You know that feeling you get after stepping inside after a long day in the sun, and feel that tight, dry, itchy feeling spreading across your skin? Then you know exactly what this post is about.
No matter if you’re dealing with a full-blown sunburn or just that subtle “crispy” skin feeling after a little too much time in the sun, your skin barrier has taken a hit, and it needs help to heal fast.
Let’s talk about what happens to your skin after sun exposure and why post-sun care matters just as much as preparation. Nourishing and repairing your skin with real ingredients is what your body is desperately craving after a day outside. But why? What is actually happening to your skin when it burns?
What Happens to Skin After Sun Exposure?
When your skin is exposed to UV rays, it experiences oxidative stress. This damages skin cells, weakens your skin barrier, creates inflammation, and leaves your body vulnerable to further moisture loss, irritation, and infection.
That burning, itching, peeling, and tenderness? It’s your body throwing up the red flag that your skin needs help, and fast.
This is where true healing support matters. Not a shelf full of lab-made personal care products loaded with sodium benzoate, preservatives, or diluted actives. Your body deserves whole, organic ingredients that nourish instead of just coating.
Why Tallow is the BEST Option (Especially Grass-Fed, Grass-Finished)
Store bought products are petroleum based. Aside from all of the ick that’s in them, petroleum based products don’t readily absorb into your skin like tallow does. So, you’re left with a feeling like there’s a heavy coating on your skin, and 30 minutes later, you’re feeling dry again.
Tallow made from grass-fed, grass-finished suet is one of the most skin-compatible moisturizers on earth. That’s because it contains the ingredients that are the most similar to our own skin. So it is quickly absorbed and leaves you with a soft, silky texture on your skin. It’s been used for centuries in traditional healing salves and balms for a reason. It contains:
Vitamins A, D, E, and K – which helps with skin cell regeneration, helps with wound healing, protects against damage from free radicals, balances the moisture in the skin, and improves skin texture and coloration.
Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) – known for its anti-inflammatory and healing properties, it stimulates collagen production and strengthens the skin’s barrier.
Stearic and oleic acids – deeply moisturizing and helps strengthen the skin’s lipid barrier.
This isn’t some trendy filler oil. This is real nourishment with active ingredients your skin understands. You’re supporting the regeneration of the skin barrier, not just putting a “band-aid on a broken arm”.
Adding The Herbs: Aloe & Lavender
As if all of those amazing nutrients aren’t enough… let’s level it up. Infusing herbs into oil is one of the best ways to tap into the topical benefits of herbs. When you render fat into tallow, you’re left with a very hard substance. To make it easier to apply, we need to turn it into a balm. That means adding an oil. You can just add plain oil (olive and jojoba are great options), but infusing herbs gives you an extra boost that takes your skin care to the next level.
Lavender and Aloe are the top two herbs for sunburns. Of course, there are several other herbs you can add that soothe the burn and promote skin healing. Feel free to add whatever you like, but here are my favorites:
Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
Infusing lavender flowers into cold-pressed olive oil adds a soothing, anti-inflammatory base that your sun-stressed skin will hugely benefit from.
Lavender has a long history of use for:
Supporting skin repair
Easing redness
Soothing inflammation
Calming irritated nerve endings in burned skin
Aloe Vera (Aloe barbadensis)
Fresh aloe is a go-to after-sun herb for good reason. It:
Cools instantly
Soothes irritated nerve endings
Hydrates deeply
Encourages cellular repair
I add aloe after the balm base has cooled and just before whipping it all together. That thick consistency aloe has is best added before the final mixing process to preserve all of those amazing properties.
A Note About Other Ingredients
You might notice there’s no beeswax or even organic shea butter in this balm. And that’s on purpose. Both of those ingredients are wonderful in many situations (hair masks, lip balms, scar care, soap), but for post-sun care, I prefer the simplicity and richness of tallow paired with olive oil and aloe. Less is more when the skin is already stressed, and tallow is so amazing, it really doesn’t need a whole lot of help.
Ready to Make It?
Making tallow is a bit of a process. Rendering can take several days if there are a lot of impurities, but believe me, it’s worth it. After rendering is done, what you’re left with is an incredible product that you can both cook with and make amazing skin care products with. Even though it can be time-consuming, this recipe is pretty simple to master.
If you want how-to instructions for rendering tallow and how to infuse herbs into oil to incorporate into your tallow balm, they are already available inside my herbal collective membership!
Print out the Soothing Tallow Sun Balm Recipe below, and add it to your Materia Medica…it’s a keeper!
If you prefer to purchase tallow balm, and if you’re looking for one made with real ingredients (no greenwashing, no junk, no sodium benzoate), you can snag some HERE. Keep your eyes out. I make small batches, and they go fast.
Your skin is an organ. The biggest and most important organ in your body. It deserves care, not chemicals. Treat it like you’d treat someone you love.
After Sun Soothing Tallow Balm Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup Tallow
- 1/2 cup Lavender infused Oil (olive or jojoba)
- 1/4 cup Fresh Aloe Vera (or 1/8 cup Aloe gel)
- 30 drops Essential Oil (optional)
Instructions
- Warm tallow on low heat until it is almost melted
- Add in herb-infused olive oil
- Add essential oil if desired
- Let it stand at room temp or put it in the fridge until it is solid
- Whip in a stand mixer or electric mixer for 2 minutes, scrape the sides of the container, and whip again for another minute
- Using fresh aloe: cut the aloe leaf longways, and rub roughly until it is foamy. Then fold it into your tallow mixture until it is fully incorporated.
- Using aloe gel: mix the gel into your tallow mixture a little bit at a time, until it is fully incorporated.
