tallow vs. sodium tallowate

gil3591 · Post by **gil3591** » Wed Jan 19, 2011 10:26 pm

what's the difference between these two? cella ingredients say tallow, period. other soaps i have say sodium tallowate.

CMur12 · Post by **CMur12** » Wed Jan 19, 2011 11:27 pm

Hi Gil -

When sodium hydroxide (the lye/saponifier) is combined with tallow, the chemical interaction produces sodium tallowate = soap.

Some manufacturers list the separate lye and fat, while others list the fruit of their combination.

- Murray

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 7:03 pm

Hmmm ---

Murray, that's very interesting.

CMur12 · Post by **CMur12** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 8:40 pm

It gets worse!

Liquid soaps use a different lye/saponifier, potassium hydroxide, which would combine with tallow to form potassium tallowate.

Soft soaps usually have a combination of sodium tallowate and potassium tallowate (or sodium palmate/potassium palmate, etc).

- Murray

Crag · Post by **Crag** » Mon Jan 24, 2011 2:18 pm

Most companies that export health and beauty product to the USA use the chemical comound names to describe what makes up their product. They get less hassle from the FDA if it is labeled as such. While Cella uses Tallow as the descriptor it is generally understood that Tallow describes the compound form of either Sodium Tallowate or Potassium Tallowate.

Along those lines if you see Adeps Lanae in your product's ingredients, rest assured that it is only Lanolin. One disturbing point for some, though, is that the Lanolin has most likely been produced as a by product from the tanning of skins to make leather.

I'm not disturbed because when a truck rolls by me crammed full of cows all I can think of is lunch!

No flamers, please!

gil3591 · Post by **gil3591** » Mon Jan 24, 2011 5:00 pm

matt, i'm no expert but you may be confusing lanolin for tallow

Lindy · Post by **Lindy** » Sun Jan 30, 2011 4:33 pm

Canadian and European manufacturers of soap are required to use INCI (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients)s o depending on whether the product has been made using NOaH or KOH will determine how it is written out. So both Sodium Tallowate & Potassium Tallowate are tallow. Lanolin for some strange reason remains lanolin, probably because it is a wax which doesn't saponify.

HTH