An unscented tallow balm can go on a baby's intact skin in a tiny amount, for ordinary dryness. Anything past that is your pediatrician's call. On a newborn, I'd show them the label before the first jar goes on.
We make the balm I'm about to recommend. For a baby, it's Bare Silk ($34, as of October 5, 2026) in the Unscented original, with five ingredients and no essential oils or fragrance. It's the jar we use on our own baby.
When our baby got the first jar, I started with one spot on the shin and a full day of watching. Only then did it go anywhere else. Three jobs people hand to tallow aren't ours to claim.
How much tallow goes on a baby, and where?
Less than you'd guess. Warm a rice-grain amount of balm between two fingertips until it turns clear, then press it onto the dry spots. Do it right after the bath, while the skin's still damp. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says moisturizer works best then, in its page on dry winter skin in babies and toddlers. Cheeks usually dry first. After them come the creases of the elbows and knees. Stop if the skin reddens or the baby fusses, and keep the balm to intact skin.
The AAP's bathing page says three baths a week may be enough in a baby's first year, since bathing more often can dry the skin. After the bath, it suggests a small amount of fragrance-free moisturizer. Until the cord stump falls off, usually by one or two weeks, it's sponge baths only, and I'd keep balm off the stump too.
Why does fragrance-free matter more on a baby?
Fragrance keeps turning up on the AAP's baby pages, and it's the same advice every time. Leave it out. The bathing page asks for a fragrance-free moisturizer, and the diaper rash page wants wipes free of alcohol and fragrance. It calls fragrance-free pastes best. The AAP's winter-skin page says to avoid bubble baths and scented soaps. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) counts fragranced soaps and shampoos among the product triggers to watch for in a baby with eczema.
Essential oils count as scent too, even when a label names the plant instead of saying fragrance. Fragrance-free vs unscented shows how to spot them. On a baby, I'd skip every one of them, lavender included, and start with a jar that smells like nothing.
Is tallow good for diaper rash?
No, and this is the first thing we won't claim: a tallow balm is not a diaper-rash treatment. We don't put our jars forward for the diaper area. The AAP says the most common diaper rash is irritant dermatitis, from skin that spends much of the day against urine and stool. The job there is a barrier.
The AAP's page advises frequent changes, gentle cleaning, time to air-dry and a thick layer of barrier paste. For the paste, it names zinc oxide and petrolatum as good choices. If the rash isn't better after two to three days of care, the AAP says to call your pediatrician. A fever with the rash is a call too. And a raw or broken rash is no place for any balm, ours included.
Can tallow help with cradle cap?
Cradle cap is the second thing we won't claim, and it's common: the AAP puts it at 70% of three-month-olds. It's a type of seborrheic dermatitis. It's rarely itchy or uncomfortable, and most cases clear up on their own by the first birthday. "You don't need to treat cradle cap," the AAP's care section begins.
To help the scales come off, the page suggests washing the hair every other day with a mild baby shampoo. A soft brush or a baby comb loosens scales during the wash. For tough scales, it adds a little oil or petroleum jelly, left on overnight to soften them before the usual wash. Tallow isn't on its list. We don't offer a balm for the scalp. The AAP says crusted or weepy patches need a pediatrician visit.
Does a daily balm prevent baby eczema?
No, and that's the third claim we won't make, because two large trials tested regular emollients in newborns. Both appeared in The Lancet in 2020. In BEEP, Chalmers and colleagues randomly assigned 1,394 UK newborns with atopic disease in the family. Half got a daily emollient for a year. At age two, eczema showed up in 23% of that group and 25% of the others, and the authors found no evidence the emollient prevented it. They also counted more skin infections with the emollient. That was 0.23 per child in the first year against 0.15, which the authors read as some evidence of an increased risk.
PreventADALL, by Skjerven and colleagues, enrolled 2,397 newborns from the general population in Norway and Sweden. In the skin group, parents used bath additives and a facial cream at least four days a week, starting at two weeks of age. By 12 months, the emollients hadn't reduced atopic dermatitis. So no balm prevents eczema, and that includes ours, though moisturizer still has a job on dry skin. The AAD says eczema has no cure. It adds that most cases can be controlled with a customized skin care plan.
Which jar do we keep for the baby?
One jar covers the baby in our house: Bare Silk Unscented, with five ingredients and no essential oils. The kids use every jar we make except Velvet. On a baby, though, we skip anything scented, the Lavender edition of Bare Silk included. Our suet's nearly scentless. Ointments hold the most oil and don't contain preservatives, the AAP's winter-skin page says. A balm with no water sits at the ointment end of the shelf, and ours needs no preservative system.
Our post on Bare Silk for babies and pregnancy explains why we stop at five ingredients, and tallow skincare during pregnancy covers the months before the baby. It's cosmetic care, not a treatment. Your provider's plan comes first.
Start with Bare Silk ($34), five ingredients and sixty days to disagree.
Questions we hear
Can babies use tallow?
Yes, an unscented tallow balm can go on a baby's intact skin in a tiny amount for ordinary dryness. Warm a rice-grain amount of balm between your fingertips. Press it on after a bath, while the skin's still damp, and start with one small spot and a day of watching. Skip jars with essential oils. Anything past plain dryness, from a rash to a patch that won't clear, goes to your pediatrician.
Can I use beef tallow for diaper rash?
No. A tallow balm isn't a diaper-rash treatment. For the common kind, the American Academy of Pediatrics advises frequent changes, gentle cleaning, time to air-dry and a thick layer of barrier paste. It names zinc oxide and petrolatum as good choices, with fragrance-free products best. Call your pediatrician if the rash isn't better in two to three days, or if a fever comes with it.
Should you put oil on cradle cap?
For tough scales, yes, as a softener before the wash, the American Academy of Pediatrics says. Its page names a little oil or petroleum jelly left on overnight, then a mild baby shampoo and a soft brush. The AAP says cradle cap doesn't need treating. It usually clears by the first birthday, and we don't offer a balm for it. If patches turn crusted or weepy, the AAP's advice is to see your pediatrician, who may suggest a medicated cream.
Can a daily moisturizer prevent eczema in babies?
No. Two large trials published in The Lancet in 2020 tested it, and neither found that regular emollient use prevented eczema. In BEEP, rates at age two were 23% with the emollient and 25% without. PreventADALL found emollients didn't reduce it by 12 months. No balm prevents eczema, ours included, though moisturizer still has a job on dry skin.
Is there a tallow diaper cream recipe?
Not from us, and the post above says why: for the diaper area the American Academy of Pediatrics points to a zinc oxide or petrolatum barrier paste, and a rash that isn't better in two to three days goes to your pediatrician. If what you want is a plain balm for a baby's dry cheeks and creases, blend it dense from rendered suet, a little jojoba or meadowfoam and a pinch of arrowroot, with nothing scented; the recipe calculator on the bench gives the amounts by weight for a small jar.
Which sunscreen should a baby use, and can adults use baby sunscreen?
Under six months, the FDA and the American Academy of Pediatrics keep babies out of direct sun: shade, a brimmed hat and covering clothes first, a little sunscreen on small areas such as the face only when those are not available, and a word with the pediatrician before any goes on. Over six months, the AAP says broad-spectrum SPF 15 or higher on every exposed area; if a screen irritates, switch to zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. "Baby" on a label is a marketing word, not a filter: when the actives are those two minerals, an adult can wear it. Tallow balm is not a sunscreen; it goes under or after one. The filters are laid out in mineral vs chemical sunscreen.
Go deeper
If your baby's skin reacts to most things, tallow for sensitive skin makes the case for the shortest label. Tallow for eczema-prone skin covers where a balm fits between flares. If you're new to tallow, start with the beef tallow for skin guide, then how to use a tallow balm for the warm-and-press method. Bug balms vs DEET covers repellents for kids and why a balm is not one.
Sources
- American Academy of Pediatrics (2025). Bathing your baby, by Dipesh Navsaria MD, last updated July 6, 2025. HealthyChildren.org.
- Stockhausen AL, American Academy of Pediatrics (2020). Avoiding dry winter skin in babies and toddlers, last updated March 9, 2020. HealthyChildren.org.
- American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Dermatology (2024). Common diaper rashes & treatments, by Ingrid Polcari MD, last updated December 18, 2024. HealthyChildren.org.
- Sarah Stein MD, American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Dermatology (2023). What is cradle cap? HealthyChildren.org, the AAP's site for parents, last updated October 19, 2023.
- Chalmers JR and colleagues (2020). Daily emollient during infancy for prevention of eczema: the BEEP randomised controlled trial. The Lancet, volume 395, pages 962 to 972.
- Skjerven HO and colleagues (2020). Skin emollient and early complementary feeding to prevent infant atopic dermatitis (PreventADALL): a factorial, multicentre, cluster-randomised trial. The Lancet, volume 395, pages 951 to 961, abstract via Monash University.
- American Academy of Dermatology (n.d.). How to treat eczema in babies, an undated page read October 5, 2026. aad.org.
- American Academy of Pediatrics (2024). Sun safety: information for parents about sunburn and sunscreen, last updated August 9, 2024. HealthyChildren.org.
- US Food and Drug Administration (2026). Should you put sunscreen on infants? Not usually, content current as of September 10, 2026. FDA.
Aspen is the co-founder of Craft Tallow and runs the wear tests: every recipe goes on her skin and the family's for weeks before it gets a label. Questions? Reply to any email from us; it lands with one of us.