How to Make Tallow Lip Balm at Home

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If you’ve ever looked at the list of ingredients of store bought lip balm, you’re likely to see ingredients you cannot pronounce or do not recognize. If you are well versed in conventional beauty product ingredients, you may recognize many ingredients as being potentially toxic or inflammatory. By making your own Tallow lip balm, you will not only save quite a bit of money, you’ll also be using a healthier product! 

Tallow for Lip Balm

Tallow is an animal fat that is rich in essential fat soluble vitamins and minerals such as: vitamin A, D, E and K. When applied to the skin, these vitamins and minerals can get absorbed and aid in keeping skin healthy.

Since tallow has become well known for being a cooking fat, it is safe to use in cosmetics around the lips. In addition to being safe to use around the lips, the fatty acids within tallow have been discovered to be one of the most compatible with human skin. Meaning, tallow is easily absorbed by your skin. 

Where to Find Tallow

Tallow has been making a coming back in the market in recent years. While you may have seldom seen it in your town, you may now find it in local grocery stores. The best place to source your tallow is from a local farmer that treats their animals well. A great resources to find sellers is the Weston A. Price Foundation.

Coconut Oil for Lip Balm

Using coconut oil in homemade lip balm primarily aids in soothing irritation and hydrating dry skin. 

Beeswax for lip balm

Beeswax in homemade lip balm is essential for creating some structure in the lip balm. This structure is especially important for warmer temperatures. Without the addition of beeswax, a lip balm of only tallow and coconut oil will easily become liquid in a pocket or in a warm car or purse. 

Almond oil for lip balm

Although the amount of almond oil in this recipe is quite small, it provides vitamin e to aid in preserving the lip balm. 

Vitamin E is also well known for its benefits in protecting the skin and reducing free radicals.

Essential Oils for lip balm

Although you do not need to add essential oils, they do add to the experience of using your lip balm. 

If you choose to use essential oils, I recommend using peppermint. Other good options would be frankincense, chamomile, or sweet orange. 

If you don’t have any essential oils, you can also use almond extract or vanilla extract to add scent. 

When choosing an essential oil for your lip balm, I would suggest staying away from too much citrus oil as it can make your skin more sensitive to the sun. with too much sun exposure, you could damage your skin.

Looking for more tallow based skincare? You will LOVE this Whipped Tallow Balm!

Ingredients and Tools 

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3 Tbsp Tallow

1 Tbsp coconut oil

1 Tbsp Beeswax

¼ tsp Almond oil

5-10 drops peppermint essential oil

A double boiler 

12 Lip balm tubes that hold approximately 0.15 oz each 

Directions

Add your tallow, coconut oil, beeswax and almond oil to your double boiler. 

Heat all ingredients until melted and mix well. 

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While the lip balm ingredients are melting, set up your lip balm tubes. 

If you don’t have a filling tray, an easy way to ensure the tubes do not fall over while filling in is to gather all the tubes together in a circle and secure a rubber band around the outer perimeter of the circle. 

Remove from the heat. If using essential oils, let the mixture cool a bit and then add your desired oils and mix well.

Carefully pour the liquid lip balm mixture into each tube. If the liquid spills over, wait until it cools to clean it up. Doing so will allow for an easier cleanup and you will likely avoid spilling any full tubes. 

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Let the tubes cool completely before handling to clean up any spills or to replace the caps. Depending on how warm your house is, this should take no longer than 10-20 minutes.

Enjoy your new lip balm or gift to family and friends!

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Homemade Lip Balm FAQ:

What are the benefits of using tallow in lip balm?

Aside from being safe to ingest, the fatty acids within tallow have been discovered to be one of the most compatible with human skin. Meaning, tallow is easily absorbed by your skin. 

Tallow is also rich in essential fat soluble vitamins and minerals such as vitamins A, D, E and K. When applied to the skin, these vitamins and minerals can get absorbed and aid in keeping skin healthy.

Why is beeswax used in lip balm?

Beeswax in homemade lip balm is essential for creating some structure in the lip balm. This structure is especially important for warmer temperatures. Without the addition of beeswax, a lip balm of only tallow and coconut oil will easily become liquid in a pocket or in a warm car or purse. 

How many tubes of lip balm will this recipe make?

Depending on how you measure your ingredients, this recipe will make approximately 12 tubes of lip balm. 

Do I have to add essential oils to lip balm?

Although you do not need to add essential oils, they do add to the experience of using your lip balm. 

If you choose to use essential oils, I recommend using peppermint. Other good options would be frankincense, chamomile, or sweet orange. If you don’t have essential oils, you could use vanilla or almond extract instead.

When choosing an essential oil for your lip balm, I would suggest staying away from too much citrus oil as it can make your skin more sensitive to the sun. With too much sun exposure, you could damage your skin.

What do I do if I don’t have a lip balm filling tray?

If you don’t have a filling tray, an easy way to ensure the tubes do not fall over while filling in is to gather all the tubes together in a circle and secure a rubber band around the outer perimeter of the circle.