A few weeks ago, I had professional make-up artist do my make-up (No, this is not a regular occurrence… It was for my book cover photo shoot.)
As she was working her magic, she commented on my face several times. She said she rarely sees skin that’s so evenly and deeply moisturized.
(Considering I live in one of the driest, wind-blown places in the United States, this is high praise.)
So which of the high-tech modern skin care lines do I use to get such remarkable results?
None.
For the last 18 months or so, I’ve used nothing on my face but beef fat (aka beef tallow)
When I tell people this, I hear a lot of “ick!” responses. I get it— the thought of rubbing animal fat on our skin can seem strange.
But if we can step outside of our modern paradigm, it makes a ton of old-fashioned sense.
And it falls in line with a question I’ve been asking myself a lot lately (around a variety of topics):
How did we do {fill in the blank} before industrialization told us otherwise?
Answering that question leads down fascinating paths.
For thousands of years, people have used animal fats on their skin. They were readily available and effective. But as the industrial mindset entered the scene, we were told there were better, fancier, more civilized ways to moisturize.
Most of those new ways involved either seed oils (think soybean or sunflower oil) or mineral oil. Sure, seed oils they have to be grow with lots of pesticides and chemical fertilizers which harm soil, and yeah, mineral oil is a petroleum by-product, and obviously you need to add (often toxic) preservatives so they last on the shelf… but OF COURSE these things were still better than animal fats…… right? As a result, we’ve ended up with a very complex 49-billion dollar beauty industry in the USA. (That’s a real number— not an exaggeration.)
But even in our high-tech world, the old, simple ways still work. And skin care is no exception.
Here’s why I’ve switched exclusively to beef tallow:
–> Since beef tallow is a by-product of the beef industry, it’s very sustainable. If I’m going to eat beef, I’d rather not let parts of the animal go to waste. While I’m not completely opposed to coconut oil or other tropical oils, those aren’t local or even regional for most of us.
–> Tallow is a skincare product you can technically grow yourself. (It’s pretty hard for most of us to grow our own coconut oil or shea butter…) Beef tallow or lard can be harvested by anyone who raised animals, or you can get them from local producers.
–> It’s really, really good for our skin. It’s loaded with vitamins A, D, E, K, as well as conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) which has anti-inflammatory benefits. Many people use tallow to manage symptoms of eczema and psoriasis.
–> One size fits all. It works for hands, faces, undereyes, you name it. The days of needing an entire cabinet full of skincare products are over.
Sometimes I make my own tallow balms, but honestly, I like Toups & Co balms even better than my own recipe (especially their vanilla + almond scent).
They use tallow from grass-fed cattle, blend it with a little olive oil, and that’s it (besides the natural scents) It’s creamy, smells amazing, and it makes my face glow.
My skincare routine?
>> I apply the balm in the morning and then again at night after I shower. (I wash my face using the oil cleansing method or mild castile soap.) <<
That’s it. But it works, even though I’m not using a single “high-tech” beauty product.
If you’d like to try the Toups & Co tallow balms (or any of their other products— I also use their tallow deodorant and tallow lip tint, as well as their mascara, bronzer, and concealer), I have a code for ya.
Use HOMESTEAD for 15% off your Toups & Co order
It’s another beautiful example of how old-fashioned ways just make sense.
P.S. Yes, I work with Toups & Co as a sponsor on occasion, but I’ve used their products (and bought them on my own dime) long before that. I know Emilie (the owner) personally. She’s a homesteading mama with a passion for non-toxic skincare. Her products are the cleanest I’ve found. I sing their praises all the time, even when they aren’t a sponsor.
I can’t get grass fed beef fat around here so I’m using grass/grain fed beef fat to make my tallow balm. I’m extremely happy with it.
Would you be willing to share your recipe for skin care cream? We are getting a cow in a few days and I’d like to try to make some myself? Thanks for all your posts and handy tips! You’re so inspiring ?
Here’s the link to Jill’s recipe: https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2022/04/how-to-make-tallow-body-butter.html
The thought makes me cringe because of the smell. Nope. What is more sustainable than honey, propolis, olive oil etc? I use a product that works incredibly well. It too is greasy but works its way into my skin beautiful and is more than affordable. I would use tallow if society collapsed and there were no other options. Tallow is nothing new. People have been using it for dare I say thousands of years? People probably loved the stink of hides and fat on their skin. Nope. I don’t want to stink like rendered fat. We have moved past that now.
I’d love it if you’d do a podcast episode expanding on that question. I often wonder what people used to do before everything became so gosh darn modern and toxic. I think that most of our modern conveniences are the reason each generation suffers from more illnesses than the generation before–especially mental illness (I say that as a person who has been fighting depression since I was a young teen). I think it’s our lifestyles that cause the biggest portion of the problem, and I recently have been trying to switch “to the old ways” on certain things. But it’s difficult and I don’t know where to begin.
Toups and Co is a favorite in our household! I get comments on my skin all the time since I made the switch!
This makes complete sense to me. My question is how much collagen is in beef fat? And does that help with the benefits of using the tallow?
Beef fat is high in collagen and is one of the main ingredients of collagen peptides. You can read more about the health benefits of tallow here: https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2012/02/how-to-render-beef-tallow.html
I am ordering the tallow, I used to use emu oil but it smells like chicken fat so I quit using it but liked that it was all natural
First timers! Does the fat go “ bad”? Trying to figure out how long it’s good for rendering, etc. if we’ve kept it in the cooler
You can read about how to render it and how long it lasts here: https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2012/02/how-to-render-beef-tallow.html Your rendered tallow should last quite a long time in the refrigerator and freezer. (Jill’s has lasted well over a year)
No recipe or instructions on how to make our own?
Also where does one get beef tallow? Should I ask the butcher for it when we send our cows or can you buy it at Walmart?
Jill’s recipe is here: https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2022/04/how-to-make-tallow-body-butter.html You can render your own tallow with these instructions: http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2012/02/how-to-render-beef-tallow.html You can talk to a local butcher about getting some tallow to render your own, too.
Can you describe how you cleanse your face with oil? What oil are you using for this? Does it remove makeup? I regularly wear foundation, and am always on the lookout for a clean and sustainable way to remove it, that simultaneously doesn’t break the bank!
A good oil for oil washing is sweet almond oil, though you might want to research “carrier oils” to figure out the best one to use for your skin type (jojoba oil is another good one). You wet your face with warm water, then massage a small bit of your chosen carrier oil into your face. Wet a washcloth with hot water and lay it over your face. Sit like that for a minute-ish. Then use the washcloth to gently rub and massage the oil into your face until your face feels clean and smooth.
I want to love the tallow balms so bad, but I’m struggling to get over the greasy feeling. Is there something I can do, or is it something I’m just going to have to push through and get used to? Does it just take that much time to absorb into my skin even though I’m using a small amount?
If you check out Jill’s recipe (https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2022/04/how-to-make-tallow-body-butter.html), she suggests adding a bit of arrowroot powder to cut the greasy feel. You could try that and see if it helps!
Ordered the charcoal bar soap & Spring scent cream. I absolutely love the soap!! The cream does go on a little greasy but absorbs fast. My husband tried the soap & it looks like I will be ordering more.
I consume moose instead of beef. I wonder if moose fat would work just as well for as I save all the fat from the moose and make tallow.