Tallow has been used as a skin remedy for thousands of years, despite it not being commonly used in skincare items today. Tallow seems to be gaining popularity recently though and for good reason. In this article we’ll break down some of the properties and benefits of tallow and why it’s amazing for skin!
This post may contain affiliate links which means that I receive a small commission if you choose to purchase a product through my link – I only recommend products that I use and absolutely love!
What is Tallow?
Tallow is rendered beef fat!
Rendering is the process of heating the raw Beef fat at a low temperature until it melts down into a liquid. Then you strain what’s been melted from what’s left in the pot. The liquid that is strained is your tallow.
- To read more about the basic of tallow, check out this article: What is Beef Tallow?
Is Tallow Good for Skin?
Tallow is made of oils that are very similar to our own skin oils. Because of this, it is incredibly gentle on all different skin types! Here are some of the other properties that make tallow so nourishing for skin:
Oleic Acid:
The Fatty Acid composition of Tallow is over 40% Oleic Acid.
Oleic Acid is great for dry or aging skin because it is able to penetrate deeply into the skin’s surface. Once in the dermis, it easily hydrates and replenishes lost moisture in the skin. It also balances the skin oils and provides a protective layer over the skin without clogging pores.
Palmitic Acid:
Around 1/4 of the fatty acid composition of tallow comes from palmitic acid.
Palmitic Acid levels are depleted as we age. Tallow contains a perfectly balanced fatty acid profile and balance to keep skin looking young, hydrated and fresh!
Stearic Acid:
Stearic Acid is a natural skin cleanser and lubricant. It protects the skin’s surface against water loss and creates a protective barrier. It does all of this without clogging pores too!
Here’s a great article on the benefits of Stearic Acid.
The fatty acid profile of tallow is perfect for our skin and balanced in a lovely way to keep the skin hydrated and fresh.
What Are The Benefits of Tallow for Skin?
Tallow Hydrates
The skin is able to easily absorb tallow, meaning that all the benefits of the oils are received and the skin is left moisturized and hydrated. It does this without leaving a greasy layer on the skin. It’s packed with a wide profile of fatty acids that you can’t find balanced in other skincare products.
Contains many fat-soluble vitamins that nourish the skin
Tallow contains many fat soluble vitamins including vitamin A, E, K and D. These vitamins help protect the skin, increase collagen production, improve elasticity, and help the skin to heal (I’ve seen amazing results with my skin healing after consistently using tallow on my skin – more on that below!)
Protects the skin
Because of the perfect fatty acid profile, tallow helps protect the skin not only from environment damage, but also from free radical damage. There are antioxidant properties in tallow, which means that it can protect the skin from UV damage and even heal skin that has been damaged already.
Has stood the test of time
Tallow has been around for a LONG time. People have been using it for thousands of years in cooking, skin remedies, candles, and soap! I always tend to err on the side of caution when it comes to “newish” remedies that haven’t been time tested, so I love that tallow has withstood the test of time.
Does Tallow actually heal the skin?
I want to share my personal experience using tallow for skin health and to heal my stretch marks!
So I have had two babies – two pregnancies – and in both of them I got stretch marks. However, especially in the second pregnancy, my stretch marks became really deep and purple. I felt like the skin became damaged and even a year Post Partum, my stretch marks had not healed much.
I was opposed to using Tallow on my skin for a long time because I heard that it smelled like beef and I did NOT want to walk around smelling like a hamburger!
However, once I broke down and started applying tallow to my skin – I saw incredible results!
Here’s my before/after photo after one month of applying tallow balm to my stretch marks.
Before is on the left – you can see my stretch marks are wide and deep and purple. I also have a mole towards the middle of the picture.
After is on the right – my stretch marks are lighter, whiter, and starting to heal. Even my mole lightened!
This is after one month of using tallow on my skin. I can’t wait to keep using it consistently and see what kind of improvement I see over 6 months!
What are the Best Brands of Tallow for Skin?
I would love to share about my favorite brand of tallow balm for skin.
HoneyMoo is a small company run by Jessica. Jessica sources all of her tallow from regenerative, local farms in her area. She has a special rendering method that she uses to get any “beefy” smell out of the fat. Her tallow is clean, smells fresh and does not leave the skin greasy.
One of my favorite things about her tallow is that she does not use Essential Oils in it.
I personally prefer using the ENTIRE herb with all of it’s constituents instead of using Essential Oils. Jessica forages herbs from her land, dries them and make infused herbal oils with them. She then combines the herbal oils with the tallow and raw honey.
This method ensures that you get not only the benefits of the tallow, but also SO MANY nutrients from the herbs too!
These balms are healing, cleansing, and nourishing the skin.
I use my balm on my stretch marks, my face, and any rashes or bug bites that my kids get!
If you shop with HoneyMoo using my link, you’ll get a 10% discount! I’ve used the Honey Mama Balm, the Honey Baby Balm, and I want to try Mend next!
If you’d rather watch this content, here’s a video I made about tallow for skin!
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Hey, I'm Tori!
I'm so glad you're here, sweet mother!
My goal is to inspire you to remember your primal roots & live a WILD life in alignment with nature. On my blog I empower you to use herbs and natural remedies to keep your family healthy, teach you how to eat a nourishing, traditional foods diet, and inspire you to raise your babies consciously and respectfully.
