You opened the box and the jar that was supposed to be a fluffy whipped balm is a puddle, or a lotion that should be creamy is thin as milk, or a lip balm is stuck to the inside of its cap. That is a heat and shipping miss. It is not how the product is supposed to arrive. We replace it. Tell us what arrived damaged and we will send a replacement. Below is what happened, what melting looks like product by product, and what to do first. For the short versions, see My Lip Balm or Lotion Melted in the Heat. What Should I Do? and Why Did My Magnesium Lotion Arrive as a Liquid?.
Why tallow products melt in shipping
Everything we make is built on beef tallow rendered from our own cattle, blended with shea butter, olive oil, sunflower oil and, in some products, natural beeswax. Those are real fats, and real fats have a melting point. Tallow and shea butter begin to soften around body temperature and turn fully liquid at temperatures a parcel easily reaches inside a truck, a warehouse, or a mailbox in the sun during a Texas summer. Beeswax melts much hotter, which is why the cream and the lip balm hold their shape better than the whipped balm, but even they will soften on a bad day.
We could make products that stay rigid at 130 degrees. It would mean adding petroleum waxes and synthetic hardeners, and that is the opposite of why you bought a tallow product. So when heat in transit melts an order, we will not tell you that is normal. We replace it.
What to expect, product by product
| Product | What melting looks like | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Whipped tallow balm (tallow, shea, olive oil, essential oil) | Liquid, or a jar that looks half full, "deflated," or has a hole in the middle | That is not how it should arrive. Tell us and we will replace it. |
| Tallow cream (adds beeswax) | Soft or partly liquid, may look separated | That is not how it should arrive. Tell us and we will replace it. |
| Tallow lotions, including magnesium, Serbian clay and the sampler jars | Thin and runny, "like water in a jar" | We will not tell you that liquid is normal. Tell us and we will replace it. See Why Did My Magnesium Lotion Arrive as a Liquid? |
| Tallow lip balm (tallow, shea, coconut oil, beeswax) | Soft, tip flattened, or balm melted into the cap | That is not how it should arrive. Tell us and we will replace it. See My Lip Balm or Lotion Melted in the Heat. What Should I Do? |
| Tallow soap and shampoo bars | Rarely affected. May sweat a little in the wrapper. | Nothing to do. Let it dry and use it. |
What to do with a melted jar
- Get it out of the heat first. A cool room, out of direct sun, away from a hot car or a mailbox, is enough. Do not leave it in a hot car, on a sunny windowsill, or next to a stove.
- Tell us what arrived damaged. Say which items melted or leaked. We look up the order. We create a replacement.
- Keeping it is optional. If you want to keep what arrived, let it sit upright and see if it firms up. That is optional. It is not a requirement before we will help.
You do not need to wait a week to see if it “goes back.” You do not need to send a long explanation. Name the product and that it melted or leaked. If more than one item in the box was affected, say that in the same note so we can replace everything at once.
Why does it feel grainy?
Shea butter and tallow are made of several different fats that solidify at different temperatures. When a jar melts and then cools slowly, some of those fats form tiny crystals before the rest, and you feel them as grit. If a jar arrived grainy after melting in transit, that is heat damage too. It is not how the product is supposed to arrive. Tell us and we will replace it.
How to reach us
If product melted, leaked out of the container, or a lid cracked, reply to your order confirmation, use the contact option on the site you ordered from, or message us on the same channel you already used (email support@texastallowproducts.com, Instagram, or Facebook). We replace it, 100 percent, no questions asked. That is the policy in summer and every other month. A melted jar gets replaced. A jar that lost product in transit gets replaced.
Ordering in summer
- Ship to an address where someone can bring the box inside the same day, rather than a mailbox in full sun.
- If you know the box has been sitting in a hot car or on a porch, get it out of the heat first. A cool room, out of direct sun, is enough.
- Order early in the week so the package is not parked in a warehouse over a weekend.
- Soap and shampoo bars travel best in heat. Whipped balms are the most sensitive, so if you are stocking up in July, a fall reorder for balms is a fair plan.
How to store it
Our whipped balms and creams contain no water, which is why they need no preservative. The lotions contain water and are preserved for that reason. Store it with the lid on, out of direct sun. A bathroom shelf is fine. If your house runs hot, the fridge is fine too, and many customers like a cold balm in August.
If this is your first jar and you want to start smaller next time, the Tallow Lotion Sampler Pack ($32) ships four 2oz jars and lets you find your favorite before committing to a 16oz. Our Tallow Lip Balm 4 Pack ($16) uses natural beeswax for a firmer stick that handles heat better than any of the jars.