protective goggles
• Rubber gloves
• 2 tsp. essential oil
• 2 meat thermometers
• Soap molds

Instructions

1. Place animal fat into an empty, clean coffee can.

2. Place the coffee can into the top of a double boiler.

3. Fill the bottom of the double boiler halfway up with water.

4. Heat the double boiler on medium heat until the animal fat becomes liquid.

5. Pour the liquid animal fat into an oil separator.

6. Allow the animal fat to settle for at least 20 minutes.

7. Pour the fat from the separator into a measuring cup.

8. Measure to see that you have at least 48 oz. of fat.

9. Pour the fat into a pot.

10. Heat the fat over medium heat.

11. Place a meat thermometer into the pot to gauge the temperature.

12. Pour 16 oz. of water into a glass beaker.

13. Put on rubber gloves and protective goggles.

14. Pour 8 oz. of lye into the glass beaker. The lye will react with the water and will heat up.

15. Place another meat thermometer into the glass beaker.

16. Pour the lye water into the fat once the temperatures of both mixtures reach 110 degrees Fahrenheit.

17. Pour in 2 tsp. of essential oil.

18. Stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon for 30 minutes. The soap mixture will thicken significantly.

19. Pour the soap mixture into soap molds and place the molds into a dark, cool room.

20. Remove the soaps from the molds after six weeks.

References

• Teach Soap: Handmade Soap Recipes
• Cranberry Lane: Soapmaking