Goat Tallow Lotion?

[MellonFriend]

So with my new abundance of goat tallow, I have it on my mind to try a shelf stable liquid lotion, just for personal use, not to sell. Never made one of those before, only refrigerated lotions or lotion bars. I found this recipe from Bumblebee Apothecary, and I'm thinking of giving it a shot. Any opinions on this recipe? I know goat tallow will be different than beef tallow (darn near said "cow tallow" instead ), but I'm willing to give it a try. I'm thinking about using sweet almond oil as my liquid oil. See any problems with that? I'm assuming I can sub out the EOs for whatever fragrance oil I'd like to use as long as I use an appropriate FO calculator as well?

 

[AliOop]

How does goat tallow compare to beef tallow in terms of hardness? That would determine whether you want to keep the same ratio of hard fat to liquid oil.

I started out with a tallow recipe similar to the one you linked. It was wonderful for my skin, but I admit to preferring an emulsified recipe that isn't as greasy.

 

[MellonFriend]

How does goat tallow compare to beef tallow in terms of hardness? That would determine whether you want to keep the same ratio of hard fat to liquid oil.

I started out with a tallow recipe similar to the one you linked. It was wonderful for my skin, but I admit to preferring an emulsified recipe that isn't as greasy.

I've never had any beef tallow, so I can't say I for sure know. By the look of it when I see people use it, I would think it's similar.

This recipe says non greasy, would you say you don't believe that then? Do you have any recommendations to make it not greasy?

 

[DeeAnna]

The recipe at Bumblebee Apothecary is an emulsified lotion. I'm sure it will be a good start. I'm also sure you'll probably want to tweak it a bit to suit your preferences. But ya gotta start somewhere, and this is a reasonable recipe to get started.

Only problem I see is the idea of measuring preservative and essential oils by drops. These ingredients also need to be measured by weight. My guess is the recipe author doesn't have a scale that is sensitive enough to weigh small amounts, so this is their work-around, but it's really a bad idea.

In addition to that, some EOs aren't skin safe in higher amounts, so its important to know the recommended usage rates for the EOs you want to use and respect those rates. Instructing the user to add a certain amount of whatever EO the user wants to try is an easy "out" for the recipe author, but this is not a responsible way to go.

 

[cmzaha]

The recipe at Bumblebee Apothecary is an emulsified lotion. I'm sure it will be a good start. I'm also sure you'll probably want to tweak it a bit to suit your preferences. But ya gotta start somewhere, and this is a reasonable recipe to get started.

Only problem I see is the idea of measuring preservative and essential oils by drops. These ingredients also need to be measured by weight. My guess is the recipe author doesn't have a scale that is sensitive enough to weigh small amounts, so this is their work-around, but it's really a bad idea.

In addition to that, some EOs aren't skin safe in higher amounts, so its important to know the recommended usage rates for the EOs you want to use and respect those rates. Instructing the user to add a certain amount of whatever EO the user wants to try is an easy "out" for the recipe author, but this is not a responsible way to go.

I totally agree with DeeAnna. Here is a good place to learn about preservatives. Keep in mind not all preservatives are compatible with all emulsifier ingredients so you need to know what ingredients your emulsifier is made up with. Preservative Reviews In my opinion Preserving your lotion is one of the most important issues and I would never make a water-based lotion not preserved whether refrigerated or not.

 

[MellonFriend]

Okay, great information you two. Thanks! I'll look into which preservative to use and measure it out appropriately.

 

[AliOop]

The recipe at Bumblebee Apothecary is an emulsified lotion.

Sorry, @DeeAnna and @MellonFriend I misread that your link went to her tallow balm recipe, not an emulsified lotion (which I had not previously seen on her site). My comments were about her tallow balm, which was definitely greasy. No doubt an emulsified lotion would be far less so.

I would echo DeeAnna's remarks about the preservative. Depending on which preservative you use, 24 drops could be way too much, or not enough. Add in measuring by drops and not being more specific about skin-safe EOs, and it's one reason I am not really fond of her site. But there aren't a lot of folks posting tallow lotion recipes, so it's probably at least a place to start - as long as you add your selected preservative according to the correct usage rate, pH level, temp, etc.

 

[DeeAnna]

To be honest, any lotion recipe can be adapted to tallow -- the main thing you want to look for is the recipe should include a fat that's solid at room temperature. I've used tallow, lard, nut butters, etc. interchangeably in lotions. One solid fat might give a slightly different skin feel than the next solid fat, but it's not going to be a night-and-day difference. I also expect, even if another person has a tallow-specific lotion formulation, that I'm still going to tweak it to suit my preferences. Some people like thick lotions, others thin, etc.

 

[MellonFriend]

To be honest, any lotion recipe can be adapted to tallow -- the main thing you want to look for is the recipe should include a fat that's solid at room temperature. I've used tallow, lard, nut butters, etc. interchangeably in lotions. One solid fat might give a slightly different skin feel than the next solid fat, but it's not going to be a night-and-day difference. I also expect, even if another person has a tallow-specific lotion formulation, that I'm still going to tweak it to suit my preferences. Some people like thick lotions, others thin, etc.

Well, that's great to know!

 

[cmzaha]

I used to make a Camel Fat lotion which was really a nice lotion, which is a solid fat.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I once started making some whipped body butter but didn't have enough Shea for it.....so threw in some lard! I don't sell and I knew who they were going to so no worries on that front.

But they preferred it to the original recipe! So yes, you could sub out a harder oil from a normal recipe, or some liquid oil and some of the hardening agent (wax for example)