Magnesium is a critical mineral for health, yet many people are deficient. This DIY tallow magnesium lotion is a great option for boosting magnesium levels.
This post was updated on 3/12/2023 from its original recipe.
Why is Magnesium Important?
Magnesium is involved in over 500 processes in the body! To name a few, the body needs sufficient levels of magnesium for cell metabolism, producing energy, and regulating insulin. Furthermore, magnesium is the first mineral to be depleted when the body is under stress. I think we can all agree that we have stress in some way, shape, or form. So, some extra magnesium would likely be beneficial!
Other indications that your magnesium could be low are:
- Anxiety/Depression
- Sleep Issues
- Migraines/headaches
- Fatigue
- Infertility
- PMS
- High or Low Cholesterol
- Arrhythmia/heart palpitations
- Numbness/Tingling
- Nausea
Our Story Around Magnesium Lotion
We’ve been on a significant health journey for many years. This was actually the instigator for us in beginning our homesteading journey. However, even after making a lot of changes, there were still a few things that I was trying to figure out, especially around hormonal imbalances.
I began to do a deep dive into understanding how minerals work in the body and how important they are for health. The hormone healing rd is a great resource for this. In my exploration, I realized I had several symptoms of possible magnesium deficiency and wanted to begin adding it in to our family’s routine.
How Do You Know If You Need More Magnesium?
The way to find out your magnesium status is by a magnesium RBC blood test or a Hair Mineral Analysis. Talk to your practitioner if you want to get more testing done to find out exactly what your levels are.
Ways to Get more Magnesium
The foods with the most robust amounts of magnesium present are cooked leafy greens, bone broth, grass fed dairy, or cacao. In fact, if you often crave chocolate, this could definitely be an indication that your body is actually depleted in magnesium.
As you can see, this is a pretty short list. It is difficult to get in sufficient amounts of magnesium solely through food. Especially if you are under stress and are burning through magnesium rapidly.
Enter in, adding magnesium topically! There are three options of getting magnesium in through the skin.
- Magnesium oil
- Magnesium lotion
- Epsom Salt Baths or Soaks
My preferred method is lotion. I’ve tried simply rubbing magnesium oil on my skin, which is the first step in making the lotion. However, the magnesium oil was irritating on my skin and dried it out. I really like the idea of Epsom salt baths or foot soaks, but with three young children and a homestead, my time for baths is limited. Magnesium lotion is quick and easy to apply and leaves my skin feeling soft and moisturized.
What Is Tallow?
Tallow is rendered suet or beef fat. Don’t worry, if rendered in a specific way the tallow is completely odorless. This video shows exactly how to render tallow to make it odorless and ready to use for all of your skincare needs.
Why Tallow?
There are so many benefits to using tallow on the skin. In fact, after we started incorporating it, it’s all we use for our complete skin care regimen – shampoo bars, soap, lotion, moisturizer, and deodorant. Tallow has been used both internally and externally for hundreds of years and with good reason – its benefits are hard to beat!
- High in vitamins A, D, E, K, and B12
- Rich in minerals
- Contains conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) with natural anti-inflammatory properties
- Palmitoleic acid is a powerful antimicrobial agent that is also a basic building block of our skin
- Palmitic acid helps to improve the function of the skin’s protective barrier
- Stearic acid helps to repair damaged skin and improves the skins flexibility and suppleness
FAQ About Tallow Magnesium Lotion
Who is this lotion good for? Is it safe for Kids?
If you are unsure about adding a topical magnesium to your routine, you should always consult your medical provider before implementing anything. That being said, the amount of magnesium you would get from the lotion is not a high dose. Our whole family uses it including babies and kids. It is my opinion that almost everyone could benefit from adding a bit of magnesium, especially if you are under stress or experiencing any of the above symptoms associated with magnesium deficiency.
Where do you buy tallow?
In order to get the maximum nutrients and health benefits in tallow for your skin, you will want to find tallow from grass fed and finished cows. Contact your local farmer or if you are unaware of a regenerative farm in your area, you can check out localharvest.org for some options in your area.
What type of magnesium?
My favorite magnesium for this is the magnesium flakes from Ancient Minerals. As far as I am aware, this is the most reputable product for high quality magnesium available.
Can you Substitute Beeswax for the Candelilla Wax?
I used to use beeswax instead of candelilla wax in this recipe but found that overtime, the emulsion separated and the magnesium water would separate from the oils. Although beeswax can often act as an emulsifier in skin care products, it isn’t a true emulsifier when emulsifying water in oils. While we still used this lotion, the consistency significantly improved when we made the switch from beeswax to candelilla wax.
How frequently and where do you apply it?
Our routine is to apply it to our kids and ourselves as part of our bedtime routines. You will want to avoid applying it to any areas with a cut or open wound as it may burn. Besides that, we just lather it on. I like to put it on areas under clothing like feet or belly that won’t get the sheets potentially stained from the oils in the lotion. If I remember, I try to use it in the morning as well.
Tallow Magnesium Lotion
Yield: 1.5 Cups
Ingredients:
½ cup water
½ cup magnesium flakes
3 tbsp olive oil (or avocado oil)
1/2 cup tallow
2 tbsp cocoa butter (or shea butter)
2 tbsp candelilla wax
10 or more drops of essential oils (optional)
Directions:
1. Heat ½ cup of water to just before boiling.
2. Stir ½ cup of magnesium flakes into the hot water until the magnesium flakes are completely dissolved.
3. Add tallow, oil, cocoa butter, and candelilla wax to a heat safe glass container
4. Add water to a pot and heat on stove. Place a rag or towel at the bottom of the pot and add your container of tallow and other ingredients on top of the rag.
5. Heat up the water on medium heat on stove to heat up tallow mixture until everything is completely melted.
6. Once melted, remove from heat.
7. Using an immersion blender*, blend the tallow mixture while slowly pouring the magnesium water into the tallow mixture.
8. Blend until the magnesium solution is completely blended in, a lotion is formed, and desired consistency is reached.
9. Pour into jars.
*A blender on a low speed or food processor will work if you don’t have an immersion blender.
Have you tried adding magnesium topically? We’d love to hear your experiences in the comments below!
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DIY Tallow Magnesium Lotion
Magnesium is a critical mineral for health, yet many people are deficient. This simple DIY tallow magnesium lotion is a great option for boosting magnesium levels.
Ingredients
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup magnesium flakes
- 3 tbsp olive oil (or avocado oil)
- 1/2 cup tallow
- 2 tbsp cocoa butter (or shea butter)
- 2 tbsp candelilla wax
- 10 or more drops of essential oils (optional)
Instructions
- Heat ½ cup of water to just before boiling.
- Stir ½ cup of magnesium flakes into the hot water until the magnesium flakes are completely dissolved.
- Add tallow, oil, cocoa butter, and beeswax to a heat safe glass container
- Add water to a pot and heat on stove. Place a rag or towel at the bottom of the pot and add your container of tallow and other ingredients on top of the rag.
- Heat up the water on medium heat on stove to heat up tallow mixture until everything is completely melted.
- Once melted, remove from heat.
- Using an immersion blender*, blend the tallow mixture while slowly pouring the magnesium water into the tallow mixture.
- Blend until the magnesium solution is completely blended in, a lotion is formed, and desired consistency is reached. 9. Pour into jars.
*A blender on a low speed or food processor will work if you don’t have an immersion blender.