Hello, hello storymaker.

Many people think tallow is just another TikTok skincare fad. But I still remember my grandmother using it religiously (🦋 our angel had great skin texture, by the way), and even my mama, who’s a master esthetician, kept it in her routine. Somewhere between their glorious era and my own bathroom shelf, skincare culture got a little… complicated.

Working in the skincare industry (I ran socials, PR, and partnerships for IMAGE Skincare) and having a mama who’s a master esthetician, I’ve seen firsthand how fast the industry pushes “hope in a bottle.”

And right now, that hope feels like it’s losing steam. A win-win, in my opinion, because fewer products = less waste.

So why are we suddenly so obsessed with the debate around tallow? Some call it ancestral wisdom, others call it gross.

Personally, I’m a fan. I use a local brand that produces its own tallow, and honestly, my skin feels and looks delicious 😉 (No, seriously; people think I’m 19, but really, I’m 31 💃🏻).

Over the past year, beef tallow (AKA: cow or goat rendered fat) has gone from butcher shop byproduct to TikTok’s newest miracle moisturizer.

National Geographic reports that from early 2024 to the summer of 2025, TikTok has brought rendered beef fat into the wellness zeitgeist. Users are creating products ranging from whipped body butter to grass‑fed organic balms, all promising deep hydration and skin‑healing properties. [go]

As of summer 2025, the hashtag #beeftallow on TikTok has racked up 138.5K videos, with influencers smearing it on their faces while declaring, “If you can’t eat your skincare, why are you putting it on your skin?” On Instagram, homesteading creators are making their own skincare products, and beef tallow is one of those items that people seem to rave about.

But like most viral trends, the reality is more complicated.

Dermatologists are skeptical. They usually say, it’s a no-no. (here, here, and here). Many Derms note that while tallow can moisturize, it can also clog pores, spoil quickly without preservatives, and sometimes smell a little beefy. And crucially, scientific evidence is still thin. [go]

Clean skincare fatigue. Consumers are tired of endless ingredient lists and skeptical of “lab-made” actives. Tallow, with its one-ingredient simplicity, feels safe, familiar, and even nourishing.

Ancestral wellness. From bone broth to barefoot running, ancestral living has become mainstream. Tallow fits this primal aesthetic, a return to remedies proven by time, not just marketing.

Social virality. The trend’s acceleration is undeniable. A “trad-wife” TikTok star shared her homemade tallow balm, and suddenly a forgotten folk practice was reborn as 2025’s “glow secret.”

DIY culture. Unlike most skincare fads, tallow is accessible. You can render it at home from butcher scraps or buy it from dozens of small-batch makers on Etsy and Instagram.

At first glance, beef tallow might look like a quirky TikTok fad destined to fade. But I believe it goes beyond the beef; it’s really about our cultural values.

This tension is what’s at stake for conscious leaders in the natural skincare industry.

If “clean skincare” once meant vegan, plant-based, and free from synthetics, tallow is rewriting the definition. Suddenly, natural can also mean animal-based. That’s not a slight shift, it’s a cultural pivot that could redefine the language of natural/clean skincare.

It also reopens the sustainability paradox.

On the one hand, tallow, when used in skincare, helps minimize waste by repurposing a byproduct of the meat industry that would otherwise be thrown away, promoting a more sustainable and circular approach to resource use.

On the other hand, if demand grows, tallow could shift from byproduct to co-product, fueling an industry already responsible for massive deforestation and emissions.

The question that conscious leaders in the skincare industry now face is whether an ancestral ingredient like tallow can be framed as sustainable and ethical without being perceived as greenwashing or alienating the vegan and cruelty-free community.

Several brands are already navigating this balancing act, showing how tallow is being repositioned in the natural skincare landscape.

Cowboy & Co
Cowboy & Co., a small-batch producer, sources grass-fed tallow directly from ranchers. They focus on heritage skincare suited for modern homesteads, rooted in Western culture and a back-to-the-land spirit.

Moo Elixir
Moo Elixir formulas blend grass-fed beef tallow with aloe, squalane, and herbs, packaged in sleek glass jars that resemble apothecary products more than farm products. By sourcing fat that would otherwise go to waste, Moo Elixir combines upcycling with heritage revival.

Summer Solace Tallow
Slow-made body care brand rooted in regenerative agriculture and ancestral wisdom. Their balms, soaps, and candles are crafted from suet tallow sourced directly from Northern California ranchers practicing holistic land management. Summer Solace tells the story of reconnecting skincare to soil, culture, and community.

These brands illustrate the crossroads of conscious skincare: heritage and sustainability, science and simplicity, ethics and commerce.

What fascinates me most about tallow is what it reveals about our culture.

That in 2025, with all our scientific advancement, we’re still drawn to the promise that simple, ancestral, natural things might hold the answers. That in a skincare culture obsessed with more (more steps, actives, performance), there’s also a craving for less (less steps, ingredients, complication).

The lesson isn’t in the ingredient itself, but in what it reveals about us. Conscious consumers are yearning for products that feel natural again, ingredients they can recognize, and rituals that feel grounding.

For conscious leaders, the opportunity is to see past the hype and ask, how can skincare be more than a product? How can it be a cultural bridge between past and future, between science and nature, between self-care and collective care?

Because skincare, like culture, is never just skin-deep.

🌀 Till next time,

Camila from Conscious Voices

📣 Know someone building a conscious brand who needs this? Forward away.