7 Reasons Most Tallow Balms Aren't Worth Your Money
Tallow skincare is a massive trend you've most likely seen recently. Everyone's talking about it.
But what people don't realize is - not all tallow is made the same.
Most of them are made using cheap fillers and fragrance oils.
Here's why so many people try tallow... only to end up disappointed (and how to find the right one).
Most brands don't actually make their own tallow.
Tallow balm is only ever as good as the fat it's made from.
Around 80% of tallow brands don't melt any fat themselves. They buy it already rendered, in bulk, from a supplier.
Fat that's been sitting frozen or stored for months slowly turns, and starts smelling beefy and feels heavy.
Fresh fat feels light and smells clean.
Quality fat can be ruined if it's not melted properly.
To speed up production, most brands will rush their fat over high heat to produce more product in a shorter period.
This ruins the quality of the fat and causes a heavy smell, which is usually covered by chemicals or deodorant.
Fat needs to be rendered slowly, over low heat, so it comes out clean and mild on it's own. No chemicals are needed.
Not all beef fat is the same.
When people hear tallow, they picture one thing. But a cow has many kinds of fat, and they are not equal.
The best tallow comes from suet, the pure, soft fat from around the kidneys. To save money, most product use cheaper trimmings and mixed offcuts instead.
That's a big reason two tallow balms can feel completely different. The purer the fat you start with, the cleaner and gentler the balm turns out.
There's often barely any tallow in the jar.
Tallow is the most expensive part of a balm, so a lot of products use as little of it as they can.
The rest of the jar gets filled out with water and cheap oils, which feel nice for a minute but soak away and leave your skin wanting more.
Look for a balm that leads with tallow, not one where it's near the bottom of the ingredient list.
Tallow on its own is heavy, so what it's mixed with matters.
Pure tallow is rich. Used on its own, it can feel greasy and just sit on top of the skin.
A lot of brands either leave it like that, or thin it down with fillers to make it spread easier.
The better way is to balance it with a few simple ingredients. Raw honey to draw in moisture, olive oil to help it absorb, and beeswax to seal it in. That's what turns rich fat into a balm that melts in.
The right balm depends on your skin.
A single tallow product will not work for everyone.
Reactive or sensitive skin often can't handle the essential oils and fragrance packed into most balms, and ends up worse than before.
That's exactly why we make ours in two. Our Original Tallow & Honey Balm is lightly scented with pure essential oils, and our Unscented balm is the same thing with no oils.
You rarely get to see who actually makes it.
When a brand won't show how something is made, it's usually because there isn't much worth showing.
This is why we strive to be different. We're a family in Ireland, and we make every jar ourselves, from melting the fresh fat to filling the last tin. Our names and our faces are on it, because we're proud of how it's made.
- Irish grass-fed tallow, rendered in-house
- With raw honey, olive oil & beeswax
- Handmade in small batches
Spend €80, get a FREE Lip Balm · Handmade in Ireland
100.000+ Skin Transformations
I cannot recommend this enough, I've been using it since January along with the tallow and black seed oil and I will never put anything else on my skin again. This is my skin 7 months apart. I just wish I started using it sooner!
My daughter suffers with really bad eczema. I noticed an improvement after just one use.After 4 days of use there was a significant improvement of her skin. I have started using it on my face and dry patches. It's a fabulous product. Photos were taken 3 days apart.
Long story short, I SEVERELY damaged my skin barrier by overusing topical actives to the point my skin burned with anything applied. After deciding to go back to the bare minimum and only tallow as my day/night product and we have healing!!! Not perfect by any means, but better than it was 2 months ago. Primal, but effective. Thank you all!
I suddenly developed severe itching, bruising and swelling on my left hand around 6 months ago. The pain and itch was truly life limiting and I couldn't use my hand and couldn't sleep. Well, one week of use and the itch, swelling, and blisters are gone. I am putting this positive change soly down to using the balm. I'm shocked! I'm incredibly thankful for the amazing relief I am experiecing
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Rendered slowly and properly, the tallow comes out clean and practically odourless - that rushed, beefy smell is the sign of cheap commodity fat. The Original is gently scented with raw honey and essential oils; if you prefer no scent at all, we make an Unscented version.
It melts into skin at body temperature, so a little goes a long way and it absorbs rather than sitting on top. Soften a small amount between your fingers first. Tallow is structurally close to skin's own oils, which is exactly why skin tends to accept it.
Four real ingredients: our own Irish grass-fed tallow, raw honey, olive oil and beeswax. No water, no fillers, nothing you can't pronounce — ingredients so clean you could eat them.
Dry, reactive, mature, over-skincared, or skin that suddenly started rejecting the creams that used to work. If you want a fragrance-free option, the Unscented balm is the same formula without the essential oils.
Every jar is handmade in small batches in Enniscorthy, Ireland. Local farmers deliver fresh suet weekly — not frozen or stored for months — and it's rendered by hand, low and slow.