"Animal Fat Soap!?"

A brief treatise as to why it's not so crazy...

jklm farm natural organic grass-fed beef bone marrow skin cream

So. Why Animal Fat?

  • Animal fats are a renewable resource. The animals we eat can be comprised of up to 30% fat, most of which, during processing, is discarded and sent to the landfill. Finding ways to utilize some of that wasted resource makes us all more responsible animal consumers.
  • Animal fats are intrinsically balanced by nature, with no further improvement or enrichment needed. 
  • Animal fats contain fat-soluble Vitamins A, D, E & K and Vitamin B12 and are ultra-rich in the same kinds of essential fatty acids that are found naturally in youthful, healthy human skin.
  • Animal fat also naturally contains Triglycerides (which allow for the easy absorption of nutrients) and antioxidants! All together, animal fats provide the key elements we need to maintain healthy, sturdy, cell integrity and tone.
jklm farm natural organic grass-fed tallow liquid soap bottle

But wait, there's more science!

Other beneficial essential fatty acids in animal fats include:

1. Stearic Acid & Oleic Acid (Omega 9)

These are both found in the protective outer layer of the skin and in sebum. These fatty acids have moisturizing, softening, regenerative and anti-inflammatory properties. Stearic
Acid also improves the skin’s suppleness and flexibility, helping to repair damage. Oleic Acid helps the other active components penetrate deeply into the skin.

2. Conjugated Linolenic Acid (CLA)

CLA has anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties, which is healing for many skin conditions.

3. Palmitoleic Acid (Omega 7)
This is the most active anti-microbial found in human sebum. Palmitoleic Acid is also a basic building block of our skin, but its production declines with age.

4. Palmitic Acid
This helps smooth the appearance of skin and helps to improve barrier protection. The production of Palmitic Acid in our skin also declines with age.

5. Alpha-Linolenic (Omega 3) and Linoleic acids (Omega 6)
Optimally balanced in a ratio of almost 1:1. These essential fatty acids have a role in maintaining the structural integrity and barrier function of skin, they also influence inflammatory and immune responses in the skin.

6. Vitamins A, D, E, K, and B12
All of which are particularly nurturing for the skin, and are only found together naturally in animals.

jklm farm natural organic grass-fed beef tallow cowlick hair paste

Why Animal Fat Soap over Plant-Derived Oil Soaps?

  • It takes a LOT of lab processing time, chemicals, & natural resources to extract the oils from plants and then even MORE lab time to cut and paste the plant-derived oils together needed to simulate the intrinsic compatability with human skin as that which occurs naturally in animal fat. 
  • Plant-based oils, ESPECIALLY "Fad Oils" (jojoba, sweet almond, avocado seed, etc.) are often unsustainably harvested.
  • Because of varying pore sizes and different skin thicknesses on different parts of the body, plant-derived soaps need to be specially formulated for those different parts (hand soap, face soap, body wash, shampoo, etc.). Animal fat soap does it all. naturally.
  • In order to even come close to the natural moisturizing, skin-nourishing properties of animal fat soap, commercial plant-based soaps use chemical facsimiles or just sneak animal fat into the ingredients; calling it something cryptic in order to dodge the stigma.
jklm farm natural organic beef tallow bone marrow lip balm

...continued (yep. seriously.)

Take, for example, the ingredients in a bar of Dove (the bar most recommended as a MILD soap):

  • sodium cocoyl isethionate (synthetic detergent)
  • stearic acid (hardener)
  • sodium tallowate (sodium salt of cow fat)
  • sodium isethionate (detergent/emulsifying agent)
  • coconut acid (the sodium salt of coconut oil)
  • sodium stearate (emulsifier, also used as a cheap stabilizer in plastics)
  • sodium dodecylbenzonesulfonate (synthetic detergent, skin irritant)
  • sodium cocoate or sodium palm kernalate (sodium salts of coconut or palm kernel oils)
  • fragrance (synthetic scent, potential allergen, common skin irritant)
  • sodium chloride (table salt used as a thickener)
  • titanium dioxide (whitener, also used in house paint)
  • trisodium EDTA (stabilizer, used in industrial cleaning products to decrease hard water, possible skin irritant)
  • trisodium etidronate (preservative, a chemical that is used in soaps to prevent soap scum)
  • BHT (preservative, common skin irritant)


In contrast, jklm farms base soap ingredients:

  • pure, rendered animal fat
  • lye
  • water

To the one person out there still reading at this point (probably my mother) - i hope you found this information, well, informative, and have been convinced to give our soap a try. It’ll change your life! (as much as a bar of soap can.)