Homemade Tallow Lotion

I've been making my own lotion for years now and this one has been my go to the longest (at least 5 years now). If you are in the market for natural skin care options, I'm sure you have come across tallow products by now. They are pretty popular and for good reason. To be honest, my skin care routine is very minimum. I don't wear much make up beyond mascara, I wash my face with castile soaps and I use my tallow lotion (all over my body!) after every shower. That's it, that's all. When we started to trying to conceive our second baby, I went fragrance free so I don't add fragrance to this lotion anymore, but you could, if you wanted. Your best bet would be to use a high quality essential oil, but it will be expensive and it will take a lot to get a good, lasting fragrance. I have also used fragrance oils from New Directions Aromatics, but I have no idea how clean they actually are. They have lots of options, if you are interested, though.

The recipe is SO EASY. I don't measure exactly, but you could. So, grab yourself a good quality glass jar (a mason jar is a good option) and let's get to it!

50% Beef Tallow - you can find this from your local farmer, Costco, butcher shop (I recently saw it at Mighty Meats), health food store or on Amazon.

25% Castor Oil

25% Jojoba Oil

Start by filling your jar half full with the tallow. It will be solid, we want to make it liquid. Then you will need to melt the tallow down. I like to do this in a pan of boiling water (see photo above), but you could also use the oven or microwave. You may need to add more tallow. As it melts, it will take up less space in the jar. You want it to fill half of the jar when it is melted. Once it is melted, remove it from the heat and add 1/4 of the jar with castor oil and 1/4 of the jar with jojoba oil. Mix well with a fork or mini whisk. If you are adding fragrance or essential oils, you would add it now. You'll have to experiment to find the right amount for the fragrance you want. Then, you can either let it cool at room temperature or in the fridge. Once it's set, it's good to go!