Nettle in the soap dish: the spring weed we put to work
Every spring the nettles come up along the fence line here at Fulham Homestead. For years I treated them as a nuisance, something to pull out in thick gloves and mutter at. Then I started drying the leaves for tea, and eventually I wondered what would happen if that tea went into the soap pot.
The result is our Nettle Tallow Soap, and it has become one of those quiet bars people come back for. If you have dry or mature skin and you want something plain and kind, here is what it is, how it differs from our other bars, and how to get the best from it.
What nettle is doing in a soap bar
Stinging nettle has a long history in traditional skincare and herbal washes. Old herbals describe nettle tea being used as a rinse for hair and as a wash for skin that felt tired or irritated. We are not claiming it treats anything. What we can say is that it has been valued for generations as a comforting, skin-friendly plant, and that it sits well alongside tallow.
Here is how we use it. Making soap requires a lye solution, and most soapmakers mix lye with plain water. We make a strong nettle leaf tea instead, let it cool, and use that in place of the water. The leaves never go in whole and nothing is scratchy. The tea becomes part of the bar itself, so the soap is a gentle botanical infusion rather than a scrub.
The rest of the recipe is as simple as we can keep it: 100 per cent grass-fed beef tallow, rendered at home, and nothing else. No added fragrance, no fillers, no seed oils. The ingredient list is three items long: sodium tallowate, nettle leaf tea and lye. That is the whole thing.
Why this suits dry and mature skin
Most of the people writing to us have skin that has become drier over the years. Tight after washing, flaky around the shins, a bit itchy by evening. Often the cause is not the skin itself but what we wash it with. Many commercial bars and body washes strip away more oil than skin wants to lose, and drier skin has less to spare.
Tallow is close in make-up to the natural oils in human skin, which is a big part of why tallow soap tends to feel less tight afterwards. We also leave a 6 per cent superfat in this bar. That simply means a small portion of the oils is left unsoaped on purpose, so the bar cleans without leaving that squeaky, stripped feeling.
The unscented part matters too. Fragrance, even natural fragrance, is one of the things that bothers skin that is already fussy. If you have ever put down a lovely smelling soap because your skin did not agree with it, a bar with no added scent is a sensible thing to try. Our nettle bar is also gentle enough for face and body, so you can use one bar for the lot.
How to use it so your skin feels it
A few small habits make more difference than the soap itself. Wet the bar and work up a lather in your hands rather than rubbing the bar straight onto your skin. Keep the water warm instead of hot, since hot water takes oil with it. Rinse well, pat dry instead of rubbing, and put on a moisturiser while your skin is still a little damp.
Keep the bar on a draining soap dish, out of the stream of the shower. Tallow soap lasts for weeks if it gets a chance to dry between uses, and it will go soft and mushy if it sits in water.
If you are washing your face with it, start slowly. Once a day for the first week lets you see how your skin responds, and you can go from there. Skin is individual, and what suits one person may need adjusting for another. If you have a skin condition or ongoing irritation, it is always worth a chat with your doctor first.
Where it fits in your week
Spring is a funny time for skin. The weather swings, the heater comes off, the garden calls you outside, and your skin is catching up on a winter of dry air. A simple, unscented bar is a good place to start before you add anything else. If you would like a firmer routine, you can follow it with our Tallow Glow face and neck serum in the evening, which is chamomile infused and also fragrance free.
Prefer a plain bar with no botanical at all? Our Just Tallow Soap is the same honest approach, grass-fed tallow and nothing extra, and it is a lovely place to begin if you have never tried tallow soap before.
You can find the Nettle Tallow Soap in the shop now. It is made in small batches, so if you like it, grab a spare. Pop a bar in the linen cupboard too and it will quietly scent the towels with nothing at all, which is the point.
Questions about which bar suits your skin? Send us a message. We are happy to chat soap any time, and we usually have a cuppa nearby.