Tallow Butt Balm

I’m so excited to have my friend Kate from Venison for Dinner (don’t ya just love that name!) sharing this AWESOME recipe on my blog today. Kate is a stay at home mom of 2 little boys living a homemade life on the West Coast of British Columbia. She enjoys to cook and bake from scratch. Through hunting and homesteading, Kate and her family produce more than enough to fill their own meat and dairy needs, happily helping others start their own homesteading journey along the way. Kate also has a passion for essential oils and home healing with natural medicine. You can follow her on HER BLOG and Facebook page as she hones her homesteading skills, making her ‘whey’ through one mountain of raw milk at a time. Maybe you too will be inspired to butcher your own deer or try your hand at natural medicine!

Please welcome Kate…

You know the scene, you’re changing a diaper, you open it up and baby’s got a sore bum. It hurts YOU to see their bum all red and you want that pain GONE!

So what do you reach for? You grab the the diaper rash cream and you smear it all over. But did you know that many of those commercial creams contain petroleum products, as well as oils that are most likely rancid, alcohols, and so many more ingredients I can barely pronounce! (And I’m a good reader!) Here a popular diaper rash cream company discloses every ingredient. I was shocked at how these are allowed to be put on our precious babies skin! Your other option is to buy natural creams, which, lets be honest, aren’t always that natural, or cost you a good chunk of change.

After our second child was born we got serious about making all our own natural personal care products! My sister made us a fancy salve that we used and while terrific, it was complicated to make. I then came up with my 3 ingredient Diaper Rash Ointment and while it’s such a basic and effective ointment to whip together…Mama’s got a new balm in town!

TALLOW!

When we originally made tallow from the milk cow we had to butcher, we only used it for cooking. Then recently we were lucky enough to be gifted loads of grass-fed Jersey fat from a friends steer and since it was fresh I got to work processing it. (using the same process as this lard.) After it was cooled down I made a balm since I’d seen ideas for it all over the web, and before I knew it, it had become my go-to “Butt Balm”! The beauty of this thick salve is that it’s pretty much the same texture at all average room temperatures (unlike the coconut oil based diaper rash ointment I also use that drastically fluctuates) and it works as a barrier cream AND a ‘medicated’ cream for rashes.

So what is Tallow vs Lard? Tallow is the rendered fat from a ruminant (Cow, Deer, Sheep, etc) whereas Lard is the rendered fat from a single stomached mammal (Pig, Bear, etc). Tallow has a stronger taste that lard so while it doesn’t pair as well with sweet foods, its amazing for savoury cooking. Why is our Tallow so yellow? Jerseys (And Guernseys to my knowledge) can’t process Beta Carotene. That’s what makes carrots orange, and it’s also in the hay and grass they eat. Instead of digesting it, they deposit it in fat! That’s why jersey cream is especially yellow (even more so in time of lots of green grass) and in the fat in their meat!

Why would I want to smear beef fat on my baby’s bum?! I bet you won’t take me just saying “Because you should!!: So here’s the top reasons we choose to make our own Tallow Butt Balm;

• Tallow is high in saturated fats with a similar profile to those just below our skin, therefore it’s easily absorbed leaving skin feeling well nourished. This helps regenerate new skin. It’s important to use GRASS FED tallow to really reap the benefits.
• Quality Control! I recommend you purchase therapeutic-grade essential oils. 
• Frugal! I save loads of money by making my own Butt Balm. Yes I was given the beef fat for free, but even if you tracked down and bought it I bet you’d still save money. Better yet, if you’re buying 1/4 or 1/2 a cow, ask to get the fat back with it! You’ll find more uses that just a butt balm.
• I want to use natural/as close to nature, well raised, animal products wherever I can because I believe good fats are good for you! (And I know Jackie agrees!) Petroleum products have no place on a person’s body!
• Let’s just say Mama takes a dab for her face and hands on a regular basis two 😉 Might as well kill two lotion birds with one stone right!?

Tallow Butt Balm

Makes enough to fill a 1 cup ‘Salmon’ or ‘Jam’ jar. The amount of essential oils makes it a just below 1% dilution.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3/4 c+ a generous TB (200 mls) of Grass Fed Tallow
• 4 tsp OR 1 generous TB (20 mls) of Organic, Cold Pressed Olive oil  (This helps it stay a wee bit softer)
• 20 drops EACH Frankincense, Melaleuca and Lavender Essential oils. (See above note)

 

DIRECTIONS:

1. GENTLY melt tallow and olive oil together over LOW heat, just until melted. If you’ve accidentally heated too much, no fear, but let it cool down until you can comfortably hold you finger in before adding in essential oils.
2. Now slather away knowing you’ve made a terrific ‘butt balm’ for your baby! (I won’t tell if you put it on your own skin!)