As I was making my yearly batch of DIY sunscreen, I thought I’d add my all time favorite skincare ingredient. If you’re a tallow fan like I am, you’ll want to know how to make tallow sunscreen.
Tallow sunscreen
I am obsessed with tallow for skincare. My all time favorite skincare product is tallow balm, and I show how to make it here. I also have a tallow lotion recipe here.
Tallow is actually a centuries old skincare product, but recently it has been gaining popularity. I decided to take my DIY natural sunscreen recipe and make it even better.
Why do I love tallow? Tallow is overflowing with an abundance of skin friendly nutrients, including fat soluble vitamins and antioxidants. I talk all about the benefits of tallow for skin care here.
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Why put tallow in sunscreen?
Since tallow has such amazing skin benefits, I knew it would be the perfect ingredient for my homemade sunscreen. Tallow from 100% grass fed, grass finished cattle contains a wider array of skin beneficial nutrients than any plant based oil.
I like adding it to my sunscreen recipe because I want all of those fat soluble vitamins and antioxidants. They are amazing at preventing and protecting from sun damage.
If you’re looking for the best ever DIY face moisturizer, check out my tallow face cream recipe here.
What kind of tallow is best?
My favorite tallow is from 100% grass fed, grass finished cattle, because it is the richest in beneficial nutrients. If you have tallow from grass fed cattle that were fed some grain, it is still a pretty good choice.
For this recipe, you can use straight tallow, or tallow balm. If you use tallow balm, the finished sunscreen will have a little bit of a softer consistency, but that’s totally fine.
All of the ingredients are by weight, not volume. This makes it easier, because you don’t have to melt anything just to measure it. If you need to make your own tallow, I show how to render tallow here.
Tallow sunscreen recipe directions
Ingredients:
- 1 oz. beeswax
- 2 oz. tallow or tallow balm
- 2 oz. virgin coconut oil
- 3 oz. liquid oil, such as carrot seed, argan, jojoba, or olive, or a combination
- 2 oz. non nano zinc oxide
Instructions:
- Weigh all ingredients and put them in the top of a double boiler.
- When all ingredients are melted, mix well with a whisk.
- Allow mixture to cool slightly.
- When mixture just starts to thicken but is still pourable, put in storage container. I like using glass jars or silicone tubes.
- Allow to solidify the rest of the way.
Why make your own sunscreen?
Commercial sunscreens contain lots of toxic ingredients, including chemicals that are hormone disruptors, can cause brain damage, nerve damage, and prenatal harm. Some research even indicates that some ingredients in commercial sunscreens could promote skin cancer (source).
By making sunscreen yourself, you can avoid all of those sketchy ingredients. You’re in complete control of all of the ingredients, so you can use safe, natural ones. And when you make it yourself, you can even add tallow!
Sunscreen controversy
There are a lot of different opinions out there when it comes to using sunscreen. It can be overwhelming!
Which sunscreen is better: homemade or store bought? Does homemade sunscreen work? Which zinc oxide is okay to use? Should we even use sunscreen at all?
Whew. Let’s take a second to calm down and breathe, and then I’ll explain what we’ve decided to do.
After researching the whole situation, we’ve decided to let our bare skin get a responsible amount of sunlight, because sunlight on skin is very healthy! I’ll talk more in a second about what we do to protect our skin from sun damage, from the inside out.
By responsible, I mean avoiding the most extreme sun exposure, and using shade and clothing to shield from sunburns. That’s our strategy most of the time.
Every now and then, like when on vacation, for example, we’ll find ourselves in a situation where we are in the sun longer than normal, and at a risk for getting sunburned. In those times, we use our homemade tallow sunscreen.
I make sure to use only non nano zinc oxide. That way, the particles are supposed to be large enough to not be absorbed into the bloodstream (source).
We’ve been using our homemade sunscreen for years, and it works great. It protects us from sunburn every single time. I love that it is safe enough for very young children to use.
How we protect our skin from sun damage
What you eat is everything. Interestingly, I read about the fact that when a person eats inflammatory industrial seed oils, also known as vegetables oils, these toxic and often rancid oils can react with the sun’s rays as one of the causes of skin cancer (source).
Here are some of the ways we protect our skin from sun damage:
- Eating antioxidant rich animal foods with abundant fat soluble vitamins, such as fats from organic, pasture raised animals
- Avoiding toxic, inflammatory industrial seed oils
- Using responsible sun exposure to allow our skin to build a healthy tan gradually
- Nourishing our skin on a regular basis with tallow balm
If you want an amazing exfoliator for feet, you’ll want to know how to make a homemade foot scrub with tallow. I also have a luxurious and super hydrating DIY shaving cream with tallow in it.
Another way I love to use tallow is as a deep conditioning treatment for my hair. Read all about how I use tallow for hair here.
More nutrient dense skincare
Tallow skin care: the complete guide
How do you like to use tallow?
Share in the comments!
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The information in this blog post is my personal experience and opinion. It is for general information purposes only, that may not apply to you as an individual, and is not a substitute for your own physician’s medical care or advice. Always seek advice from your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding nutrition, medical conditions, and advice. Never disregard medical advice or delay seeking medical care because of something you have read on this blog.
Tallow Sunscreen
As I was making my yearly batch of DIY sunscreen, I thought I'd add my all time favorite skincare ingredient. If you're a tallow fan like I am, you'll want to know how to make tallow sunscreen.
Ingredients
- 1 oz. beeswax
- 2 oz. tallow or tallow balm
- 2 oz. virgin coconut oil
- 3 oz. liquid oil, such as carrot seed,
- argan, jojoba, or olive, or a combination
- 2 oz. non nano zinc oxide
Instructions
- 1. Weigh all ingredients and put them in the top of a double boiler.
- When all ingredients are melted, mix well with a whisk.
- Allow mixture to cool slightly.
- When mixture just starts to thicken but is still pourable, put in storage container. I like these glass jars or these silicone tubes.
- Allow to solidify the rest of the way.
Notes
All ingredients are by weight.
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Hello, do you know if we could use deer tallow? I can’t seem to find the difference in spf, smell or nutrients. In this area it would be easier for me to find deer fat than grass fed beef fat. Thank you for your site!! I love that you explain everything so well!
I love this recipe, but do you know how I could make this into a sunscreen stick, for easier application and convenience? Would I increase the beeswax? Use my tallow lotion recipe but just add Zinc powder?
Is this the correct recipe?
Ingredients:
• 1 oz. beeswax
• 2 oz. tallow or tallow balm
• 2 oz. virgin coconut oil
• 3 oz. carrier oils such as argan, jojoba, or olive, or a combination
• 10 drops essential oils or a combination:
o Carrot seed oil: 35 to 40 SPF, and has antioxidants
o Raspberry seed oil: protects against UVA & UVB. Rated between 28 and 50 for UVA and up to 8 for UVB.
• 2 oz. non nano zinc oxide
Since Carrot seed oil and Raspberry seed oils are essential oils and concentrated what amount should be used? I assume not 3 oz of essential oils! that is very different compared to 3 oz of olive oil.
Thank you! This is a tried and true recipe and the go-to sunscreen for my family. There are even times that we’ve forgotten to put on sunscreen, applied it to our burned skin, and our sunburns seemed to heal!
Hi there! Loving your recipe. Thank you. Just wondering if this stuff expires? And how long does it last?
Thanks a bunch
I made this for a friend and she asked what spf it was considered and i was not sure what to tell her. Any thoughts?
Hi! I followed your instructions and even weighed each ingredient out but the end product is difficult to scoop out since it solidified. Once I apply it, it also leaves a white cast even though I kept trying to rub in. Is this how it’s supposed to turn out?
Hi! I was wondering if you could make this but use only tallow as the base?
Does this make 10 ounces of sunscreen? If I wanted a smaller batch, should I just 1/2 the ingredients? Thank you
Can i use zinc oxide powder that used in dental care office because that’s what I have on hand?
Hi, do you use powder or paste zinc oxide?
Hi thank you for the recipes. I made your whipped version and added the non nano zinc. It turned out lovely and I use it daily. Was thinking about adding iron oxide the next time I make it to help with the white. Have you used that before?
Does this stuff expire? I made some a couple of years ago and still have so much left!
Hi Marisa!
I made your regular sunscreen last year and liked it a lot. I was looking it up just now and saw your new Tallow version. I am interested in trying it, as I have some 100% grass fed bison tallow waiting for me to use in the fridge. (Though I am going to try the whipped tallow balm first ).
I notice this recipe doesn’t contain any cocoa butter (unlike the last one). Is that just because the tallow works in its place? Is it good to use both?
Thanks! 🙂
Claire
Hi Marisa!
I was wondering if I wanted to add some aloe Vera gel, that I’ve bought online, if I’d have to use a preservative? I know using it fresh from my garden I definitely would need to but was wondering if store bought gel had the same rules? And would you even recommend be adding aloe? Thanks a lot!
Hi!! Thank you so much for this recipe. It is incredible! Do you have any tips for pouring it so it doesn’t crack as it cools down? Thanks!
Would this work if you whipped it as it cooled to make it is little lighter??
Do you ever add any essential oils for fragrance?
Hi Marisa,
Thanks so much for this recipe, I made this for my husband who works outdoors and it’s fantastic!
I have a friend who has problem skin and has issues with salicylates in oils. I can substitute olive oil with rice bran oil which is salicylate free, however coconut oil is high in salicylates. Do you think I could substitute the coconut oil in this recipe for rice bran oil?
Thanks so much again, your recipes are fantastic and tallow balm is the thing that has saved my baby from wet bandages, she has severe eczema and the tallow balm has been a life saver- I make it every fortnight and I lather her in it every nappy change. It’s the only things that’s worked. I’m so grateful!
Is carrot seed oil an essential oil? I’m having a hard time finding a bottle that’s big enough to use in this recipe.
I like this one: https://amzn.to/38KTJpi
Hi! If you get just tallow, do you have to do anything to it? Or does it have to be a balm to make this recipe?
It depends how soft or hard the tallow is. If it’s soft enough to be easily spreadable, you’re good to go. If it’s hard tallow that isn’t easy to spread, you’ll want to make balm (mix some liquid oil into it).
This recipe is fantastic thank you! What is the shelf life of this sunscreen?
Thank you! Since it has no water, I find the shelf life is around 6 months to one year 🙂
Hi! Can I leave out or sub the coconut oil? I’m allergic to coconut oil 🙁
Yes! I would add more liquid oil instead 🙂
Hi there! Any pointers to make it more viscous for the silicone squeeze tube? I’ve found it to be quite solid. Maybe reducing the wax content or increasing the liquid oil? Any thoughts there?
Increasing the liquid oil can help 🙂
Hi, I love your site and have been making your toothpaste recipe for a few months with great success so thank you for that!
I’m about to make this recipe but really want to understand why there are so many scientists and dermatologists on YouTube trying to say you shouldn’t make your own sunscreen. Is it just because you can’t measure the SPF and also they aren’t weighing the cost benefit of the chemicals in the sunscreens vs the other diseases you could get from those?
Thank you! That is such a great question, and one I’ve often wondered myself! I have some theories, but nothing concrete 😉 All I know for sure is that we’ve been using this for years and it works really well. Since the individual ingredients do have measurable SPF, when combined, this sunscreen should have an SPF of at least 30, according to my research. I love being in control of the safe, natural ingredients, and I love that it always does a great job protecting our skin from any sunburn whatsoever. Hope this helps 🙂
Would this be good for my grand baby to use? Thanks
Have you found this to be water resistant at all?
Yes! For us it is water resistant for at least 2 hours 🙂
could you whip this into a butter?
Yes, I think that’s a great idea!
Hi! I LOVE your recipes! I am wondering if you have tried a sunscreen using at least 50% tallow in it. What, besides the tallow and zinc oxide are necessary for this recipe to work? Thanks for sharing your passion.
Thank you so much! I haven’t tried that yet, but it’s a great idea! The liquid oils (especially argan and carrot seed) as well as the coconut oil have SPF properties as well 🙂
Hi there! A relative had skin cancer on her nose and says she has to use 50 spf, any recommendations on how to making it higher spf? Thank you!
Great question! I’m not sure, you could try increasing the amount of zinc and make sure you’re using argan and carrot seed oils instead of olive oil. I hope that helps!
What spf is it???
With these ingredients, it should be at least 30 🙂
Why is the recipe different from the one in the video and why isn’t the carrot or raspberry seed oil measurements posted?
Hello! Thank you for sharing these wonderful tallow recipes. Literally, they have saved my granddaughter much agony and kept her from having to use as much steroids for her eczema.
Lately, when I have been processing tallow, after following your method for two times rendering with water, there’s a LOT of what looks like little bb’s on the bottom of the hardened tallow (between the tallow and the water in the bowl). It’s grainy and doesn’t seem to be like the rest of the tallow cake. Any idea if it’s operator error, do I need to render longer, lower temperature, higher temperature? Today’s batch has a good amount of grainy texture and I am wondering why. Please, if you have insight, please help!
Hello, I’m happy to try and help! I’m so glad it’s been helpful for your granddaughter, that is wonderful. I have seen that sometimes on the tallow I render. That part of the tallow cake is probably the impurities mixed with the lower quality fat. You can scrape it all off and not use it for your tallow recipes. Wild bird or chickens love to eat it. As far as the grainy texture, trim fat will often have a softer, grainy texture to it, while leaf fat is nice and hard and smooth. To get rid of the grainy texture, try chilling your liquid tallow or tallow balm very quickly in the freezer. That will often help the texture be smoother. Hope that helps!