How to Make Pine Scented Camo Tallow Soap (Cold-Process)

If you love the smell of pine and the satisfaction of homemade soap, you are going to have so much fun making this small-batch Pine Camo Tallow Soap Recipe. It’s a perfect gift for outdoorsy friends or hunting enthusiasts in your life, and a great seasonal addition to your bathroom for the fall.

I love to collect fresh spruce tips in the spring when the trees are budding and dry them to use all year round. Did you know that spruce tips are good for more than just infusing soap? They contain vitamin C and minerals so you can eat them for a little boost (source)!

Check out our How to Render Tallow Tutorial or our How to Make Tallow Soap Tutorial for the basics of soap making. 

For other tallow soap recipes, try our 3-Sugar Tallow Soap, Coffee Scrub Soap, Rosemary Mint Tallow Soap, Eucalyptus Mint Soap, or Spice Honey Vanilla Soap.

You may also like our how-tos on making Tallow Laundry Soap, Tallow Shampoo Bars, or Tallow Balms.

Why You’ll Love This Pine Soap

The natural pine scent gives a fresh, clean, woodsy vibe, and the unique camo swirl is rustic and fun. This recipe is made with nourishing tallow for a creamy, long-lasting bar and it’s the perfect DIY gift that feels high-end but made at home.

Tallow is a great addition to homemade soaps as the fatty acid profiles of rendered animal fat is similar to our own skin barrier. Some of the benefits of animal fats like tallow include increased hydration, gentleness, and barrier strengthening, so it’s a great addition to any homemade skincare. 

Tallow can also be amazing for dry, flaky, or sensitive skin. Just patch test new bars before going full lather.

Base Oils & Fats for Tallow Soap

The fats used in this recipe are fairly simple on purpose. I just use rendered tallow, olive oil, and coconut oil.

Notes:

• This recipe makes approximately 11-12 bars depending on cut size
• Always run a soap recipe through a lye calculator — I use SoapCalc.net. 
• Wear eye and hand protection, you do not want to be splashed with lye or unsaponified soap or inhale fumes. Long sleeves, pants, and shoes are great too.
• Do not have children nearby while making soap.
• Make sure you melt fat on low heat, you do not want to scorch it by using higher temperatures.
• Do not use any melt-and-pour soaps (pre-bought soap ingredients often in craft stores) in this process.
• ALWAYS pour lye into water. NEVER pour water into the lye. A hard pocket of undissolved crystals can occur, and you could end up with undissolved lye in your soap, or lye could explode out of your bowl. Be safe!
• Trace is when the soap mixture has emulsified to the stage of looking like pudding. Let some of the soap drop off the blender or a spatula, and you should be able to see it kind of sitting on top of the rest of the mixture.
• Cure soap in a dark, dry area
• I usually fill one soap loaf mold and then have a little extra I put into a small silicone mold.
• Soap making is basically kitchen chemistry. Use a digital scale, and always measure in grams or ounces—never cups. Precision makes the difference between a dreamy bar and a greasy brick.

Common Cold Process Soap Problems

Soda ash? It’s harmless. Soda ash is a white, ashy film that can sometimes show up on soap when you go to cut it. It happens when unsaponified lye reacts with carbon dioxide in the air. The quality of soap is not diminished, and the soap is safe to use. Spray with rubbing alcohol or embrace the rustic look.

Soap separating? Blend a bit longer next time until you get that pudding texture.

Seizing? Soap batter hardening up too fast? Your oils might be too hot or your scent too strong.

Bars getting mushy? Make sure you let the bars cure for 4-6 weeks to harden and make them last longer. Be sure they dry in between uses and don’t sit in a wet puddle.

And if it all goes sideways? Rebatching is always an option! Also, don’t soap while multitasking. One time, I forgot my essential oils. No big deal really, but my scented bar was just perfectly bland.

Homemade Tallow Soap Instructions

Prepping Soap

Infuse Tallow: I like to weigh and infuse my tallow with the spruce tips in a small crockpot on the warm setting for 24-48 hours before I plan to make my soap.

Melt Fats and Oils Together: When I begin getting ready to make soap, I will measure and add my olive oil and coconut oil to the crockpot to come to the same temperature as the tallow. This is usually somewhere between 130-165 degrees. 

Prepare Your Work Area and Supplies: Wear gloves and goggles, and work in a well-ventilated area. 

Making the Soap

Make the Lye Solution: Put on protective gear before starting this step and make sure you are in a well-ventilated area or outside. Weigh water in a heat-resistant bowl and lye crystals in another bowl. Slowly add sodium hydroxide (lye) to the water (never the other way around!). Stir until fully dissolved and allow the lye solution to cool to around 100 degrees. This will take about 15-20 minutes. 

Cool Oils: Strain oils using a mesh strainer and a cheesecloth into a soap-safe bowl and let the oils cool to around 100 degrees. This will take around 15-20 minutes.

Combine Lye Solution & Oils: Slowly pour the lye solution into the oils. Using an immersion blender, keep it submerged, and pulse for about 15 seconds. Then use spatula to stir the mixture, switching between pulsing and stirring until you’ve reached a light trace (a pudding-like consistency). 

Add Scent to Soap Batter: Add in the essential oils and give a couple of pulses to incorporate. 

Color Soap Batter: Add 1 teaspoon of charcoal to the first container, 1 teaspoon of French green clay + 1 teaspoon spirulina to the second, 1 teaspoon French green clay to the third, and 1 teaspoon aloe powder to the fourth container. Evenly divide the soap batter into the 4 soap-safe containers.

Working with one container at a time (starting with the aloe, then moving to light green, dark green, and finally charcoal), use an immersion blender to mix until a medium trace is reached. The batter may thicken quickly!

Pattern Soap Batter: Working between all four colors, spoon in randomly until mold is filled. Go slowly so layers don’t mix too much.

Insulate, Cut, & Cure: Put soap molds on a cookie sheet for easier transporting. Lightly cover the soap with plastic wrap (to help prevent soda ash). Allow it to fully saponify for 24-48 hours before unmolding. Cut into bars of desired size and cure for 4-6 weeks for best hardness and lather. 

Wrap your soap with kraft paper, tie with twine, and pop on a custom stamp or tag. For holidays, add a sprig of pine or a wax seal. Instant gift basket envy!

You’re officially ready to rock your first batch of Pine & Camo Tallow Soap. It’s simple, fun, and wildly addictive (don’t say I didn’t warn you). I’d love to hear about it—or see pics of your gorgeous bars.

You’ve read about making tallow skincare on the blog, and now you can bring it home! Sometimes life gets busy, and you just don’t have the time to make it yourself. Visit our shop, Rose Hill Harvest, to buy our handcrafted soaps and balms.

Continue to Content

How to Make Pine Scented Camo Tallow Soap (Cold-Process)

Yield: 11-12 Bars

Prep Time: 1 day

Active Time: 1 hour

Additional Time: 1 day

Total Time: 2 days 1 hour

Difficulty: Moderate

Estimated Cost: $10-15

Learn how to make pine-scented camo tallow soap with this fun cold-process tutorial. Step-by-step instructions for a rustic and fresh bar!

Print

Materials

• 24oz Tallow (rendered)
• 8oz Coconut Oil
• 8oz Olive Oil
• 1/2 Cup Dried Spruce Tips
• 2 teaspoons French Green Clay, divided
• 1 teaspoon Spirulina Powder
• 1 teaspoon Charcoal Powder
• 1 teaspoon Aloe Vera Powder
• 5.67oz Lye (Sodium Hydroxide)
• 12oz Water
• 0.94 oz Scots Pine Essential Oil

Tools

• Small Crockpot
• Stainless Steel Bowls
• Silicone Spatula
• Kitchen Scale
• Soap Molds and Cutter
• Cookie Sheet
• Immersion Blender (stick blender)
• Infrared Thermometer
• Plastic Soaping Bowls
• Plastic Wrap
• Protective Glasses and Gloves

Instructions

1. Infuse Tallow: I like to weigh and infuse my tallow with the spruce tips in a small crockpot on the warm setting for 24-48 hours before I plan to make my soap.
2. Melt Fats and Oils Together: When I begin getting ready to make soap, I will measure and add my olive oil and coconut oil to the crockpot to come to the same temperature as the tallow. This is usually somewhere between 130-165 degrees. 
3. Prepare Your Work Area and Supplies: Wear gloves and goggles, and work in a well-ventilated area. 
4. Make the Lye Solution: Weigh water in a heat-resistant bowl and lye crystals in another bowl. Slowly add sodium hydroxide (lye) to the water (never the other way around!). Stir until fully dissolved and allow the lye solution to cool to around 100 degrees. This will take about 15-20 minutes. 
5. Strain oils using a mesh strainer and a cheesecloth into a soap-safe bowl and let the oils cool to around 100 degrees. This will take around 15-20 minutes.
6. Slowly pour the lye solution into the oils. Using an immersion blender, keep it submerged, and pulse for about 15 seconds. Then use a spatula to stir the mixture, switching between pulsing and stirring until you've reached a light trace (a pudding-like consistency). 
7. Add in the essential oils and give a couple of pulses to incorporate. 
8. Color Soap Batter: Add 1 teaspoon of charcoal to the first container, 1 teaspoon of french green clay + 1 teaspoon spirulina to the second, 1 teaspoon french green clay to the third, and 1 teaspoon aloe powder to the fourth container. Evenly divide the soap batter into the 4 soap-safe containers.
9. Working with one container at a time (starting with the aloe, then moving to light green, dark green, and finally charcoal), use an immersion blender to mix until a medium trace is reached. The batter may thicken quickly!
10. Working between all four colors, spoon in randomly until the mold is filled. Go slowly so layers don’t mix too much.
11. Put soap molds on a cookie sheet for easier transporting. Lightly cover the soap with plastic wrap (to help prevent soda ash). Allow it to fully saponify for 24-48 hours before unmolding.
12. Cut into bars of desired size and cure for 4-6 weeks for best hardness and lather. 

Notes

• This recipe makes approximately 11-12 bars depending on cut size
• Always run a soap recipe through a lye calculator — I use SoapCalc.net. 
• Wear eye and hand protection, you do not want to be splashed with lye or unsaponified soap or inhale fumes. Long sleeves, pants, and shoes are great too.
• Do not have children nearby while making soap.
• Make sure you melt fat on low heat, you do not want to scorch it by using higher temperatures.
• Do not use any melt-and-pour soaps (pre-bought soap ingredients often in craft stores) in this process.
• ALWAYS pour lye into water. NEVER pour water into the lye. A hard pocket of undissolved crystals can occur, and you could end up with undissolved lye in your soap, or lye could explode out of your bowl. Be safe!
• Trace is when the soap mixture has emulsified to the stage of looking like pudding. Let some of the soap drop off the blender or a spatula, and you should be able to see it kind of sitting on top of the rest of the mixture.
• Cure soap in a dark, dry area
• I usually fill one soap loaf mold and then have a little extra I put into a small silicone mold.
• Soap making is basically kitchen chemistry. Use a digital scale, and always measure in grams or ounces—never cups. Precision makes the difference between a dreamy bar and a greasy brick.