Use these guidelines in your search to find the highest quality tallow products from reputable sources.
1. GRASS-FED AND GRASS-FINISHED
Most nutrient-dense and skin-compatible type of tallow. Grass-finished means the cows are fed only grass and are not fattened up with corn, grain, etc. on feed lots.
Grass Fed & Finished Tallow is the most similar to your skin's natural oils, with similar ratios of saturated fatty acids.
Grass-Fed, Grass-Finished Tallow has the highest density of Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA). which has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits.
2. ONLY SUET TALLOW - NO SCRAP FAT, NO PAN DRIPPINGS
Suet is the white, nearly-odorless, insulatory fat that surrounds the kidneys.
Suet is very different from the type of fat you would find on a steak or the drippings leftover from cooking ground beef.
Suet tallow is the most nutrient-dense fat with the highest concentrations of CLA and healthy saturated fats.
When rendered and filtered, suet tallow is nearly odorless and doesn't require additional processing like Wet Rendering (more info below).
Scrap fat and pan drippings have a characteristic beefy smell, but suet tallow has an light, delicate scent that dissipates within minutes of applying.
3. BEWARE OF WHIPPED TALLOW
Whipping tallow incorporates air, which unnecessarily accelerates oxidization and causes it to go rancid quickly.
If properly formulated and mixed, a tallow balm should not be gritty or need to be whipped to be spreadable and creamy.
4. DRY RENDERED TALLOW ONLY
Wet rendering is the process of adding salt and water during the rendering process with the intent of separating impurities.
This method shortens the shelf life, removes nutrients, and encourages fungal and microbial growth.
Dry Rendering uses indirect heat (double boiler) to gently melt the tallow without cooking or oxidizing it, and filters it in multiple stages to remove impurities without introducing water.
5. ONLY SKIN-COMPATIBLE OILS ADDED
Many brands limit the skin compatibility of their tallow balms by adding oils like olive oil and coconut oil.
Most plant-based oils, with the exception of Jojoba Oil, are highly dissimilar to our skin's natural oils and can disrupt the skin barrier, clog pores, and lead to breakouts.
Jojoba oil, on the other hand, is almost entirely composed of waxy esters, which are a critical component of sebum, skin's natural oils.
The combination of Jojoba Oil and Tallow is highly skin-compatible and acts like a topical supplement of everything your skin produces naturally.
6. SNIFF TEST
For the least smell in a tallow balm, look for grass-fed grass-finished suet tallow that is not whipped. If a tallow balm is loaded with essential oils, be extra wary of the quality of the tallow. If the tallow has no scent at all, check if it's wet rendered. If so, it needs to have a preservative, if not, it is probably well rendered and purified.
FINAL CHECKLIST
It is literally impossible to get Mad Cow Disease from Beef Tallow.
Tallow does NOT have a high concentration of vitamins.
Tallow does NOT have UV protection