Is tallow good for my skin?

As a pharmacist & farmer, and maker of non-toxic skincare, this is a question I get a lot!

Is grassfed beef tallow good to slather on my skin??

So here’s the short answer:  YES!

The long answer:  Do you have time for this??

All joking aside, we’ve been raising cattle on our little farm for about 4 years and it’s only been the past year or two that we’ve started harnessing the nourishing power of the fat from the animals.

It all started when our daughter, Kamden @prairieshepherdess, learned how to use more & more of the whole animal with her sheep.  The sheep arrived on farm as a venture to raise &  provide lamb meat for our customers.  Kamden was determined to learn how to not let the wool go to waste.  In our area, most farmers think of wool as a nuisance - something they have to pay a shearer to remove but can’t get enough money at the wool mill to make the trip worthwhile to drive it there.  She discovered that she could sell the wool to spinners & wool artisans and give an extended life to the wool.  Kamden also learned how to tan the sheepskins of the butcher lambs and turn them into a beautiful sheepskin for people’s homes.  A true way to honour the animal’s life & a keepsake for its new owner.

I knew that my homesteading ancestors would have used animal fats to make soaps.  I also was getting lots of questions about tallow for skincare.

And so the journey to digging into tallow for your skin began.

I started making tallow-based skincare about a year ago - starting with tallow balms (thicker, fat-based balms for deep hydration) and adding in scrubs, body butters, and more since then.

People who have tried the tallow balms RAVE about how they work.  Not only do they tell us that their skin is rehydrated but they also tell us that the tallow product has helped sooth and hydrate their super dry eczema-prone skin.  Even one person tells me that their rosacea has improved.

But let's dig into the science and the info behind grassfed beef tallow and how it can nourish & heal your skin.

1 - Ultra-hydrating as the Fat Mimics your Skin.

Tallow contains fats that are quite similar to the fats found in our skin.  This means that the fat is easily absorbed by our skin.  Plant oils have a harder time penetrating the skin so take longer to rub into and be absorbed by your skin.  The fat can contribute to keeping your skin cells nicely hydrated and healthy (healthy skin = glowing skin).  Fats can also help create a barrier on the skin to help protect your body from external toxins & pollutions.

2 - Nutrient-dense to Nourish your Skin

Animal fats are nutrient dense.  Compared to plant-based oils, the nutrients are more concentrated in the animal fats.  This means that can get away with less product for the same level of hydration & nutrition.  A little goes a long way.

3 - Radiant Skin from Fat-Soluble Vitamins

Tallow is jam-packed with fat-soluble vitamins - A, D, E, and K.  The animal concentrates and stores these vitamins in their fat - especially those animals that are raised on great pasture in the sunshine!

These vitamins are great for skin health and have anti-oxidant properties.  Because the tallow is so similar to our skin structure, the tallow helps to get these vitamins into your skin & body better.

So, there you have it. 

Tallow truly is an excellent choice for your skincare regimen. 

To get your weekly dose of tips & tricks from our farmhouse to your inbox, sign up for the Lazuli Farms weekly email newsletter here.  If you're ready to give tallow skincare a try, pop on over to the Tallow Skincare section of the farm shop and order your tallow products today.  You get FREE shipping anywhere in North America on orders over $100!