Whipped Tallow Body Butter
Join me as I walk you through a simple tutorial on how you can take tallow balm & turn it into a fluffy moisturizing body butter.
Your skin will thank you for it!
Whipped Tallow Body Butter
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I’m not sure where you live in the world but I find myself on the chilly prairies of Canada. Yes it is a beautiful country, no I don’t enjoy the weather. Dreams of beaches, warmer weather & sun filled adventures are what’s in store in the coming months.
However, I find this time of year hard. Do you relate? Feeling the pull to hibernate & go within while simultaneously feeling that itch for the seasons to change & waiting for the first signs of spring to emerge. I find during these times my self care can get ignored & one of my favorite things to do is play in the kitchen & make my own body products.
It’s time to start getting our skin sun ready after all. Or at least pamper ourselves with our dreams of warmer days & one of my favorite ways to do that is with a glorious whipped body butter.
If you read last week's post I introduced you to one of my absolute favorite skin care products called Tallow Balm. Read all about the amazing skin benefits tallow balm has to offer HERE
Just to quickly recap what tallow balm is, it's a mixture of rendered grass fed tallow & an oil to help soften up the tallow a bit. If you’ve ever used tallow it is pretty hard so the added oil is of great benefit & you can receive even more benefits to the skin depending on which type of oil you choose to use.
In the tallow balm portion of this recipe I used an avocado oil that I had infused with chamomile, lavender & horsetail. Now these choices were far from random & I will share with you a bit of information regarding these plant allies.
Chamomile
Matricaria recutita
Primary actions of concern, this means these are the properties we are wanting to know regarding what the plant does in the body & where in the body it really likes to go.
Primary actions: spasmolytic (can relieve spasm of the smooth muscles), inflammation modulating, antifungal, antimicrobial (due to the high content of essential oils) & vulnerary (helps wounds heal more rapidly)
Affinities: smooth muscle, nervous system & the skin
It can provide relief & help with chronic skin conditions like eczema or acne but it will not get to the root cause as to why you have eczema or acne. Learn more about that HERE
Energetics: cooling & relaxant
Ruling planet: Venus
Ruling element: Air
Ruling principle: Sulfur
Learn more about what this means HERE
Lavender
Lavandula
Primary actions: spasmolytic, inflammation modulating, circulatory diffusive (breaks up stagnant energy & moves it throughout the body.
Affinities: skin, nervous system, musculoskeletal system & cardiovascular system. It also has an affinity for the female reproductive system & could be used to help relieve cramps.
Energetics: cooling (when applied topically, heating when taken internally), relaxant, drying, diffusive
Ruling planet: Mercury
Ruling element: Air
Ruling principle: Sulfur
Horsetail
Equisetum arvense
Actions: astringent, alterative, inflammation modulating, nutritive tonic
The nutritive tonic aspect is interesting because horsetail is silica rich which means it contains a mix of silicon & oxygen. Silicon is key to the synthesis of collagen which is one of our key building blocks of the skin that is essential to strength & elasticity.
Affinities: musculoskeletal system, nervous system & skin
Energetics: Cooling, tonifying & drying
Ruling planet: Saturn
Ruling element: Water
Ruling principle: Salt
Whipped Tallow Body Butter
Shea Butter
Raw, Unrefined
This is another product that, much like tallow, has a biology similar to our skin. It is important to make sure you are using raw, unrefined shea butter. During the refinement process shea butter loses some of its essential nutrients & is best to avoid when making body products.
A very interesting thing about shea butter is that although it is a tree nut it is very low in the proteins that can trigger an allergic reaction. Allergens are made up of proteins & shea butter is make up of fat. Read more about that HERE.
Shea butter contains a high concentration of vitamins A, E & fatty acids such as linoleic, oleic, stearic & palmitic. These all provide moisturizing effects to the skin & might help to reduce the appearance of scars & stretch marks
It contains a natural SPF (sun protection factor) of 3 to 4. Shea butter contains something called cinnamic acid which provides protection against UV rays. SOURCE
Arrowroot powder
This is an optional ingredient so your body butter will still be glorious without it. Sometimes body butters & lotions can feel greasy on the skin & adding arrowroot powder can help reduce the greasy texture.
However, what could the greasy feeling actually mean?
If you find yourself to be greasy for a while after you use body butter or lotion, that's a sign from the infinite wisdom of your body.
If your skin drinks up the body butter & absorbs everything quickly that’s a signal that your skin is hydrated.
If your skin feels greasy & is having a hard time absorbing the body butter that’s a signal that your skin is dehydrated of oil. If this is the case for you I would increase your intake of unprocessed, good quality oils. Remember I am not a doctor but this is something I ask during client assessments & intakes to see what the state of your hydration is.
Another optional ingredient you could use are essential oils. I prefer to keep my things unscented as I can get overstimulated from strong scents but you do what you feel is best for you! If you are choosing to use essential oils then please be sure to follow the manufacturers recommended dilution rate.
Recipe & tutorial
In a double boiler combine:
½ cup tallow balm
¼ cup raw unrefined shea butter
Once combined pour into a bowl you can place in the freezer
You want the liquid to solidify in the freezer for 10-20 minutes.
You want to be able to push a finger into it & leave an indent
You don’t want it completely solid.
Whip up for 5 minutes until the color changes from yellow to white & reaches a nice consistency. Pause periodically to scrape the sides of the bowl
This is the color you’re looking for
If adding essential oils do so now according to the manufacturer's dilution recommendations. Whip until fully combined.
If adding arrowroot powder start by incorporating ½ tsp & whip up until combined. If that is not enough add another ½ tsp & repeat until it’s a texture you like
Place in an airtight storage jar & use whenever your skin is calling for extra hydration & moisturization.
Notes:
If you didn’t have any tallow balm
In a double boiler
6 Tbsp of Grass-fed beef tallow
¼ cup raw unrefined shea butter
Stir until combined over a low heat.
Take off the heat & mix in
2 Tbsp of oil such as olive or avocado
Pour into a bowl you can place in the freezer & follow the rest of the original directions
Once you make this recipe I would love to hear about how it went for you. Thanks for reading & may you find peace wherever you are!
Watch the video & tutorial HERE.