We sell a tallow balm and it's one of the better sellers in the shop. So it's a little awkward to write that a lot of what you'll read about tallow online is overblown. But it is, and you'll trust the rest of this more if we say so.
What tallow balm is
Tallow is beef fat that's been melted down slowly, strained, and left to set into a soft, waxy solid. A tallow balm is that fat, often whipped so it's easier to spread, sometimes mixed with honey, oils or a scent.
People used animal fats on their skin for centuries. The current wave started on TikTok, where it's sold as "ancestral" or "what our grandparents used."
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What it's good at
Keeping moisture in. Tallow is mostly saturated fat. Spread on skin, it forms a thin layer that slows down how fast water leaves, and that's why dry, rough skin feels softer after using it. Cosmetic chemists interviewed by NPR described exactly that effect, and said it's real.
It's best on the spots that get dry and stay dry: heels, knuckles, elbows, shins, chapped cheeks in January. It works best on slightly damp skin, right after a shower, because there's water there for it to hold in.
Where the hype goes too far
There's almost no clinical research showing tallow does anything a regular moisturizer, shea butter or plant oil doesn't. Several of the dermatologists who've weighed in said the same: it's a heavy fat, and it behaves like a heavy fat. The vitamins it's sold on are there only in small, unmeasured amounts.
"Natural" doesn't mean better, either. Regular lotions usually contain ingredients that pull water into the skin and preservatives that keep them from spoiling. Tallow doesn't, and it can go rancid in a hot bathroom.
Who should skip it
- Acne-prone or oily skin. A UCLA dermatologist told NPR it can clog pores. Clogged pores can take weeks to show up, so a good first week doesn't settle it.
- Eczema or psoriasis. The skin barrier is already damaged, and any new product is a bigger gamble. Ask your dermatologist first.
- Vegans and vegetarians, obviously.
If you want to try it
Put a little on a small patch, the inside of your elbow or a knee, and give it a couple of weeks before using it on your face. Use very little. A fingertip covers a lot more than you'd think. Keep the jar somewhere cool, and toss it if it starts to smell off.
If your face does well with it, great. If not, keep it for heels and hands, where most people end up liking it anyway.
Ours
Our whipped tallow and honey balm is a 60g jar for $9.49, or two for $16.99. It smells faintly of honey, not of beef. For a bigger jar there's a 120g tallow cream. If tallow isn't for you, plain shea butter does much the same job and is plant-based.