Simple Tallow Soap For Babies Recipe

Simple Tallow Soap For Babies Recipe
Prep Time
40 mins
Cure Time
30 days
Difficulty
2.0
Yield
1.0kg

Mama, if you've been searching high and low for a soap that won't irritate your little one's precious skin, I've got something special for you. This simple tallow soap recipe saved us when our middle son developed eczema at just six months old.

I'm not kidding – we tried everything. Gentle this, hypoallergenic that. Nothing worked until we stripped it all the way back to basics: beef tallow, lye, and water. That's it. No fancy chemicals, no mystery ingredients you can't pronounce. Just pure, gentle goodness that finally gave his angry little skin some peace.

Why Tallow Became Our Lifesaver

Here's what I learned through all those sleepless nights of worried mama research: beef tallow actually mimics what your skin naturally produces. It's like they were made for each other! This means it cleans without stripping away all the good stuff, leaving your little one's skin soft and protected – not tight and dry like those store-bought soaps that made our son's eczema flare up.

Why Baby Soap Is Different from Regular Soap

While regular tallow soap can include additives like sodium lactate (for hardness), sugar (for lather), or essential oils (for scent), baby soap avoids these extras. Babies’ skin is thin, highly absorbent, and more prone to irritation, so baby formulas should stay fragrance-free, color-free, and as simple as possible.

Another key difference is superfatting.

What Is Superfat (and Why It Matters for Baby Soap)?

Superfat refers to the small percentage of oils left unsaponified in the finished soap. In other words, not all the oils are turned into soap by the lye—some remain as free oils to nourish and protect the skin.

Why it’s important:

  • It ensures the soap is gentle and never harsh, even if the lye measurement isn’t perfect.
  • It leaves a moisturizing cushion in the bar, which is especially important for babies.
  • Superfat for adults: 5–8% is typical.
  • Superfat for babies: 5–6% is ideal. Lower would risk being too drying, while higher could feel greasy and shorten the soap’s shelf life.

This recipe uses 5% superfat—a balanced level that makes the soap mild, safe, and long-lasting. If you want to have a recipe with more superfat, feel free to tweak the recipe with our lye calculator here.

Ingredients

  • Beef tallow: 684.6 g
  • Sodium hydroxide (lye): 88.3 g
  • Distilled water: 222.6 g

Instructions

  • Prepare safely. Put on goggles, gloves, and long sleeves; ensure good ventilation.
  • Melt the tallow. Warm gently until fully melted, 110–120 °F (43–49 °C).
  • Mix the lye solution. Slowly sprinkle lye into distilled water (never water into lye). Stir gently until clear.
  • Let cool to 110–120 °F.
  • Combine. Pour lye solution into melted tallow. Stick-blend briefly until you reach light trace.
  • Mold. Pour into a loaf mold, tap to remove air bubbles. Do not insulate—the cooler process reduces risk of cracking.
  • Unmold. After 12–24 hours, remove from mold and cut into bars. (they settle fast!)
  • Cure. Place in a cool, dry, ventilated space for at least 4–6 weeks. Longer cure = even gentler soap.