Historically, animal fats such as lard (rendered pork fat) and tallow (rendered beef fat) have been used since ancient times in medicinal poultices and salves, beauty products and as cooking agents. Books published in the 1800's repeatedly reference the addition of these animal fats to medicinal recipes to treat conditions ranging from rheumatic disorders, chaffed skin, burns, ulcers, wound healing and much more. In the early to mid-1900’s, lard began to lose popularity with the introduction of Crisco and the misguided belief that animal fats were unhealthy for you. In truth, lard contains nearly 20% less saturated fat than butter.

For the eco-conscious, sustainably minded amongst you, the use of lard as a cooking oil or beauty product is a return to a time when all of an animal was used and nothing was left to go to waste. Instead of throwing out the fat from the pigs humanely raised here at Creswick Farms, we render it down into beautiful, creamy lard that can be used for cooking, salves, poultices and beauty products.

Below you’ll find a very easy recipe to try at home. This recipe can be used to make a traditional lotion or lotion bars.

DIY Lard Lotion

Supplies You Will Need:

• Double boiler
• Silicon spatula
• Measuring cups & spoons
• Jars or containers to store lotion in OR silicon mold if you’re choosing to make lotion bars
• Mixing bowl

Ingredients:

• ½ C. Creswick Farms’ Lard
• ½ C. Coconut Oil (preferably unrefined, but refined will work also)
• 1/3 C. Beeswax (pellets are ideal, but you can also shave from a solid block)

Now, using these three ingredients, you can make a beautiful, creamy lotion without much fuss or financial investment. However, there are multitudes of additional ingredients with remarkable properties for healing the skin, reducing fine lines and wrinkles, promoting skin elasticity, reducing redness and acne, etc. that are very complimentary to this basic recipe. I’ve listed below the ingredients I chose to use, but please remember that you don’t need to have these on hand to dive in and make your own lard lotion!

Instructions:

1. Using a double boiler (I used a stainless steel pot and glass bowl in lieu of a traditional double boiler), melt down the lard, coconut oil and beeswax until fully liquified. This will take around 15 to 20 minutes (the beeswax takes the longest to melt!).
2. Let cool for 15 minutes and stir with rubber spatula. Note*: if you choose to add in any additional/optional ingredients as listed below, you would add them in at this time and mix well.
3. Pour your mixture into the container or mold of your choice.
4. Allow your lotion to reach room temperature to reach a more solid state (or pop into the freezer for 10-15 minutes).
5. Store in fridge when not in use, unless you’ve added in a preservative such as Rosemary antioxidant extract.

Optional ingredients:

• 1 tsp. Rosemary antioxidant extract** - this is a natural preservative and is highly recommended for homemade beauty products
• Essential oils of your choice. I personally chose to use Young Living’s Lemon, Lavender and Frankincense because of their wonderful skin healing properties.
  • 30 drops of lavender oil
  • 10 drops of Frankincense oil
  • 15 drops of lemon oil
• 1 tb. Raw honey – if using this ingredient, add in to lard, beeswax and coconut oil while still warm and stir gently
• 1 tb. Aloe vera gel
• ½ tsp. Evening Primrose oil
• ½ tsp. Vitamin E oil
• ½ tsp. Rosehip seed oil
• ½ tsp. carrot seed oil