Tallow is an actual true moisturizer and an excellent ingredient because it's packed with nutrients, including all of the fat-soluble vitamins. It has a lipid profile similar to that of human skin, making it an excellent moisturizer. We primarily use it as a nutrient and secondarily as a carrier of other nutrients. We infuse botanicals, resins, fungi, and other constituents into it, but its main purpose is to provide nutrition to the skin. Tallow is an absorbent lipid that carries all the other nutrients we add to it in different formulations as it absorbs into the skin.
How Tallow is Made and Used
Tallow is a hard fat that comes from around beef or sheep organs. We also use the soft fat collected around the kidneys and heart, which is lighter than tallow. Suet absorbs into the skin instead of sitting on top of it like tallow. We use the term tallow, although it is actually suet because people understand the term "tallow." Suet has been used for centuries in a variety of ways, including as a cooking ingredient, as candle-making material, and as bird food.
Why We Like It
In our opinion, tallow, or suet, is an effective moisturizer and a suitable nutrient for the skin. It has anti-inflammatory properties and is rich in antioxidants. It is non-comedogenic and doesn't clog pores, and it works with human sebaceous glands. It supports a strong immune system, is antimicrobial, and can help produce collagen due to its vitamin E content. Tallow/suet is the best carrier oil because it is similar to what our skin produces naturally, making it highly absorbent and carrying all the other nutrients we add to it in different formulations.
