This recipe for easy diy whipped tallow balm is a great place to start when you want to get into natural beauty and skincare. It’s perfect for dry hands and feet, but also as a moisturizer! It’s quick and easy to make at home with no special equipment.
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What is tallow?
Beef tallow is the rendered fat from cows. It typically comes from around the organs. This makes it full of vitamins that are good for you and your skin.
Beef tallow can be cooked at higher temps than a lot of fats, making it perfect for cooking things like french fries! We also love to use it to season our cast iron.
Not only is it delicious to cook with, but tallow is great for skin care. Not in its raw form though. It needs to be rendered. This is a process that removes impurities and excess moisture making it more shelf stable. It also takes the beef smell out of the tallow making it odor free, if it is done right.
No one wants to walk around smelling like a roast… or maybe you do. That’s up to you. So before making this recipe, you want to make sure that you have rendered tallow. You can do this at home in a crock pot if need be.
To source your tallow, it’s best to get grass fed beef. Ideally, you would find a local farmer who you know is honest about their practices and you could buy it from them. However, there are companies online that sell grass fed tallow.
The first time I bought tallow, I bought it from a farmer I met at a local farmer’s market. She told me she would get me tallow the next time she butchered and she also through in two big bags of beef bones for broth for free!. However, this time I had to buy store bought tallow due to availability.
While it’s not ideal, I still believe that it is so much better for you than the store bought, chemical filled lotion. Which brings me to my next point.
Why make your own moisturizer?
There have been recent studies that have come out about phthalates (although we’ve known for awhile that they are bad) and the fact that even if the label reads “phthalate free” the product can still contain them because of the plastic container. Here is one I read recently.
Phthalates are endocrine disrupters. While I am not a doctor, I do know that the endocrine system plays an important part in hormone regulation. This has to be especially bad for a child’s growing body. This tallow balm recipe uses all natural ingredients that can be consumed. If it’s safe to eat, it’s much safer to put on your skin that the store bought version. Since the skin is the largest organ in the body, I feel much better about using tallow balm on my children than the lotions we were previously using.
Again, I’m making no judgements here. We all do what we can with what we have. I don’t think it’s wise to spend the money to make all homemade diy beauty products if you don’t have it. You should never go into debt when getting into homesteading, cooking from scratch, etc. Start slow and do what you can.
I am not downing anyone who uses store bought lotions. Truthfully, we still use store bought products like shampoos, conditioners, etc. However, I slowly want to change that (while still staying within our budget). To do that, it’s going to take time and I will have to buy supplies slowly. But since I had the tallow on hand, I knew that this was the thing to start with.
It was also convenient that this tallow balm is so easy to make. All you need is a pot to melt the tallow in, a hand mixer and a small glass jar.
Is this budget friendly?
Truthfully, tallow balm will never be able to beat the price of a large store bought bottle of lotion for $3. But, if that $3 bottle of lotion is detrimental to your health and costs higher in the long run in medical bills, then yes, it is budget friendly. While that sounds dramatic, remember your skin is soaking up all those chemicals, most of which have studies showing that they are harmful.
The cost for me to make this tallow balm with store bought tallow comes to about $10 a recipe. This price could be cut in half had I been able to buy unrendered tallow in bulk from the farmer I bought from last time.
Also, it takes very very little tallow balm for each use. I use half a pea size on my face and about a pea size for legs and the same for arms. For kids it would be less. So this one batch will last me a long time.
What can I use this tallow balm for?
This recipe is great as a face moisturizer or night cream. It also works well as a daily lotion. I use it in both of these ways most often. But it can be used to treat skin issues that diaper rash in babies or eczema. I have psoriasis on my knuckles and my skin seems to really enjoy this.
Tallow balm is thicker than regular body lotion (it is a balm). But it’s also great for sun burns, and reducing stretch marks or scars. In general, tallow balm helps to reduce inflammation in the skin.
How to make this easy diy whipped tallow balm:
This recipe is not my own. I got it from Bumblebee Apothecary here. The only thing I tweaked was that I added less essential oils than what she calls for simply because I have always had sensitive skin and did not know how it would react to a highly scented balm.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup rendered tallow
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- Essential oil of choice (lavender, peppermint, calendula, etc.)
Instructions:
- Start by melting your tallow on the stovetop on low heat.
- Once melted, pour into a bowl and whisk in the olive oil. Let cool a couple of minutes and then add your essential oils. Only add up to about 50 drops.
- Let your tallow mixture solidify at room temperature.
- Once solid, mix with a hand mixer until whipped and fluffy.
Tips:
- I tried using my kitchen aide mixer to whip the tallow balm, but it didn’t work nearly as well as my hand mixer. I suggest trying a hand mixer first. If you have neither, you can use a whisk, it will just take a little more muscle and time.
- The essential oil scent will not be strong, but be cautious in adding more. You don’t won’t to over do it with essential oils on skin and risk an allergic reaction if you have sensitive skin (I do).
- This makes slightly over a half pint mason jar’s worth of tallow balm. If you don’t want that much, half the recipe.
- The tallow balm should last up to 1 year at room temperature if stored correctly. It should be kept in a cool dark place to get the longest shelf life. Also, make sure that your tallow is fully rendered before making this recipe to really get a good shelf life.
- Don’t expect tallow balm to feel like store bought lotion. While I have read some people saying that it sits on top of their skin, I have not had that experience. I have always had extremely dry skin and it soaks up the tallow balm.
If you have tried making your own tallow balm let me know what you think. If you want another diy recipe, check out this one here for homemade beeswax candles.
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
If you would like to purchase the ingredients for this recipe, check them out below!
Beef Tallow in bulk: https://amzn.to/3AqHdsQ
Olive Oil: https://amzn.to/4htfEjx
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