Can I Make My Own Tallow Cream at Home?

Making your own tallow cream at home sounds like a charming DIY project—and honestly, it can be. There’s something satisfying about rendering your own tallow, melting it down with oils and essential oils you picked out yourself, and whipping it up into a custom moisturizer. It’s a fun way to learn about the ingredients going on your skin and connect with the roots of traditional skincare. If you enjoy kitchen experiments or crafting, this is right up your alley.

But let’s talk real talk: there are definitely a few speed bumps. For starters, rendering high-quality suet (the fat you need to make tallow) can be smelly, time-consuming, and messy. You’ll need cheesecloth, a slow cooker or stockpot, glass jars, a freezer stash of beef fat, and patience. Then you’ve got to source your carrier oils, essential oils, jars, labels—suddenly your “cheap DIY” project is pushing $50 or more, and that’s before the trial-and-error. If you don’t love your first batch, it might end up in the trash—or worse, on your face and in your pores. (Tallow is forgiving, but not magic when poorly blended.)

That’s why many skincare fans start with DIY curiosity, then circle back to ready-made formulas like Garden Club’s Tallow Cream. We’ve already done the sourcing, rendering, blending, and testing for you—using only the highest-quality, grass-fed tallow and botanicals that are safe, effective, and luxurious. Making it yourself is a great learning experience, but if you’re short on time, tools, or tolerance for cleanup, let us save you the mess (and the guesswork).