How to Make Tallow Balm DIY

Have you heard or seen all of the hype about tallow lately? It seems to be the biggest trend in natural skincare this year, and guess what? I am totally on board with it and I’ll show you how easy it is to make tallow balm yourself in a few simple steps.

I started buying and using tallow balms on my son’s eczema a couple of years ago but decided I could make it myself much cheaper. The great news is that you can do the same! The beauty of making tallow balms yourself is that you can customize them. I am constantly trying new blends like a tallow face cream or a tallow balm for boo-boos or bugs. You can use tallow on its own, add essential oils, or even do herbal infusions (this is what I prefer to do).

Suet vs Trim

I generally prefer to use kidney fat (suet) in my balms. Some people are totally fine with using trim fat (fat near the skin) or a combination of the two, but I find that the trim fat is too soft at room temperature and prone to melting (it’s great for soap-making though), while suet is solid at room temperature. When I make my balms, I will mix my tallow with another plant oil to help keep it a softer texture.

Where to Source Tallow

Now, where do you get tallow, especially if you live in the suburbs like me? By the way, tallow is from a cow or sheep, while lard is from pigs! When we get our yearly quarter of beef we ask the processor to include the fat. This is a great option because technically you’ve already paid for the hanging weight, fat included, but it does take extra work as you have to chop, render, and store all of the fat. See this post on How to Render Tallow if you want to take on that challenge. There are also great options for buying pre-rendered tallow. Some cattle farms have started selling their own tallow (check out local farms around you), some cosmetic/soap suppliers have started stocking it, and there are also companies like FATWORKS or EPIC (but those tend to be more trim fat meant for cooking).

Grass-fed or Not

Another thing to note, which is a personal choice, is that some prefer to exclusively use grass-fed and grass-finished tallow. I generally like to use grass-fed tallow, but I do not worry about the finishing, especially because we enjoy the taste of grain-finished beef best. We know the farmer and their practices, and we are comfortable with what they use.

Tallow Balm or Whipped Tallow

This is completely up to you. A balm will be more like a traditional salve texture, thick and smooth. A whipped tallow balm will have more of a silky and buttery texture when applied. There is no difference in the benefits, so go with what you like.

Noncomedogenic

What did I just say? I still don’t think I can say that word out loud correctly. Basically, this word tells us something is not likely to clog our pores. There is a comedogenic scale of 0-5, with 0-2 being considered noncomedogenic.

How do you know which ones are or aren’t? Many products will now have labels telling you they are noncomedogenic, but it’s not super regulated. The best thing to do is look up the ingredients on Google. It can also be different for each person, depending on their skin type. For example, I cannot use coconut oil on my face, but it’s fine for the rest of my body. But I have friends who swear by using coconut oil on their faces. Always try something new with a patch test on your skin to ensure you don’t react and remember everyone’s skin is unique.

Benefits of Using Tallow on Your Skin

Most of this is from personal experience (I am not a doctor and none of this information should be considered medical advice. Please speak with your doctor for any medical needs). Tallow is moisturizing, it keeps the moisture in our skin and helps with our skin barrier. It can soothe irritations and redness, or in my son’s case, help his eczema. I’ve had countless friends and family fall in love with using tallow. I love that it’s a natural alternative to most of the alcohol-containing products in the store.

Plant Oils

• Jojoba oil
• Coconut oil
• Emu oil
• Rosehip oil
• Tamanu oil
• Sea Buckthorn oil

Essential Oils

• Lavender
• Rosewood
• Lemongrass
• Blue Tansy
• Frankincense

My favorite place to purchase affordable essential oils: Plant Therapy.

Herbs

• Calendula
• Chamomile
• Dandelion
• Lavender
• Chickweed
• Yarrow
• Willow bark
• Comfrey
• Marshmallow Root
• Helichrysum

My favorite places to buy dried herbs: Mountain Rose Herbs, Frontier Co-op, Starwest Botanicals.

Tallow Balm Recipe

Equipment:

• Double boiler or small crockpot (preferred)
• Hand mixer with whisk attachment
• Mesh Sieve
• Cheesecloth
• Fridge or Freezer for cooling
• Spatula
• Mixing bowl (I prefer plastic in this scenario)
• Jars/lids to store balms
• Piping bag and tips

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Ingredients:

• 10oz Rendered Tallow
• 2.5oz Oil of choice
• *2-4tsps Herb(s) of choice
• *40-60 Drops of essential oil (make sure you check the proper dilution ratio for each one)

*Optional

Instructions:

1. A day or two before you want to make tallow, add tallow to the crock pot and turn on the warm setting (do not use the low setting, it is too hot), and add herbs of choice right on top of tallow infusing for 24-48 hours. If using a double boiler, you can do this step the day-of. Be sure to keep heat on a very low setting and infuse for 2-3 hours – keep watch so it doesn’t scorch or run out of water.
2. If not infusing tallow, place tallow in the crock pot, turn on the warm setting (do not use the low setting, it is too hot), and let it melt for a couple of hours
3. Put oil of choice into infusion and keep on warm heat for about 10 minutes (you want all the oils to be the same temperature)
4. Next, strain infusion through a sieve with folded cheesecloth into the mixing bowl if used herbal infusion, otherwise pour tallow into mixing bowl
5. Now at this point you have two options:
   • Jar as a traditional balm (add any essential oils, stir well, pour balm in jars to cool) OR continue with a couple of steps for a whipped tallow balm
6. Put the tallow mixture straight into the freezer for about 10 minutes (time will vary between appliances)
7. Quickly remove the bowl from the freezer and whisk the cooled tallow from the sides of the bowl back in with any still-liquid tallow
8. Place bowl back into the freezer for another 5 minutes (the goal is to quickly cool the tallow and oils to room temperature, so it doesn’t get grainy)
9. Remove the bowl from the freezer and blend the cooled tallow with a hand mixer again until it looks like whipped cream (you may have to repeat this step again)
10. Add any essential oils if desired and whip again
11. Jar your whipped tallow (you can just use a spatula, or you can use a piping tip and bag)

Notes:

• The freeze-whip rotation sometimes takes 3-4 rounds to get the temperature right, don’t get discouraged, just keep sticking the mixture back in and then taking it out and whipping until you have it!
• I don’t know the exact shelf-life of a tallow balm, but my best guess is 6-12 months.

Let Me Show You How to Make Tallow Balm

A Day or Two Before You Make Your Tallow Balm

First add rendered tallow to the crock pot, turn on the warm setting (do not use the low setting, it is too hot), and add herbs of choice right on top and infuse for 24-48 hours.

Day of Making Tallow Balm

If using a double boiler, be sure to keep heat on a very low setting and infuse for 2-3 hours – keep watch so it doesn’t scorch or run out of water.

If not infusing tallow, place tallow in the crock pot, turn on the warm setting (do not use the low setting, it is too hot), and let it melt for a couple of hours

Next put oil of choice into infusion and keep on warm heat for about 10 minutes (you want all the oils to be the same temperature)

Then, strain herbal infusion through a sieve with folded cheesecloth into the mixing bowl if you made an herbal infusion, otherwise pour tallow into a mixing bowl.

Now, at this point you have two options: Jar as a traditional balm (add any essential oils, stir well, pour balm in jars to cool) OR continue with a couple of steps for a whipped tallow balm.

Freeze-Whip Method for Whipped Tallow Balm

Hang in there with me on this part. Put the tallow mixture straight into the freezer for about 10 minutes (time will vary between appliances, just takes practice). Quickly remove the bowl from the freezer and whisk the cooled tallow from the sides of the bowl back in with any still-liquid tallow.

Place the bowl back into the freezer for another 5 minutes. The goal is to quickly cool the tallow mixture down to room temperature, so it doesn’t get grainy. Remove the bowl from the freezer and blend the cooled tallow with a hand mixer again until it looks like whipped cream (you may have to repeat the freeze-whip step a couple of times). Add any essential oils if desired and whip again.

Lastly, jar your whipped tallow (you can just use a spatula, or you can use a piping tip and bag).

Congrats, you make tallow balm! Let us know how it turned out in the comments.

Check out our how-to for making Tallow Soap next.