TALLOW TALK: THE BEST USES & SPOILER, NOT IN SKINCARE

TALLOW TALK: THE BEST USES & SPOILER, NOT IN SKINCARE

Let’s get one thing clear: we’re all for circular living. No waste? Yes, sounds great. But when it comes to what goes on your skin—especially your delicate, hard-working face—we’re raising an eyebrow at the beef tallow beauty trend.

Beef tallow, or rendered cow fat, has had a surprising revival lately. Fans claim it’s “ancestral,” “natural,” and “nutrient-rich,” which all sounds lovely... in a bone broth. But let’s look past the glow-up marketing and get into why tallow is great for greasing your skillet, but not for your skincare routine.

 

WHAT IS TALLOW, REALLY?

Tallow is a rendered form of beef fat. It’s made by slowly heating the fat until the liquid separates from connective tissue, moisture, and impurities. Once cooled and purified, it becomes a waxy solid that is considered shelf-stable for long periods. It can undergo 2-5 filter and refinement steps before becoming tallow. It’s been used for centuries—for cooking, candle-making, and even waterproofing. Yep. Waterproofing.

Not all beef fat is created equal. Suet is the prized fat found around the kidneys and loins of the cow. It creates the premium tallow when purified. Unfortunately, tallow skincare's usually made by home DIYers who use all types of fat, which creates a softer, less stable product.

Tallow is rich in saturated fatty acids (palmitic, stearic, myristic) and monounsaturated fatty acids (oleic and palmitoleic) —great for frying, but not quite the dreamy skin match.  Despite claims that it “mimics human sebum,” our skin craves polyunsaturated fatty acids along with ceramides for the best healthy barrier and benefits.

 

SKIN SCIENCE: YOUR BARRIER DESERVES BETTER

Our skin isn’t a cast-iron pan—it’s a complex, living barrier. Tallow’s heavy saturated fat profile can clog pores, disrupt microbiome balance, and lack the flexibility that plant-based lipids offer. Unlike skin-mimicking oils like squalene (from olives) or phytoceramides (from plants), tallow doesn’t adapt to skin’s dynamic needs.

Plus, tallow lacks:

Plants do it better—and they also avoid animal cruelty practices.

 

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT: CARBON COST CHECK

Using tallow might seem “waste-free,” but it's still tied to industrial animal agriculture, a leading source of greenhouse gas emissions. A typical cow contributes 220 pounds of methane per year, a greenhouse gas 84x more potent than CO₂ over a 20-year period.

Meanwhile, upcycled plant oils (like the ones in our serum bars) offer high efficacy with a low carbon footprint, especially when sourced regeneratively.

 

WHERE TALLOW DOES SHINE

Let’s give credit where it’s due: beef tallow is excellent for high-heat cooking because it’s smoke point is 480 degrees F. It’s refined to be shelf stable, non-toxic when heated, and delicious for sautéing. Also, it makes a great traditional polish for wood cutting boards, leather boots, and metal tools. It even shines bright as a great candle or soap making ingredient.

But on your face? That’s a recipe for clogged pores, sweat-layered buildup, and possibly breakouts make it heavy occlusive with benefits for those looking to suffocate the skin. So, no tallow, now what? 

We get it, the allure of “ancestral” skincare is strong. But science progresses and nature evolve. When there was nothing else to use and animals were a food staple it made perfect sense to use the entire animal for any and all applications. We now have better information for the composition of skin and how to support long-term skin health. That’s why our bar-format skincare is loaded with bioavailable pure plant actives, phytosterols, and NMF (natural moisturizing factor) boosting botanicals. All chosen to mirror what your skin naturally needs, with none of the moo.

Tallow may have a place in your pantry or your prepper kit—but for your face? We’ll stick with dew-powered skincare that’s vegan, climate-conscious, and unbelievably effective.

 

Great Additional Reads:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tallow

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470464/

Tackling Climate Change Through Livestock.

The skin: an indispensable barrier https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19043850/

Moisturization and skin barrier function. Dermatologic Therapy, 17(1), 43–48.

Collab with Karina Plohoros

Journal