If you're curious how to use beef tallow for skincare and why, you're in the right place! Tallow is non-toxic, all natural, and incredibly nourishing for the skin.
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Using beef tallow for skincare certainly isn't a new "trend"—it's actually an ancestral practice that our modern society is losing touch with. Many historical civilizations around the world used tallow for skin health, including the Native Americans, ancient Egyptians and Romans, indigenous Australians, and Sumerians.
Tallow has many uses, including for cooking, skincare, haircare, candle making, soap making, and more. In this blog post we're going to focus on using tallow for skincare.
What is beef tallow?
Beef tallow is rendered beef fat. During the rendering process, the fat is ground or chopped into small pieces, then cooked down and filtered. When tallow is used for skincare, it is typically rendered several times to remove any impurities or "beefy" smell.
Why use beef tallow for skincare?
Beef tallow is all natural, non-toxic, and so nourishing for the skin—especially when made with 100% grass-finished beef fat. Tallow is rich in vitamin A, D, E, K, and B1, which are naturally occurring antioxidants. Here's a breakdown of how these vitamins promote better skin health.
Vitamin A promotes thicker and healthier skin & reduces wrinkles. It helps protect against premature skin aging.
Vitamin D promotes collagen production, which strengthens the skin. It also helps protect against sun damage.
Vitamin E helps protect against skin damage and promote healthy, youthful skin.
Vitamin K stimulates wound healing and leads to more smooth, glowing skin.
Vitamin B1 is important for collagen regeneration. It can help prevent against stress related breakouts.
Beef tallow also has antimicrobial, anti-fungal, and anti-inflammatory properties. It can be helpful for healing minor cuts, scraps, rashes, bruises, or burns. Many people have found beef tallow to be helpful for skin conditions such as acne, eczema, psoriasis, and more.
Most modern skincare is full of harmful chemicals. Even many skincare products marketed as gentle or natural still have a laundry list of ingredients you probably have never heard. Beef tallow is so simple and non-toxic. My general "rule of thumb" with skincare is that I don't put anything on my skin that has ingredients I don't recognize.
Where can I buy beef tallow skincare?
Personally, I've tried many tallow skincare companies, and my favorite shop by far is Clara & Fritz (use the code "RACH" for a discount on any order). They have the best whipped tallow lotion, tallow chapstick, tallow oil cleanser, tallow sunscreen, and more. Most of the products only have 3-5 ingredients, and they are all natural and recognizable.
Clara & Fritz tallow products don't have a "beefy" smell at all. They have both unscented and scented options. The scents are absolutely lovely—some of my favorites are their pemberly, orange cream, and pumpkin spice.
You can't go wrong with any of their products, and it feels good to support a small family business! The owner, Nicole, makes the tallow products in her kitchen. I love following their instagram account to see some "behind the scenes" footage of their tallow skincare production.
Shop Clara & Fritz tallow skincare products through this link, and be sure to use the coupon code "RACH" at checkout for 10% off your order!
My experience with beef tallow for skincare
I've been using tallow-based products for my skincare almost exclusively for about 2 years now and absolutely love it!
My skincare routine is very simple, if you can even call it a routine at all. I just use beef tallow lotion as needed on my legs, hands, arms, and face. I often use beef tallow chapstick, especially in the winter months or when traveling to dryer climates.
I use the same lotion for my body as I do my face, though many tallow skincare companies offer products specifically made for the face. Lately I've been using the Clara & Fritz oil based cleanser on my face before bedtime and I find it leaves my skin feeling so soft and nourished. All I do is massage some into my face and rinse it off with warm water, then whip my face with a dry towel.
You'll find that tallow really goes a long way as lotion, and the products often last longer than you'd expect.
Is beef tallow a good moisturizer?
Yes, beef tallow is an excellent moisturizer that doesn't clog pores. Most people find it leaves their skin feeling very hydrated without being overly greasy.
Can I make my own beef tallow lotion?
Absolutely! Here's a great tutorial. I prefer to buy my tallow skincare products, as it is a time consuming process to make them (more-so than just rendering tallow for cooking). If you decide to make your own, that's awesome. Let me know how it turns out!
Can I use beef tallow lotion on babies & children?
Yes, in fact many people find it can be helpful for things like diaper rashes and skin irritation. Lots of skincare products marketed for babies and children are full of harmful chemicals. Beef tallow is all natural and very nourishing. I'd recommend sticking to unscented tallow skincare products for babies and small children.
What else can I do to improve my skin health?
What we eat is just as important for our skin health as is what we put on our skin. When I switched to a carnivore / animal-based diet, my skin health greatly improved (check out my blog post on this here) Many people find that when they cut out ultra-processed food and inflammatory fats such as seed oils, their skin health transforms for the better.
Eating a real food diet combined with tallow-based skincare is a recipe for very healthy, beautiful skin!
Hopefully you found this article informative! Leave a comment down below sharing your experience with beef tallow for skincare. I’d love to hear from you!