“Yes, ladies, we’re putting beef fat on our faces!!” How my friends and I laugh when we get together and make this cream. But all kidding aside, Tallow Balm—made from rendered beef fat and a touch of olive oil—is quite soothing to all types of skin, particularly dry skin.
This cream is perfect to use on your entire body, and it’s especially wonderful for dry, cracked heels. Put some on when you get out of the shower, slip on your socks, and rest in bed. In the morning, your feet will feel petal-soft!
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Table of Contents
Personalize Your Tallow Balm
This recipe for making Tallow Balm is very flexible. You start with the rendered beef fat and then add a bit of oil of your choice, such as:
- Olive oil
- Sesame oil
- Avocado oil
- Coconut oil
I like olive oil, but you can use any nourishing oil you want. In addition to olive oil, I also like to add a few drops of rose hip oil, argan oil, and castor oil when I make Tallow Balm to use on my face. These particular oils are thought to help to decrease the appearance of fine lines.
Tallow Balm Does Not Smell Like Beef
You don’t need to worry about the aroma of your homemade tallow balm. After you add a few drops of your favorite essential oil, you’ll never know you’re putting beef fat on your skin!
Note of caution: Make sure that you test the balm on a small area of your inner arm to make sure that the essential oils do not irritate your skin.
More Homemade Remedies
Now that you know how to make tallow cream, watch the following videos to learn more recipes too.
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Tallow Balm
Ingredients
- 3.5 ounces Beef tallow
- 2 tablespoons Olive oil or other oil of choice, such as sesame oil, avocado oil, or coconut oil
- 25-50 drops Essential oils your choice
Instructions
- Melt the tallow over medium heat. Once melted, remove the tallow from the heat and transfer it to a medium-sized bowl. Allow the tallow to cool at room temperature for approximately 10 minutes.
- Add the olive oil to the tallow.
- Now add the essential oils of your choice. For this balm, you should add 25 drops of essential oil if making a face cream and 50 drops of essential oil if making a body cream.
- Allow the mixture to cool in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Then remove the mixture from the refrigerator and use an electric hand mixer to whip the balm into a cream-like consistency.
- Decant the balm into a lidded jar. Store in a cool dark place, such as a cabinet or pantry.
- The shelf life of the balm is approximately 1 year. Please see "Important Information" in the Recipe Notes section below before using your Tallow Balm.
Video
Notes
Shop for items used in this blog post or video
Favorite Balm Supplies
- Beef Tallow – 2 lbs
- Beef Tallow – 8 lbs
- Fatworks Grass Fed Beef Tallow, 14 oz
- Ball 4-Ounce Quilted Crystal Jelly Regular Mouth Jars with Lids and Bands, Set of 12
Favorite Essential Oils
- Frankincense Therapeutic Grade Essential Oil – 10 ml
- Living Flower Holy Basil Organic Essential Oil, 0.16 Fluid Ounce
- NOW Foods Essential Oils:
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Disclaimer:I am not a medical doctor, a medical professional, a dietician, or a nutritionist. All content found on the MarysNest.com website, including text, images, videos, eBooks or eGuides, social media, or other formats, were created solely for informational purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or proper nutritional advice. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have watched in a video or read on this website. Use caution when following the recipe in this video. The creator and publisher of this video and website will not be held responsible for any adverse effects that may arise from the use of this recipe and method or any other recipe and method on this website or corresponding video channel.
Hi Mary,
Live north of L A, originally from SA/Austin…love your website and blogs?
Have you ever used dried flowers in this facial butter to scent instead of the essential oils?
I would think putting them in the heated oil to infuse would work and then straining before going into the frig?
Also, I bought some bison tallow today at the store and when I heated it it did have a distinct smell, not terrible but not great… Is there anyway to get rid of that smell? I think I read somewhere that I could heat it outside and let it cook a bit a bit longer and that would help to get rid of it? Thank you for any comments or suggestions.
Best regards,
Holly
Hi Holly, Greetings to my former fellow Texan! 😉 You have some great questions. Yes, I like your idea of heating oil infused with dried flowers. That should work great. Hmmm…yes, Bison tallow is strong. Even stronger than Beef tallow. What you want to do, is heat your bison tallow on very low heat and add a pinch of baking soda and a drop of white vinegar and simmer it for about an hour or so. That *might* help to get rid of some of the “bisony” smell. But it’s not a 100% perfect solution. Cooking it outside for an extended period of time is interesting. Maybe do that and add the baking soda and vinegar. That might just do the trick! Keep me posted. I’d be interested in learning what works. Love, Mary