Tallow Soap vs. Tallow Balm: What’s the Difference?

Around here, we believe a product ought to tell you what it is and what it’s for. So if you’ve been looking at our tallow soap and tallow skin balms and wondering which one belongs by your sink, here’s the plainspoken answer:

Soap is for washing. Balm is for moisturizing. They share an ingredient, but they have different jobs.

What is tallow?

Tallow is rendered beef fat. Rendering turns the fat into an ingredient that can be used in products such as soap and skin balm.

For Big PaPaw Soap Company, that ingredient has a local connection. A friend who owns a meat-processing facility in Concord, North Carolina, saves fat for me when local farmers bring in cattle raised on grass-fed farms.

That’s a connection I’m proud of: knowing the person I get it from and putting a useful ingredient to work rather than letting it go to waste.

What does tallow do in soap?

Making soap involves a process called saponification. Fats and oils react with lye to become soap. That means a finished tallow soap bar isn’t simply a chunk of beef fat you wash with.

Tallow contributes to the finished bar’s characteristics, including its hardness and lather. The complete recipe matters, too.

Our tallow soap’s job is straightforward: help you wash away everyday dirt and grime, then rinse clean. Keep your bar on a draining soap dish between uses so it isn’t sitting in water.

What does tallow do in a skin balm?

A tallow skin balm is a leave-on moisturizer, not a cleanser. Unlike soap, it isn’t made to lather up and rinse away.

Start with a small amount and gently work it into your skin, following the directions on the label. You can add more if needed, but there’s no need to scoop out a handful.

Always check the ingredient list, especially if you’re sensitive to fragrances or other ingredients. Stop using a product if it causes irritation.

Which one should you choose?

If you’re looking for something to wash with, choose tallow soap.

If you’re looking for a leave-on moisturizer, choose tallow skin balm.

You can use both in your routine, but one doesn’t replace the other. And neither is a treatment for eczema or another medical condition. For those concerns, ask a qualified healthcare professional.

Same humble ingredient. Two different jobs.

Explore Big PaPaw’s soaps for everyday washing, or browse our tallow skin balms for moisturizing after you’ve dried off.

Tough on Dirt, Easy on Kin.