Tallow Hair Balm Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Make a nourishing 4-ingredient tallow hair balm to smooth frizz, prevent tangles, and add shine. This easy DIY recipe uses tallow, argan oil, an emulsifying conditioner and fragrance oil to deeply condition hair without a greasy feel. Perfect for natural hair care!

Active Time10

Resting Time10

Total Time20

Yield: 30 g

Author: Allyson Letal - Boreal Bloom Homestead

Cost: $5

Equipment

double boiler or heat proof bowl

Materials

11 g tallow
10 g carrier oil
8.5 g BTMS -50
.5 g fragrance oil optional

Instructions

Melt The Heated Phase Ingredients:

In a heat proof double boiler, add 11g tallow, 10g of your chosen carrier oil, and 8.5g BTMS- 50. Melt all ingredients, stirring occasionally, over low heat. The water bath barely needs to simmer for these ingredients to melt.
Once completely melted, remove from heat, stir well to ensure everything is completely combined, then set aside to cool.

Add The Cool-Down Phase Ingredients:

Using an infrared thermometer, check the temperature of your mixture. Once it is below 140f or 60c, you can add the fragrance oil.
If desired, add 0.5g fragrance oil to the mixture. Stir with a small silicone spatula until completely combined.
Transfer to a short, stout container. I use 2 oz salve pots or 4 oz mason jars.

How To Use Tallow Hair Balm:

Using the pad of your finger, rub the surface of the balm to pick up a small amount, rub it between your palms. Start with less, because it's easier to add more than to use too much and have oily strands.
Evenly distribute through your hair, starting about ear height, focussing on the ends in particular.
You can run your hands through your hair, or sandwich your strands between both hands and pull down. Smooth the top layer with whatever is left on your hands. Brush through.

Notes

How Often To Use Hair Balm

During the warm months, I find that I only need to apply once every other day or so. I prefer to use it first thing in the morning to protect my hair from the day's stressors.

In the winter months, my poor hair suffers in our dry continental climate. Between forever running furnaces, icy air, cold winds, and hoodies, my hair takes a beating. I tend to use a larger amount in the evening, prior to braiding my hair before bed.

Batch:

Although the ingredients seem like they are in small quantities this recipe gives 30g of tallow hair balm.

That said, if you love the recipe, feel free to scale it up - the results will stay consistent across batch sizes because I have developed this recipe by weights versus volume.

Storage:

Because of the small batch size, you'll use up all of this hair balm long before it has a chance to go bad. I find the shelf life of but it should last about a year, so keep that in mind while you're making it.