I make soap for a living (I have a soap biz) so let me help you out. Sodium tallowate is another word for a mixture of lye and beef tallow. In ALL soap you need lye with an oil. The lye is cooked out.There is no soap without that combination. So, yes it is much more gentle then sls. However, TRUE Castile is made from Olive Oil not beef! Hopefully you will tell me that the only other ingrediant is water..