Making Tallow Body Balm

 

In my journey to rid myself of all things poisonous, I have found a great moisturizer body balm, tallow! Tallow is beef fat that has been rendered. To use it for body balm, it has to be rendered at least 2 times, 3 times is even better. The cleaner it is, the longer it will last at room temperature. It's important that all meat and other substances in the fat have been removed. The tallow has to be cleaned pure fat. You can get this tallow, rendered several times until it's light and clean, from Vera at the local Farmer's Market. You can also make it yourself from beef fat, but it's a long and tedious process to get it clean enough to use for body butter.  

This tallow based body balm is a sustainable, chemical-free alternative to synthetic, chemical laden, petroleum-based moisturizers. The only ingredients in it are tallow and olive oil. I added a few drops of my favourite peppermint essential oil, just enough to give it a light scent. 

If using essential oils in something like this, that sits on your skin and soaks in, make sure you are using something that's actually naturally steam distilled and edible. The USDA has a list of acceptable, edible essential oils from specific suppliers. It's called the GRAS list (Generally Regarded As Safe). Some of these are produced by the NOW brand. I am not getting paid to say this, I love the NOW essential oils! They are clean, pure, naturally distilled, some are safely edible and they are so strong!! You can get them on Amazon, or if you are in Fort Nelson, you can buy them at the "Down To Earth" Health Food Store. A particular favourite of mine is their peppermint. It's on the GRAS list, as is their rosemary, lemon and orange. 

I wouldn't use an EO that's made from something toxic, i.e. cedarwood, etc. for this, since it's going to soak into your skin. Make sure it's something on the afore mentioned USDA list, like peppermint or rosemary. I also have NOW lemon and orange EO, but this tallow body balm is for my own use and I didn't want anything astringent, like citrus. If you have oily skin, you might consider using a citrus essential oil. 

You can use some fresh herbs, if you want to dry them and infuse them into the olive oil before using it. This would take time and you would have to strain it very well before using it. I didn't want to take the time this would take, so I stuck with an EO that I had on hand, the NOW peppermint. 

Because the fatty acids in tallow resemble human sebum, it absorbs easily, locking in moisture and reinforcing the skin's natural barrier. It contains vitamins A (skin regeneration), D (anti-inflammatory), E (antioxidant), and K, as well as linoleic acid (CLA), which can reduce inflammation. This anti-inflammatory nature makes it effective for soothing eczema, psoriasis, and intense dry skin. 

My recipe for body butter is 6 parts tallow to 2 parts oil. I used olive oil for it's anti-inflammatory and healing properties, but you can use any light oil that you want in your body balm. 

 

You will need a double boiler, or something like it. I use my trusty glass Pyrex measuring cup in a pot of water with a canning jar ring under it on the bottom of the pot. It worked perfectly! I use this 8 cup Pyrex measuring cup for so many things, and it can go in the microwave too! 

 

 

 

 

 

Before doing anything with the tallow, you should sterilize all equipment and jars. I boiled everything in the pot of water I planned to melt the tallow in, using the same boiling water for everything. I boiled all utensils, including the mixer beaters, silicone spatula, spoon, jars, seals, lids and rings and set on a clean towel for later use. Only after I had all these things sterilized did I start measuring the tallow and olive oil, so the jars have time to cool down before I put the body butter in them. 

A digital scale is handy for measuring anything in the kitchen. When you are ready to start and have your recipe ready to go, measure out the 6 parts tallow to 2 parts olive oil, by weight, into the double boiler method you are using. Melt slowly, stirring constantly until all the tallow is melted. Don't let it get too hot. It should not be smoking or anywhere near a burning temperature. You need it just hot enough to melt the tallow. Once it's almost completely melted, remove it from the heat and continue stirring until all the tallow bits are gone and it all liquid. 

Let it sit and cool until it's cool enough to put your clean finger in it, then add the essential oil you are using. I had approx 300g of tallow and I added 10 drops of peppermint essential oil. This is just a guide for you to go by, you can add as much or as little as you want, or none at all if you like it plain and unscented. The tallow and olive oil will both have their own fatty, oily scent but it's very light. Now that it's finished and I have used it, I realize that I could have used half that much peppermint EO and it would have been fine. The NOW brands are very strong! 

When it has cooled to the point that it's opaque but is still very soft to the touch, it's time to whip it with an electric mixer. If you go away and let it get too hard, you can always heat it up again, for a short burst to soften it. 

When it's cooled enough, beat it with the mixer for a few minutes until it's the consistency you are looking for. This could take a few minutes. It should whip up into a soft but firm butter feel. When it's done and you are happy with the texture, use the sterile silicone spatula to put it into the sterile jars with sterile lids. I used the silicone spatula to clean out the large, glass mixing cup and to clean off the mixer beaters. I wiped off the spatula and the inside of the beaters with my hand and immediately put the body butter on my feet! It's such marvellous stuff!  

It does have a very light, slight bit of a grit to the feel at first touch, but this disappears as soon as you put it on your skin. It just melts away into your skin, no grit, no greasy feel, leaving your skin soft, moisturized and protected. It feels amazing! 

I have put away all the chemical, paraben laden body lotions I have stashed around the house and replaced them all with my new tallow body butter. I love it!  

My next job will be to replace the commercial, SLS containing shampoo!. SLS stands for sodium laurel,- eth sulphate. It's a definite no-no for a healthy body and mind. In truth, this journey into healthier alternatives is as much to regain and hold onto my memory and mind as long as I possibly can, now that I'm entering that "70's" stage where my mental faculties all seem to disappear. I also want to stay strong and healthy physically, and keep my endurance too, of course. Both are important.

 

I dropped the commercial mind robbing, aluminum deodorant a couple of years ago and have not regretted it. I can make my own natural deodorant, but it's available in many forms commercially now.  

The mental clarity I get from eating only meats and eggs now is amazing! I should have dropped carbohydrates from my diet years ago, too!