For most of human history, rendered beef fat needed no explaining. It was simply what you reached for when hands cracked in winter or a baby's cheeks went raw in the wind. Then the twentieth century arrived with its petroleum jellies and its glossy jars, and tallow was quietly demoted to the back of the butcher's cool room. It has spent the last few years finding its way back onto bathroom benches, and for once the revival is better founded than most.
What I'd use
Earth Tallow Balm. The one most people start with. Australian grass-fed tallow slowly infused with quandong, rosehip and sea buckthorn.
Have a lookWhat tallow actually is
Tallow is the purified fat of cattle, usually the firm suet that sits around the kidneys. It is gently rendered, strained and cleaned until what remains is a pale, almost odourless fat that is solid at room temperature and melts the moment it meets warm skin. A good tallow balm smells of whatever it has been infused with, and not of the paddock.
By composition it is mostly oleic, palmitic and stearic acids, with smaller amounts of others. Those names may sound like a chemistry exam, but they are thoroughly familiar to your skin.
Why your skin takes to it
The outermost layer of your skin is often described as a brick wall. The bricks are flattened cells and the mortar is a carefully balanced mix of lipids: ceramides, cholesterol and free fatty acids, in roughly equal measure. That mortar is what holds water in and keeps irritants out. When it is depleted, moisture escapes faster than it can be replaced, and skin feels tight, rough and quick to protest.
Your own sebaceous glands, meanwhile, produce an oil made largely of triglycerides and free fatty acids, and the fatty acids in tallow overlap generously with that natural film. In plain terms, tallow is a fat your skin recognises. It softens, it settles in, and as an occlusive it slows the water loss that leaves skin feeling parched. Moisturisers that reduce that loss are one of the best supported tools dermatologists have for dry, uncomfortable skin.
Why grass-fed matters
What an animal eats shapes the fat it lays down. Cattle raised on pasture produce fat with more omega-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid than grain-finished cattle, and more of the carotenoids that give grass-fed fat its faintly golden colour. It is also, quite simply, a kinder way to farm. Every jar of DAEAR is made with Australian grass-fed tallow for exactly those reasons.
The part tallow can't do alone
Tallow is a superb carrier. Fat-soluble plant compounds dissolve happily into it, which is why I infuse mine twice, slowly, with native Australian fruits. Quandong, the desert peach, is remarkably rich in antioxidant compounds, and rosehip and sea buckthorn bring their own brightly coloured fruit oils. The infusion is where a balm stops being merely fat and becomes something worth looking forward to at the end of the day.
How to tell a good balm from a mediocre one
- The source is named. Grass-fed, and ideally the country it came from.
- It smells clean. Any beefy note means the tallow wasn't purified properly.
- It melts quickly. A small amount should turn to oil between your fingertips within seconds.
- The ingredient list is short and makes sense. You should be able to read it and understand why each thing is there.
How I use it
Warm a small amount between your fingertips and press it onto damp skin at night. It feels rich for a minute, then sinks in. The Earth Tallow Balm is the one most people start with. If your skin dislikes fragrance of any kind, the Scent-Free Tallow Balm has nothing added at all. And if you're unsure which suits you, I've written a short guide to choosing the right one.
It is a very old idea, made carefully. Sometimes that is exactly what skin wants.
Ayla, holistic health coach and founder of DAEAR
Keep reading
- How to use tallow balm: a simple three-step routine
- Tallow balm vs tallow cream
- Tallow vs lanolin vs emu oil
This article is general information only and is not medical advice. Patch test any new skincare first, and speak with your GP or a qualified health professional if you have a skin concern.
Research referred to
- Feingold KR, Elias PM. Role of lipids in the formation and maintenance of the cutaneous permeability barrier. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta. 2014;1841(3):280-294.
- Picardo M, Ottaviani M, Camera E, Mastrofrancesco A. Sebaceous gland lipids. Dermato-Endocrinology. 2009;1(2):68-71.
- Purnamawati S et al. The role of moisturizers in addressing various kinds of dermatitis: a review. Clinical Medicine & Research. 2017;15(3-4):75-87.
- Daley CA et al. A review of fatty acid profiles and antioxidant content in grass-fed and grain-fed beef. Nutrition Journal. 2010;9:10.
- Konczak I et al. Antioxidant capacity and hydrophilic phytochemicals in commercially grown native Australian fruits. Food Chemistry. 2010;123(4):1048-1054.
- US Department of Agriculture. FoodData Central: Beef tallow.