If you’ve been looking to revamp your skincare routine, let me tell you about herb-infused whipped tallow balm. This stuff is a game changer, especially if you’ve been dealing with dry skin, sensitive skin, you have aging skin, or just want to ditch the toxic ingredients in store-bought skincare products.
Tallow, especially grass-fed beef tallow, is incredibly similar to human skin. It’s rich in fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K, and it’s loaded with nutrients that nourish and repair cell membranes and fat tissue. As a ruminant animal fat, tallow is a deeply natural way to moisturize without the greasy residue or questionable additives.
And as someone who grows herbs and renders tallow from a local grass fed cattle farm, trust me when I say there’s a good reason this old-school skincare staple is making a serious comeback.
Let’s Talk About the Herbs
You could stop at plain grass-fed tallow, it’s amazing on its own, but you’re here, and we talk about how extra amazing herbs are. So let’s talk about how to infuse the oils you need to make whipped tallow with herbs to take them to the next level.
Great options for infusing:
Calendula: Soothes inflammation and helps with skin healing.
Plantain leaf: Draws out toxins and helps soothe bug bites or diaper rash.
Lavender: Calming, smells incredible, and gentle enough for all skin types.
Chamomile: Perfect for sensitive skin and redness.
Yarrow: Astringent, antimicrobial, and a favorite for winter months.
There are two ways to infuse your oil. In both methods, you’ll need to fill a jar halfway with dried herbs of your choice and top the jar with oil (like olive oil, jojoba oil, or grapeseed).
For the fast infusion method, place the jar in a crock pot with a few inches of water and let it sit over very low heat for 2–4 hours. Don’t crank up the high heat, or you’ll fry those delicate plant properties. Strain out the herbs, and you’ve got your infused oil.
For the slow infusion method, put that jar on a shelf in a cool, dark place, and let it sit for 4 weeks. Shake every once in a while to keep things moving. Yes, this method takes a long time, but the finished product you get is far superior in my opinion.
How to Render Fat and Turn It Into Tallow
If you’re sourcing your own fat from a local farmer or if you raised it yourself, you’ll need to render that fat into tallow before turning it into a tallow balm. It’s not hard, it just takes a little time, and your kitchen might smell like animal fat for a day or so, but that’s part of the charm, right?
Here’s how to render fat into creamy, clean grass-fed tallow:
What You’ll Need:
Beef, bison, or deer fat (grass-fed and trimmed of meat bits if possible)
Slow cooker or stovetop pot
Cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer
Clean jars for storage
Steps:
Chop the fat into small chunks. The smaller, the better. It melts faster and more evenly this way. Some folks toss it into a food processor for this step. Totally optional but helpful.
Add to a slow cooker or pot on very low heat. You want it to melt gently, not fry. If your fat gets burnt, it will always smell like burnt meat, and so will your tallow. Patience is your best friend here. Stir occasionally. I like to add a few cups of water during this process too. It’s called wet rendering and helps prevent burning and gives a cleaner render.
Let it melt over several hours. This could take 4–6 hours or more, depending on the size of your fat chunks and your setup. You’ll start to see golden liquid pooling as it starts to render.
Strain it through cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer into a heat-safe container to remove the crispy bits. These bits are called cracklings and they can be used in recipes, fed to animals, or ate straight, so hang on to them!
Let it cool to room temperature, or speed the process up by sticking it in the fridge. It will solidify into creamy, white tallow.
Once it is cool and hardened, you should be able to pop it out of the container. Test if it is fully rendered by cutting the block of tallow in half. It should be hard to cut and break apart. It should not be mushy. If it is mushy at all, repeat the rendering process.
Once your tallow is fully rendered, you need to trim away the impurities by cutting the bottom discolored parts until you see solid white.
Store your rendered beef fat in a cool place, away from direct sunlight. A pantry, cupboard, or even the fridge works great. Properly rendered tallow has an excellent shelf life, especially when kept sealed and away from heat.
If you’re moving right into making tallow balm, let’s move on to the next step…
Tallow Balm Recipe (Whipped & Herbal-Infused)
Now that you have your oil infused and your tallow made, here’s your step-by-step guide to making your own whipped tallow balm.
Ingredients:
1 cup grass-fed beef tallow (rendered or store-bought odorless tallow)
1/4 cup herb-infused olive oil, avocado oil, jojoba oil, or your preferred liquid oil ( to learn more about making herb-infused oil, grab my free guide here)
10–20 drops of essential oil (optional)
Tools:
Stand mixer or hand mixer
Clean jars with lids
Double boiler or slow cooker
Silicone spatula
Directions:
Gently melt your tallow on very low heat. Add your infused liquid oil and stir until combined.
Add your essential oils if desired.
Remove from heat and let the mixture cool until it reaches room temperature and begins to firm up slightly. This helps you get that whipped, fluffy consistency.
Whip with a hand mixer or stand mixer for a few minutes, until it becomes light and airy like whipped body butter.
Scoop into clean jars and store in a cool place, away from direct sunlight or heat. A dark cold place works best for long-term storage. I like the fridge for this.
Tips & Troubleshooting
For a softer balm, increase the ratio of liquid oil (but don’t overdo it. Too much and your solid balm won’t stay solid).
Always use clean jars and store away from heat to increase shelf life.
Start small…your first batch will go a long way since tallow is rich and you don’t need much.
Making your own tallow balm is a great way to reclaim your skincare routine. You know what’s in your jar. No icky ingredients you can’t pronounce. You made it. You can pronounce it… and your skin conditions, dry skin, and sensitive skin will thank you.
