Is lard still used in the making of modern bar/bath soaps? Why was lard ever used in soap anyway?

Answer 1

Yes. Once fat has been cleaned it is still used in soap.
Even glycerine is an extract of fat.
It's because fat is the only product with the right composition.
It holds fragrance, it will hold the borax (the part that cleans you and foams) and it wont melt instantly like sugar for instance.
I dont think there is any other chemical compostion that is as effective as it.

Answer 2

Lard can be used in making soap. When soap was make by colonists and pioneers it was a matter of saving all your old cooking fat that was left from cooking meats. This stuff was saved an barrels for many months until enough was collected to mix it together with lye, which was made by letting water seep through ashes from the fireplace. If you have ever tried it, it takes a long time to save enough pan drippings from your cooking to accumulate any decent amout of fat. Lard is a fast and easy manufactured equivalent, but if you have a fireplace and cook on a stove you create all the raw materials to make your own soap using things that would normally just be thrown away. In colonial days this stuff was a valuable resource; today it is waste and thrown out with the trash.

Answer 3

I've been trying to find out about commercial soap, and it's not so easy. Any fat can be used to make soap. Soap is a result of a chemical reaction between lye and fat. Often beef fat is used. There are loads of soaps using only vegetable oil: olive oil, palm oil, etc. I am sure our forbears used lard to make soap because it was an available fat.

You can google soap making. There's lots of info on it these days.

Answer 4

Yes it is. There are many awful things bing put in personal care products and sadly, regulation isn't what it should be. A product has to cause harm to a lot of people before the FDA will look at forcing the makers to take it off the market.

If you want to buy smarter, try Arbonne. We use no animal products or by-products in any of our stuff. We also use no mineral oils (bad stuff!) or harmful levels of chemicals. You can even get it at wholesale! Ask me how!

Answer 5

Soap is derived from either oils or fats. Sodium Tallowate, a common ingredient in many soaps, is in fact derived from rendered beef fat (which lard is also made from).

Soap can also be made of vegetable oils, such as olive oil. Soap made entirely from such oils, or nearly so, is called castile soap.

Answer 6

if you boil down animal fat(lard) long enough it turns into lye, which is a very stringent cleaner. but it isn't used commercially anymore, there are cheaper ways and lye isn't something most people want in their regular soap since it's so strong.

Answer 7

Yes, it is. They used it because it works.

Answer 8

It held it together.

Answer 9

i think so