I’m really excited to get to do this review, because I feel like I’ve really hit the jackpot with this find. To warn you upfront, it isn’t glamorous, and it’s a little bit strange, but it really works. If you’re struggling with oily skin or seborrheic dermatitis, you will want to read on.
Let’s start with what tallow actually is. As I said, it isn’t glamorous, but I’m going to tell it to you straight: it’s beef fat, usually blended with olive oil and essential oils for ease of application and scent. What are the benefits of beef fat for your skin?
♡Fatty acids! Tallow is full of naturally occurring fatty acids that your skin needs to repair itself and stay plump and moist. Fatty acids are also natural antioxidants, which helps fight aging and acne and seborrheic dermatitis (both of which are caused by inflammation). Most beauty products rely on adding fatty acids to them, usually by either by extracting them from natural sources or by making them synthetically. The nice thing about tallow is that all of the fatty acids are naturally occurring and are readily available for your skin to absorb and use them.
♡Vitamins! Tallow also is full of naturally occurring vitamins. I don’t think I need to explain the importance of vitamins to you, but I’ll point out a couple of important ones for your skin. Vitamin A (retinol) is essential for helping with acne. Accutane, a prescription drug used for severe acne, is really just highly concentrated and very readily absorbed vitamin A. Vitamin E (you’ll see this often listed as tocopherols) is an antioxidant and moisturizing agent. This vitamin is great for helping skin stay moisturized, as well as fighting aging and any inflammation-based problems.
♡Collagen! I know collagen has in the past been a bit of a negative word, but collagen is essential for the skin to rebuild itself. It’s a building block for cells, which means you’ll want readily available collagen for your skin to help keep it youthful and healthy.
What about the cost? Tallow is actually very inexpensive. A 2oz jar of organic tallow from grass-fed cows will cost about $25, but you use an extremely small amount of tallow on your skin. I estimate even used generously, a 2oz jar should last about six months or longer.
Why is organic tallow from grass-fed cows so important? For cows to be healthy, they need to be fed grass. Cows cannot digest corn or grains (this is what they’re fed on industrial farms) and become malnourished when they do, because they cannot absorb any nutrients from this. If the cow cannot absorb nutrients from its food, the fat in the cow will have no vitamins or fatty acids in it. This malnutrition will also cause stress on the cow’s body, leading to the production of all kinds of things in the fat that your skin will not thank you for. Speaking of stress, it’s very important for cows to be able to graze freely. Being locked in pens for 24 hours a day is also very stressful and not good for a cows health. An unhealthy cow will not produce good milk, good meat, or good fat.
A little bit about my person experience with tallow: I was very skeptical at first, but I’m always exciting to try something new for my poor, desperate skin. I read some reviews online where people who had problems with oily skin said it did wonders for them, and even some people claimed it erased blackheads. Intrigued, I jumped online to see what different places sell good quality tallow. I ended up going with Vintage Tradition and purchased their Almost Unscented balm. The reason for this was it sounded like with the essential oils it had in it, it should have a warm, woody scent. That ended up not being the case, and the scent is too light to really cover the smell of the tallow up well, but it still is amazing for my skin. My next tallow will be the Pretty Girl with a floral scent.The consistency of Vintage Tradition’s tallow is a lot like unrefined shea butter, and it needs to be rubbed with your finger to be able to get a little bit out to apply to the skin.
After using it for a couple of weeks, I noticed my skin is so smooth and soft. My makeup goes on smoother, and I even apply tallow lightly under my makeup because it helps it go on so much better. I used to get rough patches when applying my foundation, because of the seborrheic dermatitis. Now the only rough patches I get are under my eyebrows. My foundation seems to stay on a little better, too. My skin also is a little less oily, and I’m hoping after several months of use to see my pores get smaller and my skin get less oily throughout the day. At night, I apply the tallow a little heavier over the Topix Replenix CF Cream, and after showering I apply it on the most dry-prone areas over my favorite Madara body lotion.
All in all, I would highly recommend this to anyone. Whether you have skin problems or not, you can’t go wrong with tallow from a high quality source. My mom and sister even started using it after I had been the guinea pig for the first week. So check it out and tell me what you think!
･ﾟ:*oningyou♡dream*:･ﾟ 