The Skinny on Beef Fat

Under the sink in my bathroom I (Karissa) have approximately 34 bars of soap and half a dozen bottles of lotion. I am on a quest: To find a truly moisturizing lotion that won’t cause my eczema to flare up and that does not leave me feeling greasy or sticky long after application. I’ve used the box store name brands like Aveeno and CeraVe. I’ve used scented and unscented lotions and soaps. I’ve used goat milk lotions, moringa oil balms, and straight up olive oil. This summer, I landed on beef tallow. It’s a bit ironic, because, as my husband says:

“We’ve probably been smearing animal fat on ourselves for thousands of years.”

A brief Google search of “beef tallow benefits” brings up a list of at least fifteen benefits of using tallow regularly. These span from lowering inflammation to reducing waste. And while we are glad to be taking a waste product off our local butcher’s hands, the potential benefits to our skin and body were what drew us to tallow in the first place. As someone who has suffered from eczema my entire life, I have spent a great deal of time and money researching and buying various lotions and potions in the hope of finding relief.

Tallow has helped provide relief where many other remedies fell short.

Beef tallow is full of healthy fats and ingredients that are essential to our skin and health. And boy, does it moisturize.

• Beef tallow is high in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a polyunsaturated fat that is linked to reduced inflammation and even a reduction in arterial plaque buildup when consumed. More research is needed to fully assess all its benefits, but given the number of skin related conditions that involve inflammation, CLA is a great place to start. For conditions such as eczema and some types of acne, the soothing properties of tallow combined with its moisturizing properties can provide much needed relief.
• The composition of beef tallow is similar to the natural oils produced by the skin. Because of this, it both absorbs relatively quickly and is an excellent moisturizer.
• It also contains high amounts of vitamins A, D, and E, among others. These are fat-soluble vitamins, meaning they can be absorbed by the body through the skin and play important roles in immune, bone, and eye health.

Now, that being said, tallow is not a magic potion that will simply make all your skin problems disappear (we wish it did!). Some individuals with naturally oily skin may find their skin overloaded when they start using tallow, leading to increased acne. Because of this, we always recommend trying tallow on a small area first, and introducing it slowly, to give your body time to adjust.

At My Sister’s Kitchen we are interested in intentionality. None of us would consider ourselves crunchy, but we’ve also decided we don’t want to continue smearing things on our body just because someone tells us we should or because it hasn’t been proven harmful. Don’t just take our word that tallow is great. Try it for yourself.