HERB - soap answers

[Rhonda New]

Please forgive my 'butting in' but, it has been my experience
that lard (from pork) makes a soap that seems a wee bet
softer and lathers a little more than that made with tallow
(from beef).  If you have the good fortune to find lanoline
(from lamb), it's even softer and lathers very well.  I usally
mix lard and tallow and get nice results.
Also, the amount of salt in the saponification process has
a lot to do with the hardness.  I have no problem with
hardness when I use 'Red Devil' lye (drain cleaner). When
I use rainwater dripped through wood ashes to get lye water,
I always dissolve in at least a 1/2 cup of table salt for an
8-bar batch.
Oh, and I always use essential oils for fragrance and safety -
sometimes the fragrance oils are not friendly to the skin.
Perhaps this information will help in some way.

/Lady Elizabeth Hawkwood
Barony of Elfsea
Kingdom of Ansteorra

dragon wrote:

> >>i.e. is tallow (beef) better/worse than lard (pork),
> >
> >There really isn't a better or worse. In my experience, however,
> >soaps made from lard require another kind of oil like palm to
> >make it harder
>
> Now you've got me wondering, I have always used lard for my soap, and if it
> gets any harder I won't be able to use it.  Any thoughts on this?
> Ginger
>
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