This vanilla bean whipped tallow body butter is loaded with vitamins and minerals that hydrate and nourish the skin. It’s super easy to make, and only requires 3 simple ingredients. It’s perfect for lathering onto your face and body, and not only will your skin be glowing, but you’ll smell like a buttery vanilla cupcake.

Why Beef Tallow Is Great for Your Skin

Beef tallow is rendered fat from cows, typically taken from the fatty tissue around the kidneys and internal organs. It’s rich in vitamins like vitamin A, D, E, and K, which reduce inflammation, promote cell turnover and collagen production, and help to protect and repair the skin barrier. 

And when it comes to skin care, protecting the skin barrier is essential. The skin barrier is the outermost part of the body that’s main job is to keep hydration in, and free radicals out. Free radicals cause oxidative stress, which leads to premature skin aging and loss of elasticity. 

Most skin care products sold today contain harsh chemicals that damage the skin barrier. Tallow on the other hand, is loaded with fatty acids, vitamins, and ceramides that mimic the skin’s natural barrier, helping to repair and restore damage.

My whipped tallow body butter recipe also contains jojoba oil, which delivers even more hydration and protection, and vanilla bean, which cleanses and soothes the skin. Once you try this luxurious body butter, you will never go back!

Why I Don’t Add Essential Oils to This Recipe

Most non-toxic beauty brands today use essential oils to scent their products. But here’s the thing… essential oils are highly concentrated extracts derived from plants, and those concentrated compounds can often do more harm than good. 

Essential oils can act as irritants, causing inflammation, dryness, and redness, by disrupting the delicate balance of the skin’s natural protective barrier.

Which is why I use whole vanilla beans in this whipped tallow recipe! When you use the plant itself, you can reap the healing benefits, and enjoy its aroma, without the negative side effects.

Can You Smell the Tallow?

The final scent of this whipped tallow recipe is buttery with hints of vanilla bean. After about 24 hours, when the whipped tallow fully sets, the vanilla scent becomes even stronger and more fragrant. I personally think it smells like a buttery vanilla cupcake or cake batter!

While the tallow scent is still there, its not very noticeable.

If you’d like to reduce the tallow scent even further, you can wet-render your beef tallow (which is a purification method using salt and water to reduce the odor of the tallow) before making this recipe.

Whipped Tallow Body Butter Ingredients

• Beef Tallow- Always use a grass-fed rendered beef tallow. Grass-fed tallow is richer in omega-3 fatty acids, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), and antioxidants like vitamin E, than grain-fed. 

• Jojoba Oil- I recommend using organic jojoba oil, to avoid any pesticides found in non-organic products.

• Vanilla Bean- Oftentimes health food stores will sell vanilla beans individually in the spice section. Opt for organic, Madagascar vanilla beans for the highest-quality.

How to Make Whipped Tallow Body Butter

1. Gently melt the tallow in a double boiler over medium-low heat. 

2. Cut the vanilla beans with a knife lengthwise, and scrape out as many seeds as you can, adding them to the melted tallow. Then add the vanilla pods into the tallow as well. 

3. Reduce the heat to low, give the tallow a stir, and allow the vanilla pods to infuse for 15 minutes.

4. Scoop the vanilla pods out of the tallow and remove from heat. Allow the tallow to cool down for 5 minutes, then transfer to the fridge for about 30 minutes, or until slightly hardened and light in color. (You should be able to press your finger into the tallow and it holds its shape, but yet is still soft and not entirely solidified.)

5. Add jojoba oil. 

6. Using a hand mixer, whip the tallow starting with the low setting and gradually increasing to high. Mix until tallow becomes thick, white, and fluffy. 

7. Transfer to lidded jars and store at room temperature for up to 6 months, or in the fridge for up to a year.