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Tallow Bear

Saponification values, fatty acid makeup, and what this oil does in a bar of soap.

Saponification values

Grams of lye needed to saponify one gram of tallow bear. Multiply by your oil weight, then apply your superfat.

NaOH (bar soap)
0.139
KOH (liquid soap)
0.195
Iodine
92
INS
100

Fatty acid profile

These figures account for 91% of tallow bear. The remainder is made up of fatty acids this model does not track, so treat the derived qualities below as indicative rather than complete.

Fatty acidPercentage
Oleic70%
Linoleic9%
Palmitic7%
Stearic3%
Myristic2%

Soap qualities at 100%

What a bar made entirely of tallow bear would score. Almost nobody soaps a single oil at 100% — this is here so you can see what the oil contributes to a blend. The shaded band is the range most makers aim for in a finished recipe.

  • Hardness12
  • Cleansing2
  • Conditioning79
  • Bubbly lather2
  • Creamy lather10

What that means in a recipe

Almost no cleansing contribution (2) against high conditioning (79). Gentle on skin, but a bar built mainly on this will be slow to trace, slow to harden, and low on bubbles without something to balance it.

Very little hardness (12). Expect a soft bar and a longer cure unless it is combined with a harder fat or butter.

Derived from the numbers above rather than written by hand, so it stays in step with the data. Tendencies, not guarantees — your oils, water, and technique all move the result.

Oils that behave similarly

Closest matches by fatty acid makeup — the usual starting point when you have run out of tallow bear and need a substitute. Check the lye maths again after swapping: SAP values differ even between oils that behave alike.

Build a recipe with Tallow Bear →