In household soaps, the salts are usually sodium salts or frequently a mixture of sodium and potassium tallow fatty acid salts. Tallow soap has good cleaning properties but is somewhat slow to dissolve and make suds. As a result, it is common practice to use a mixture of tallow and coconut soaps to combine the good detergent properties of tallow with the improved solubility and quicker sudsing characteristics of coconut soap. Solubility and speed of sudsing are also aided by using some potassium soap instead of all sodium. Tallow soap is the backbone of the soap industry, with coconut second in importance.
Glossary
Tallow soap
11.16.21
The salt of tallow fatty acids.
