Have you ever used tallow aka beef fat in your skincare routine? No? Well me neither until I started researching tallow and found out about some pretty interesting science behind why beef fat is so good for our skin. As someone who stopped eating meat for many years, I think I am still somewhat weirded out by the idea of beef fat on my face but because of the way my skin is currently loving tallow, I have definitely changed my perception around this whole concept. Knowledge is power and I highly recommend that before you say no, perhaps do some of your own research into the chemistry behind tallow. You might be surprised by what you discover. And maybe you are already using tallow for your skin and in that case, congratulations, you may have found the holy grail of skin-care!
The last four years have been an interesting and sometimes a very difficult journey for many but the last four years have also brought new perspectives into people’s lives on different topics. One of those topics for me was food security and outsourcing clean, grass fed, organic, pasture raised beef that is raised in an environment that’s kind and loving towards these beautiful sentient beings. Environment where hormones, antibiotics and mRNA technology is definitely taboo. We finally found an amazing source and I somehow also ended up with bags and bags full of beef fat that I didn’t know what to do with, until I started reading about tallow..
White Oak Pastures, South Georgia
‘Radically Traditional Farming.’
Please note that picture above is for display purposes only. It is not where our tallow comes from. Livia’s Wildcraft uses only grass fed, organically and ethically raised Canadian beef. I only happen to love what Will Harris has done with regenerative farming on the same land that his grand-grandfather settled in 1866! https://whiteoakpastures.com/pages/about-us
I recently stumbled upon a very well researched article by Andrew Gardner that’s very enlightening and I highly recommend reading it as it also references to many peer reviewed articles.
Andrew points out that ‘currently there are virtually no skin care products available made with animal fats’ and that interestingly ‘such topical products disappeared at the same time that animal fats in our diets did’!
He goes on to say that ‘another strong indication of tallow’s compatibility with our skin biology is its similarity to sebum, the oily, waxy matter that lubricates and waterproofs our skin. Indeed, the word “sebum” actually means “tallow” in Latin and began to be used in this biological sense around the year 1700. The sebaceous glands, which secrete sebum, are found in greatest abundance on the face and scalp, but they are distributed over all of our skin except on the palms and soles.22 Sebum is made up of lipids (fats) of which 41 percent are in the form of triglycerides,23 and the lipids of tallow are principally in the form of triglycerides, which is how fatty acids are usually configured in nature.’
‘In regard to this compatibility of tallow with the biology of our skin, we should note that we are animals rather than plants, so the modern taboo against animal products in skin care products would seem unfounded and even illogical. In addition to containing very little saturated fats, plant products do not have the same levels of other nutrients needed for healthy skin. Tallow contains the abundant natural fat-soluble activators, vitamins A, D, and K, as well as vitamin E, which are found only in animal fats and which are all necessary for general health and for skin health.
Tallow (especially tallow from grass-fed animals) also contains fats like conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which has anti-cancer24 and anti-inflammatory properties, as well as palmitoleic acid, which has natural antimicrobial properties.25 Dr. Mary Enig cites a 2006 study on fats showing that CLA, which is found in high concentrations in tallow, has significant anti-cancer effects, and that supplying tallow increased those effects due its palmitic acid, another fatty acid.26‘
Livia’s Wildcraft 1oz/30ml Tallow Face Cream comes in two scents. Rose Geranium for those who prefer beautiful feminine sweet scent and Sweet Fennel Bergamot as a more earthy scent option.
I hope you enjoy these products as much as I do.
Created with love and care by Livia