Social media is brimming with different skincare trends. These social media posts promote different types of cleansers, balms, and serums, all with the promise that they will make your skin better. However, that’s not always true. Some products may make certain skin conditions — such as acne — worse, and some may do absolutely nothing for your skin.
The latest of these trends circulating social media is beef tallow, or rendered fat, from a cow. Some people use this product as a moisturizer and acne cure. But does it really work? And is it better for your skin?
What Is Beef Tallow?
Humans have used beef tallow for centuries in cooking, candle making, soap making, and as a skin moisturizer. So, it’s no surprise that it may be making a skincare comeback. Beef tallow is made from the fatty tissues around the cow’s organs. The fat is then melted down, and any solid impurities are strained out of it.
Tallow becomes solid at room temperature, similar to butter. From there, people can use it to grease cookware or melt it down to deep fry certain foods.
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Benefits of Beef Tallow for Skincare
According to a 2024 study published in Cureus, the benefits of beef tallow for our skin include moisturizing, clearing acne, anti-aging benefits, and it contains beneficial fatty acids and antioxidants. It’s also marketed as an all-natural product.
The study concludes that beef tallow is an excellent moisturizer and that certain soaps made with beef tallow can aid in wound healing.
The study also claims that beef tallow contains essential vitamins such as vitamins A, D, K, E, and B12, almost all of which are beneficial for your skin, according to a 2023 study in the journal Medicina.
Vitamin A contains retinol, a common product used in anti-aging skincare, which is why beef tallow could be viewed as having anti-aging properties. However, according to the University of Rochester Medical Center, tallow doesn’t contain vitamin A. The USDA also backs up that claim. The sources that claim that it does have vitamin A also say that there isn’t enough vitamin A to have any real anti-age impact, mostly because the retinol isn’t concentrated enough.
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Beef Tallow for Skincare Isn’t Right for Everyone
If you’re still on the fence about using beef tallow, here are some other things to consider. While some on social media may claim that beef tallow helped clear up their acne, take it from this journalist who saw the opposite. The journalist noticed a major acne flare-up after using beef tallow for about a week. They also mentioned that the smell was off-putting.
Beef tallow is also an animal byproduct. It’s not vegan or cruelty-free, which are also major trends for skin care. While tallow is marketed as a natural product, other skin oils, like coconut oil, are natural, too.
The Cureus study authors said, “Few articles that we were able to find on the direct uses of tallow emulsions on the skin showed promise of its use and benefits for the skin.”
This isn’t to say that there are zero benefits to using beef tallow as skin care. There may be people out there who actually do reap the benefits of using this product, there just really isn’t any sound evidence to back it up. Plus, there are other science-backed products out there that already provide the same benefits as tallow, only they are cruelty-free and probably smell better.
As with all types of skincare, one product does not fit all. If it works for one person, that’s great, but you may want to reconsider beef tallow as a miracle worker when it comes to skincare. And remember, always reach out to a medical professional if you have questions or concerns about this product or any skin product.
This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.
Article Sources
Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:
A graduate of UW-Whitewater, Monica Cull wrote for several organizations, including one that focused on bees and the natural world, before coming to Discover Magazine. Her current work also appears on her travel blog and Common State Magazine. Her love of science came from watching PBS shows as a kid with her mom and spending too much time binging Doctor Who.
