Tallow is a miraculous ingredient. Of course in homestead circles, I have heard about it for years, but it wasn’t until I made my own tallow balm that I understood the excitement. Now, tallow has been an incredible addition to my skincare routine because it is so hydrating and nourishing. I have only been using tallow balm for a few weeks and my skin is already transformed from dry, irritated, and flakey, to supple, soft, and even! I love this recipe so much that I have forsaken almost all my other skincare for tallow because it does such a great job of keeping my skin hydrated, clear, and nourished.
What is tallow?
Tallow is pure rendered beef fat. It is made by melting, stirring, and straining the fat until it is a light color and consistent texture.
Benefits of using beef tallow for skin
Tallow is incredibly moisturizing and nourishing. Because it is a completely natural product, it replenishes the skin’s elasticity which naturally declines with age. Tallow also creates a protective barrier on the skin which helps to lock in moisture while still allowing the skin to breathe.
Does tallow balm smell bad?
Some people do not love the smell of tallow by itself or in skin care. Some people don’t mind the smell or don’t think it smells like anything. I personally don’t mind the slight, earthy smell of tallow balm, but if you do you can certainly mask the scent with an essential oil of your choice.
Where can I buy tallow?
I make my own tallow using beef fat from a local farm. I wrote a really helpful blog on it for you to follow as well! I use to buy pure rendered tallow at one of my favorite local farms where I also source raw milk, pasture-raised eggs, and other beef products. This farm is very reputable and I have trusted and loved all their products. If you cannot find tallow locally, this one is an excellent alternative. I would suggest you visit local farms, farmers’ markets, and butcher shops to ask for tallow or beef fat to render into tallow.
How to use tallow balm
A little tallow goes a long way. This balm is very thick and nourishing, so you won’t need much. On my face, I like to do a thicker layer at night and a lighter one in the morning. Because the balm includes so many great ingredients, you won’t need to use any other oils or lotions in your routine. I would recommend experimenting with the balm to see how much your skin needs.
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Supplies and Ingredients You will need:
- Hand or stand mixer
- Double Boiler
- Small glass jars-I like to reuse small glass candle jars, jam jars, or skin care tubs. Be sure to wash thoroughly!
- If you don’t have any jars to reuse, you can find beautiful amber glass jars here
- 100% pure rendered beef tallow
- Raw, organic Shea Butter
- Raw, organic, local honey (use Manuka if you can’t get your hands on local!)
- Skin oils-my favorites are jojoba, rosehip seed oil, marula oil, and argan oil
- Aloe Vera in gel form or from an aloe plant *optional*
Whipped Tallow Balm
Ingredients
- 32 g pure, organic, unscented, grass-fed tallow
- 10 g shea butter or mango butter
- 5 g organic, raw, local honey
- 1 oz face oils of your choice I like to use jojoba, rosehip seed oil, Marula oil, and argan oil. It does not matter how much of each oil you use as long as it totals to 1 oz.
- 5 g aloe vera I have an aloe plant that I use, but you can also use aloe from a tube, as long as it is pure, 100% aloe
- 5 drops *optional* vanilla essential oil if your face is very sensitive, dry, or irritated, do not use any essential oils!
Instructions
- In a large heat-safe bowl, weigh your tallow and shea butter separately.
- Meanwhile, prepare a pot of simmering water and place the heat safe bowl over the water so the shea butter and tallow are gently heated.
- Remove from heat and add the oils (not essential oil yet) and honey. Stir until mostly dissolved.
- Place your bowl in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes until it begins to solidify and turn an almost dark green color. You do not want it to be completely solid, but look like it is waxed over.
- You can now add the aloe and essential oils (because they are sensitive to heat).
- Use a hand or stand mixer to whip on high for around 10 minutes until the tallow balm is pale, creamy, and has air pockets
- Fill small jars with the tallow balm and store in the refrigerator or a cool dark place until ready to use.
If stored properly, tallow can last for up to 6 months. Always store in a cool dark place.
This recipe! I just finished my fourth batch and I continue to get requests for jars that I’ve been sharing with friends. My daughter’s BFF discontinued her acne medication after using the moisturizer for a month. She said she spent years and lots of money trying to clear her face up and this is the only thing that did it. You’ve made me look like a genius.
Hey Erin,
I’m sooo glad you love it! Tallow is such an amazing ingredient It makes us all look like geniuses.
xo,
R
Hi Regina,
I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed watching your video on creating a whipped tallow balm with honey and shea! It was so informative and inspiring.
I’m planning to make my own whipped tallow balm using a container of already rendered grass-fed wagyu tallow that I have, along with beeswax pellets and Manuka honey. I’ve used a similar blend before and found it worked wonderfully for my face, neck, and even scalp and hair.
Could you please share the measurements you would recommend for each ingredient? Also, when I opened the jar of tallow, I noticed a slight beefy smell. It’s from a legitimate source, but I’m wondering if I need to render it down again or if the beeswax and Manuka honey will help with the scent.
Thank you so much for your guidance and for sharing your amazing recipes!
Hey Joseph! So glad you’re enjoying the blog.
Just use the measurements I list in the above blog and you should be good!
As for smell…sometimes tallow can smell a little bit beefy, this isn’t necessarily a problem. But if you want it to be completely odorless, you can render it a few more times. You can follow my blog on rendering tallow here if you don’t already know how to do this.
xo,
R
Thanks Regina! 🙂
Hi! I’m super excited to be making this tomorrow, I just want to know if castor oil can be used? If you recommend not using it and why?
Hey there, I don’t personally use castor oil, but you can if you know it works for you! I would only recommend using oils on your face that you have tested before.
Enjoy your tallow balm!
R
This is the absolute BEST recipe!! Ive used lavender and vanilla in it for a facial cream, and also a “snooze” blend of essential oils I found on Amazon that I use on my feet and hands right before bed. I cant thank you enough for this!!
Hey Becky! I am so so glad you love it! It’s my holy grail of tallow recipes and I use it on my face and body all the time!
xo,
R
Hello Regina,
Sorry to bother but I’m trying to start making my own beef tallow moisturizer recipe and I’m not having much luck getting the right consistency. My tallow is greasy and doesn’t hold the whip well. I personally don’t mind it but I’d like to get the perfect recipe to use it for gifts and such. I have 24 (1.69 oz) jars that I would like to fill. I tried my first batch yesterday consisting of:
20oz beef tallow
2oz beeswax
0.8oz squalane oil
0.6oz argan oil
0.6oz vegetable glycerin
0.4oz hyaluronic acid
I was wondering if adding more beeswax and maybe some mãnuka honey or local honey would help fix the greasiness issue or reducing oil amounts but I’m new to this and was hoping for some guidance. Would you mind assisting me in adjusting my recipe?
Hey there, I can tell you have a high ratio of oils to tallow in your recipe. I would recommend using more tallow and less oil in general and excluding additives like vegetable glycerin. I’d highly recommend using my recipe above, it comes out perfect every time!!
xo,
Regina
Am I reading this right? All the ingredients are in grams except for the facial oil which is one ounce, it that grams or an ounce? Thank in advance!
Yes! The units are all correct. tThe facial oil is measured as a fluid ounce 🙂
I’m wanting to add magnesium to my recipe and well as calendula oil.
Do you have any recommendations on ratios?
Should I keep honey or omit?
Hey Krystal,
I am actually working on developing a magnesium lotion recipe right now so stay tuned!
xo,
Regina
This is certainly one of the most exquisite tallow balm formulas available. I’ve learned that I can exclude the aloe vera gel without altering the ingredients, but I’m unsure how to add beeswax to the shea butter without making the balm too hard. I’m not very skilled at estimating ratios, so it’s best to ask. I won’t be using any essential oils in my balm, so I’d like to make the most of the fragrance of beeswax. 🙂
Hello I have made whipped tallow a few times. Just using tallow and jojoba oil and essential oils. But lately it’s separating just a day after whipping it. I haven’t changed anything I have done with the recipe. Any ideas of what I can do to fix this? Thanks Emilie
Hey Emilie,
What kind of tallow are you using? Are you using fat drippings from roasting? If so it might be causing this problem because it is more liquid at room temperature. Only using oil and tallow can work but is tricky because both can be too soft at room temperature. I usually add shea, mango, or cocoa butter to my tallow skincare (see the recipe above) to help stabilize the mixture at room temp.
xo,
Regina
Is honey used to preserve the tallow? If so is it an effective preservative and how long does it preserve for? If not what is the best way to extend the shelf life of tallow?
The honey does preserve the tallow. The tallow balm can last up to a year at room temperature. After that I smell it and check for mold regularly and if there isn’t any, I continue to use.
xo,
Regina
Hi. I think I’ll give this recipe a go – do you think I could swap out the shea for cacao butter and how do you ‘get’ the aloe gel from the plant – I have so much!
Yes you can absolutely swap them out! I love using cacao butter for this recipe. For the aloe, I will cut one of the “leaves” of the aloe off, cut open the leaf, and scrape the juice out. The aloe is usually not very smooth at this point so you can add it to a small bowl and use a fork to get out any lumps. I hope you enjoy the tallow balm!
xo,
Regina
Is there any worry of the aloe going bad quickly in the mixture? Pure aloe can be tricky in how long before it goes bad.
I’ve never had a problem with it, but you can totally omit it if like!
Hi there! I once in a while have an issue with my balm once it has set that there is little odd hard tiny balls in the balm. Is this an issue with the way everything is cooling? I usually allowed it to cool on the counter. Is the trick letting it cool in the fridge for 20 mins?
Hi there! Cooling it in the fridge definitely has made a huge difference for me in the texture of the balm…if I were you I would spoon out the tiny balls and take a look at them: are they bits of crystalized honey? Tallow that didn’t completely melt? Aloe that didn’t mix in well? Answering this question will probably help you fix the problem.
Good luck and let me know if you have any further questions!
xo,
Regina
Could I use colloidal silver aloe gel in the balm to make it antiseptics and perhaps some vitamins e as a natural preservative?
These sounds like great amendments to the recipe! Please let me know if you try them and how they turn out 🙂
xo,
Regina
Have you ever used lard rather than tallow in this recipe? Thank you
I have not ever used lard in skincare…but I would recommend tallow over lard because it has a wider range of benefits for your skin.
xo,
Regina
I have not yet tried this recipe, but I make and sell tallow balm (half tallow / half lard) great consistency and great benefits in the lard as well as tallow
I made my first batch a few weeks ago and my skin (cystic acne) has never been clearer or softer. But, I can still smell the “beef” scent lingering slightly.
Did I make a mistake rendering, or is that just an unavoidable thing? I don’t really care, I’ll be using it forever now, but I also made extras to gift for Christmas. I just want to be sure I didn’t screw up somewhere before I do that.
Congratulations on your clear skin! My skin health has also drastically improved since using this tallow balm. It really depends on how you rendered it to know why it smells beefy. I use a wet rendering method and melt and clean the tallow several times before storing it in order to reduce the beefy smell. You also want to use a high quality beef fat from a trusted source. Please let me know how you progress in your rendering skills and good luck!
xo,
Regina
Thank you for the recipe. Do you ever use suet (kidney fat)?
Also, I have been experimenting with making tallow products but have never rendered my own fat. I use EPIC tallow and it has a rather high melting point and is half liquid in room temperature. Is that normal?
Hey Emelia,
I have never used suet in my skincare but it should work! The EPIC tallow should be fine…have you tried using it in tallow balm yet?
xo,
Regina
If I wanted to leave out the butters ( I don’t have any at the moment) should I just increase the amount of tallow I use by 10grams?
Yes, this is a great idea if you don’t have any of the butters… the texture might be slightly different, but that’s okay!
xo,
Regina
If you are not adding aloe or essential oils, do you still need to refrigerate before whipping?
Yes, either way you need to refrigerate in order for the tallow mixture to set up a little which is how you obtain a really light and fluffy whip!
xo,
Regina
I love this recipe! Thank you so much for posting! I’m wondering if you’ve ever tried making magnesium lotion with tallow? If do, can you dissolve magnesium flakes in the tallow itself instead of water? The recipe I used had me use water and then imulsify using beeswax as a bonding agent to the oil but you can drill see where it’s separating. I’m wondering if you could just throw out the water altogether? What are your much more experienced thoughts?
Hey Liv, I have been considering publishing a magnesium lotion recipe actually…I would use magnesium drops if I did that and emulsify it into a melted tallow, shea, and beeswax mixture. Would you like to see such a recipe/tutorial? Definitely consider subscribing to my newsletter if you’re not already for updates on future blogs like this! Thanks so much for commenting with your ideas, I love getting feedback from y’all!
xo,
Regina
Is the 1 oz of oils 28 grams? Or is it fluid oz? Sorry if it’s a dumb question. Appreciate you!
Yes, 1 oz is approximately 28 grams. I hope you enjoy your tallow balm!
Hi, I’m new to tallow but super interested in making my own skincare, as I’ve tried so many brand products and never seem to get the moisture and glow I’m looking for. With this recipe can you just add honey to the mix and whip the tallow ? If that’s possible what would the ratio of tallow to raw honey be ? Thank you
Hey Eve, I would recommend you also add the oils and butters as my recipe recommends above, but you can certainly whip just melted tallow with honey using my method too!
If you just used tallow and honey, would you still use 5g of honey? Or would you adjust the weight?
Yes, you can try just tallow and honey, but the texture won’t be the same as if you used the oils and butters. You can add in more honey or keep it the same…but I would definitely play around with ratios to find out what works best!
xo,
Regina
Hi! Love this recipe! Does the Aloe Vera mix with the tallow without making it mold? If not, what form of Aloe Vera do you use (gel, juice, aloe in oil)?
Thanks!
Hey Erin! I have never had an issue with the aloe causing molding, but if you’re worried about it, you can absolutely leave it out!
I use aloe from my aloe plant, but if you don’t have one of those, you can buy aloe vera gel:)
xo-Regina
Hello! I’m wondering if it would be okay to leave out the aloe? Would I need to adjust any other ratios, or could I just not put it in and leave everything else the same? I’m excited to try this! Thank you!
Hello! Yes you can absolutely leave out the aloe, I do sometimes with no other adjustments. Enjoy!
Considering that you’re adding aloe to an otherwise anhydrous product, shouldn’t there be a preservative included?
Great Question! I don’t like to add preservatives (which often aren’t great for your skin) and I have never needed to add one to this recipe. The balm usually lasts 6-8 months at room temperatures. If you need more time you can put tallow balm in the freezer until you are ready to use it!
How do I find local beef tallow
This is a great question! I would visit a local small farm where beef products are sold and ask them if they have ready made tallow, or beef fat that you can render yourself. A great way to find a farm like this is by going to a farmer’s market near you and asking anyone selling animal products if they know of such a farm.
Good Luck 🙂
Thank you so much for posting this recipe! This will be my first time making tallow balm and I’m so excited to make it! The question I have is will the finished product/texture stay “whipped” or “airy” after you make it?
Hey Amy,
The whipped texture will slowly lessen over time, but the balm will remain light and airy. The texture also depends on how warm you keep your house. When the tallow becomes too warm and melts, it will be less airy and whipped. If you keep it cool the texture will keep longer.
Hope this helps!
R