Beef Tallow for the Skin: Benefits, Myths, and Why It’s Not a Miracle Cure | Doctor Anne

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Can a cooking fat benefit your skin and even cure your acne? Because according to the internet Beef Tallow is everything you need for a smooth, glowing and breakout free complexion. And all this for a fraction of the cost of traditional skincare products.

 

Can Beef Tallow replace your moisturizer?
Can Beef Tallow replace your moisturizer

 

Sounds too good to be true? Let’s take a closer look at what Beef Tallow actually is, if it can really replace your retinol and if I as long-term acne sufferer with mature skin, would actually put it on my face!

 

 

What is Beef Tallow?

Beef Tallow is purified cow fat, cooked at low temperatures until it reaches a whipped butter-like texture. Similar things you might have heard of are Lard, basically the same thing but made from pork, or maybe Deer Tallow, quite common here in Germany among hikers.

It is obviously not cruelty-free, but taken from the leftovers after slaughtering the cow for other reasons like meat production. While that makes it unsuitable for vegans, it has benefits regarding sustainability. Using beef tallow minimizes waste and makes use of byproducts from meat production, aligning with a more environmentally conscious approach.

Beef Tallow has been used in cooking for a long time and is also often used in soap production, meaning it could be part of skincare you already have at home.

 

A list of different ingredients of Beef Tallow
Different ingredients of Beef Tallow

 

Why would Beef Tallow be beneficial for the skin?

Lately Beef Tallow as replacement for either your moisturizer or your whole skincare routine is becoming increasingly popular though. It is rich in fatty acids, vitamins (E, D, K, and A), triglycerides, and antioxidants. These components help soften and smooth the skin, making it an emollient.

All the things listed are ingredients used in moisturizers and also present in our skin, so let’s take a closer look at their concentrations. The fatty acids are Oleic Acid, Linoleic Acid, Palmitic Acid and Stearic Acid, out of which Oleic Acid has a potential for triggering irritation and inflammation in the skin. Linoleic Acid on the other hand is often reduced in the skin of people suffering from acne, so applying it topically could have a beneficial effect – could have because acne is a multifaceted skin disease that usually needs more than one thing for successful treatment. (More info: Why you have acne and how to treat it)

As Beef Tallow is not lab-made, the ration of the different ingredients will vary depending on the way the cow was brought up and how it was fed – you can roughly say that grass-fed cows have a better balance between the different fatty acids than grain-fed cows, but even the the ratio Oleic to Linoleic Acid isn’t what I would be looking for in skincare – that would be more Linoleic than Oleic Acid.

 

Grass fed is best

 

Can Beef Tallow moisturize the skin?

Beef Tallow acts as an emollient, smoothing the skin and reducing Transepidermal Water Loss (the evaporation of skin hydration). It will not actively hydrate the skin in a way humectants would, but will help you keep hydration in. At least as long as the Oleic Acid content doesn’t cause irritation. (More info: What are emollients and what do they do for my skin?)

 

Retinol and Retinylpalmitate
Different retinoids

 

Has Beef Tallow anti-aging benefits? Is it better than retinol?

Beef Tallow contains Vitamin A and Vitamin A is retinoids, so people claim that using Beef Tallow is the equivalent of using a retinoid product, meaning it will increase collagen production and help with fine lines and wrinkles. But while I understand where this comes from, it isn’t correct. Just because something has a low percentage of a certain thing doesn’t mean it acts the same way as a product build around that ingredient, optimized in concentration, stabilization and means of delivery. The concentration of Vitamin A in Beef Tallow is way too low to have a retinoid like effect on the skin and the properties of Beef Tallow wouldn’t allow for good skin penetration anyway. If you want a retinol effect, you will have to use a retinol product.

The emollient properties and ability to retain moisture might lead to an overall smoother skin appearance, especially for those with dry skin.

 

Woman with acne lesions on the side of her face
Acne has many different causes
Image by Alexander Grey from Pixabay

 

Can Beef Tallow cure acne?

Acne is a complex skin condition, so anything that claims to cure acne when used on its own should immediately make you suspicious anyway, but especially with Beef Tallow there are a few reasons why I don’t think it is very helpful.

The texture and consistency hold a relevant risk for clogging your pores, meaning it could lead to new breakouts and the Oleic to Linoleic Acid ratio we mentioned earlier could increase the inflammation you already experience.

At the same time I don’t really see why it would benefit active acne, so for me it would be a hard pass if treating active acne.

Only exception would maybe be people that are on prescription treatment for their acne and experience dry and flaky skin as a result – here using a rich emollient could help to mitigate the side effects. Not that Beef Tallow would be my first choice, but I can see why people might benefit in this constellation.

 

Retinoids often lead to dry, flaky skin
Retinoids often lead to dry, flaky skin
Source: dermnetnz.org

 

Has Beef Tallow side effects?

But are there any side effects when using Beef Tallow? Could it be harmful? That depends. As long as it doesn’t irritate your skin, I don’t see any problems with using beef tallow as a moisturizer replacement. You should make sure that it comes from grass-fed cows for the best possible fatty acid ratio and that it is properly stored and preserved. Especially when buying skincare advocating using nothing but Beef Tallow, you stand a high chance of it going rancid over time, even quicker when you store it in your bathroom – not what you would want to apply to your skin.

Another thing to consider is the scent. Beef Tallow has a distinct, meaty scent that I personally don’t mind when cooking, but wouldn’t want on my face. That is of course personal, but as the scent puts many people off, the products you get for the face are often blended with different essential oils or masking fragrance, something to consider if your skin easily reacts to that.

 

Sturdy hiking boots in front of mountains
The only reason I would apply any kind of tallow is when hiking – and not to my face

 

Would I use Beef Tallow on my face?

So would I use Beef Tallow on my face? Absolutely not. Neither the scent nor the consistency are what I would consider a pleasant skincare experience, and being acne-prone the risk of it causing breakouts isn’t one I would be willing to take.

I have however, like basically every German I know that is into hiking, used Deer Tallow Cream. A properly processed and preserved product from the drugstore, blended with essential oils for a less unpleasant scent, but Deer Tallow none the less. It is used to smoothen the calluses you get from hiking all day long in sturdy shoes and works like a dream for that.

 

TL;DR

Is Beef Tallow the secret to a glowing and smooth complexion? That depends on your skin. It is basically an emollient smoothing the skin and reducing Transepidermal Water Loss, so might help moisturize dry skin. Its fatty acid ratio holds potential for irritation though, and that paired with the potential for pore clogging would make me stay clear if I had acne prone skin – not to mention the meaty scent I wouldn’t want on my face. Yes, it contains Vitamin A, but not in a concentration that will make it act like a retinoid. So as far as I am concerned I will keep it away from my face and use it for cooking or treating the calluses on my feet after hiking.

 

Beef Tallow for the skin
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