DIY Tallow & Manuka Honey Balm
Discover the soothing power of our handcrafted tallow and manuka honey recipe, designed to deeply nourish and restore your skin’s natural glow. Perfect for dry, sensitive, or mature skin, this balm combines the richness of tallow with the healing properties of manuka honey for a truly luxurious skincare experience.
Ingredients:
Grassfed Tallow
Shea butter or cocoa butter
Carrier oil (jojoba, castor, or other)
Manuka honey
Essential oil (choose your favorite for added benefits and scent)
Vitamin E oil
Beeswax pellets
Why These Ingredients?
Grassfed Tallow: Rich in vitamins A, D, and K, tallow closely resembles our skin’s own natural oils, making it incredibly easy to absorb and highly nourishing. It is very healing to the skin and helps reduce redness, irritation and promotes healing.
Shea Butter or Cocoa Butter: Adds extra moisture, softens the skin, and helps protect the skin barrier. Great for those who have very dry skin and those with eczema.
Jojoba Oil or Castor Oil: These oils add hydration and support skin health without clogging pores. Castor oil is very thick but can help with inflammation and irritation. Jojoba is one of the best oils that closely mimics our skin natural sebum, allowing it to be bioavailible to the skin. Feel free to use any other carrier oil like avocado, liquid coconut oil, olive oil, or rosehip!
Manuka Honey: Known for its strong antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, manuka honey gently heals and calms irritated skin. It can also plump skin and reduce fine lines & wrinkles.
Essential Oils: Choose oils like lavender for calming effects, tea tree for blemishes, or frankincense for maturation.
Vitamin E Oil: Deeply nourishes, protects against environmental damage, and promotes skin healing and hydration. Vitamin E oil can also act as a natural shelf stabilizer.
Beeswax: Beeswax helps the product come together better. It provides extra protection for skin and creates a beautifully soft and smooth balm.
What manuka honey is best?
The true power of mānuka honey comes from its MGO content, the compound that gives it its renowned superfood qualities. This strength is measured by the Unique Mānuka Factor (UMF), a rating system that also assesses other distinctive compounds like DHA (a precursor to MGO) and leptosperin.
For therapeutic skin benefits, choose mānuka honey with at least MGO 250+/UMF 10+ grading. This indicates the honey contains a minimum of 250 mg of methylglyoxal per kilogram. The higher the MGO/UMF rating, the stronger and more beneficial the honey is for your skin.
Since higher ratings mean greater potency, the price will also be higher. To ensure you're getting authentic mānuka honey, look for a label stating ‘Made in New Zealand.’ Keep in mind, it’s estimated that only about 17% of mānuka honey on the market is genuine.
I get mine from Flora Health which is a great brand since it’s 100% traceable. I am only using a 100+ MGO in this recipe because it was more affordable.
Does manuka honey incorporate without an emulsifier?
Manuka honey can be incorporated into oil without an emulsifier by carefully blending the two ingredients in small quantities to maintain their integrity. Since honey is water-based and oil is hydrophobic, they naturally resist combining; however, gentle stirring or slow mixing allows honey’s natural viscosity to disperse evenly throughout the oil, creating a uniform blend. This technique works best when the honey is slightly warmed to reduce its thickness, making it easier to integrate. As a result, the mixture remains stable for topical applications, offering the nourishing and antibacterial benefits of manuka honey alongside the moisturizing properties of the oil without the need for synthetic emulsifiers.
*Avoid using wet or dirty hands when applying the balm. It’s best to use a sample spoon or clean utensil.
Will Honey Create A Tacky Feeling?
Honey can leave a tacky feeling when you use too much. We found the best amount is 1/2 teaspoon but you can increase it to 1 teaspoon if you want to incorporate more manuka honey. It will have a slight tacky feel but it will be ultra healing!
Tallow + Manuka Honey Balm Recipe:
Items you will need:
Small pot
Glass measuring cup or something to create a double-boiler
Spatula
Piping bag- optional
Jar or tin to store your manuka honey balm
Hand mixer- optional for whipped version
Small mixing bowl or bowl to pour melted mixture into
Optional for herbal infusion: cheesecloth and herbs of your choice (calendula, chamomile, marshamllow root, comfrey, etc)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup tallow
1 tablespoon shea butter or cocoa butter
1 tablespoon oil (jojoba, castor, or a blend)
1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon manuka honey
10–15 drops essential oil (choose your favorite for added benefits and scent)
1/2 teaspoon vitamin E oil
1 teaspoon beeswax
Instructions:
1. Melt the base
In a double boiler or a heat-safe bowl over simmering water, gently melt the tallow, beeswax, and shea or cocoa butter together. Stir occasionally until fully liquid. *optional- feel free to add 1 Tablespoon of any skin loving herbs like calendula, marshamallow root, comfrey, or chamomile, to this phase and keep it at a very low heat to allow it to infuse for 30 min-1 hour. Dont let it get too hot! Once done remove from heat and let cool slightly and then you can use cheesecloth to strain the melted mixture and herbs into a clean bowl then move onto step 2.
2. Add oils
Remove from heat and stir in your chosen oil blend (jojoba, castor, or both).
3. Incorporate honey
Allow the mixture to cool slightly but not solidify. Stir in the manuka honey thoroughly to ensure it blends well without losing its beneficial properties. If you want a solid balm then continue to step 4 otherwise follow the “whipped version” step to whip your balm!
WHIPPED VERSION: I like to pop the bowl into the fridge for 15-30 minutes until it becomes solid but not rock hard. I will then whip this mixture slowly for a few minutes to create the beautiful whipped texture you see in the photo. Continue to step 4 and there is no need to do step 5. Scoop out your whip with a spatula or spoon and out into a piping bag or just simply scoop into desired jar or tin. Store in a cool place or in the fridge and use within 6-8 months for best freshness.
4. Essential oils
Add 10 to 15 drops of your preferred essential oil(s) and stir/whip to combine.
5. Set and store
Pour the balm into a clean jar or tin and let it solidify at room temperature or in the fridge. Use within 6 months for best freshness.
How to Use:
Apply a small amount of this balm onto clean, dry skin, massaging gently until absorbed. It’s ideal for dry patches, cracked heels, lips, and even as a rich nighttime moisturizer.
Give your skin the gift of nature’s best with our tallow and manuka honey balm — deeply nourishing, healing, and handcrafted for your holistic happiness.
