Care
Plain Tallow
Rendered beef tallow, whipped and nothing else. This is the fat for faces and for children. No scent.
20 minutes, plus rendering if the tallow is not already clean
The household
Care
Fat for the skin, soap for the body, and a wash for the clothes and the dishes. The scented jars are for adults. Nothing here is a medicine, and the lye soap asks for patience and for care with your eyes and your hands.
This is how our household cooks, washes, and thinks. It is not medical advice, and it is not a substitute for a midwife or a doctor.
For the skin
Tallow, olive oil, and beeswax. The jars for the family have no essential oil. Lavender butter is its own jar, for adults. The eye balm is fat and wax and nothing else.
Care
Whipped Tallow Butter
The softer body butter. Tallow loosened with olive oil, still unscented, for arms, legs, and winter shins.
20 minutes
Care
Lavender Tallow Butter
The same whipped tallow and olive oil, with a small amount of lavender essential oil. An adult jar. Not the family one.
20 minutes
Care
Firm Tallow Balm
Beeswax makes a balm that stays put. Hands, heels, and cuticles, especially when the house is dry.
25 minutes
Care
Tallow Eye Balm
A grain of fat and wax for the skin around the eye. Nothing aromatic. Nothing that should ever go in the eye.
15 minutes
Soap
One lye formula. Leave it plain, or scent the adult bars with frankincense, myrrh, or lavender. Cure them before they touch skin.
Care
Tallow Soap Bars
One lye formula, four bars' worth of scent: plain, frankincense, myrrh, or both. The weights are for this oil list only.
About 1 hour of work, then 4 to 6 weeks to cure
Care
Lavender Tallow Soap
The same tallow bar, scented with lavender instead of frankincense or myrrh. The lye weight does not change.
About 1 hour of work, then 4 to 6 weeks to cure
For the wash
Soap, washing soda, baking soda, oxygen bleach, citric acid, and vinegar. No borax and no synthetic fragrance.
Care
Laundry Soap
Grated plain soap, washing soda, and baking soda. No borax, no fragrance, no optical brightener.
15 minutes
Care
Laundry Boosters
Three adds for the wash: oxygen for dingy whites, extra washing soda for hard water, and baking soda or vinegar for odor.
A minute at the machine
Care
Dish Soap
Plain soap and a little washing soda, dissolved in water. It cleans a sink of dishes. It will not behave like a bottled detergent.
15 minutes
Care
Dishwasher Soap
Washing soda, citric acid, and coarse salt, kept dry. No chlorine. One tablespoon in the cup.
10 minutes
Scented, for adults
The oily jars. Frankincense, lavender, and a drop of tea tree, always counted, never poured. Not for pregnancy, not for children, and not for eyes. The unscented tallow is still the family fat.
Care
Frankincense Face Oil
Jojoba, a few drops of frankincense, and vitamin E. A night oil for an adult face. Not the eye balm, and not a promise about wrinkles.
5 minutes
Care
Shea and Tallow Body Butter
Shea, tallow, and olive oil, whipped, with frankincense and lavender stirred in after it cools. An adult body jar.
25 minutes
Care
Lotion Bars
Coconut oil, shea, and beeswax, poured into a mold. You rub the bar on dry skin. It is a salve that keeps its shape.
20 minutes, plus cooling
Care
Tallow Lip Balm
Tallow, beeswax, and olive oil in a small tin. Unscented, because lips get licked. A scented tin is a separate choice.
15 minutes
Care
Honey Face Mask
Raw honey and a spoon of oil, on the face for ten minutes. One use. A single drop of tea tree is optional, and only for an adult.
15 minutes
Care
Sugar Body Scrub
Sugar and coconut oil, with a little lavender. For the body, in the shower. The floor gets slippery.
10 minutes