The short answer: hot-process soap is cooked until the lye has fully reacted with the oils, so no lye is left in the finished bar. Ours is made with tallow we render ourselves from local Texas beef fat.
Every real soap starts with lye
Soap is what you get when fats and oils react with lye (sodium hydroxide). There is no way around it. What matters is that the reaction finishes, so that no lye is left in the bar.
What hot process means
In hot-process soapmaking, the batch is cooked. The lye reacts completely with the oils in the pot, turning them into soap and glycerin before the soap ever goes into a mold. We then cut the bars and air-dry them until they are firm.
Cold-process soap skips the cooking and finishes reacting in the mold, which is why it usually needs several weeks of curing before it is ready.
Why the label does not say lye
Because the lye is used up in the pot, our labels list what is actually in the finished bar: sodium tallowate, sodium olivate, sodium cocoate and sodium castorate. Those are simply tallow, olive oil, coconut oil and castor oil after they have become soap.
What each oil adds
- Tallow makes a hard, long-lasting bar with a dense, creamy lather. It is most of the bar, and we render it in house from local beef fat.
- Olive oil adds mildness.
- Coconut oil adds bubbles.
- Castor oil steadies the lather.
- Lanolin adds a conditioning feel. If you are sensitive to wool or lanolin, this bar is not for you.
Making a bar last
Keep it on a draining dish between uses. A bar that sits in water goes soft, and one that dries between washes stays firm and wears slowly.
Our Heritage Tallow & Lanolin Soap comes unscented or scented with essential oils only. Every scent and every oil in it is listed on Our Scents.