Soap used to be made with animal fat and lye, but with the discovery of essential oils, it has been made without animal fat.

Furthermore, tallow is preferred over palm oils in the soap-making industry, as it is a higher quality raw material. Tallow supply has further increased as global slaughter rates have increased ...

Fat/Oil + Sodium\, Hydroxide \rightarrow Soap + Glycerol\) Fats and oils are esters made from glycerol and long chain fatty acids. Consider the hydrolysis of this triglyceride found in animal fat.

to a plant-based or vegan fat. While this might appeal to consumers concerned with animal welfare, I’m not a vegan. I just wanted the soap I’d always used, the soap that is now gone.

Legend has it that the first soap was accidentally produced on Mt. Sopa, a site of animal sacrifice. As the goat meat burned, fat dripped down through the fire, bonding to lye leaching out of the ...