Natural, tallow-based cosmetics can be made at home or bought from artisans. Doctors aren’t thrilled, but they’re all the rage on TikTok.
When Sascha Green goes to Costco, she buys ground pork, turkey and chicken breasts for a week of dinners. And then she gets steak for her face.
It may seem gross, but beef tallow — rendered fat from around a cow’s organs — has become a popular ingredient in cosmetic products. Customers swear by its natural moisturizing properties while businesses have begun selling tallow-based creams to meet the demand. But dermatologists warn that just because something’s natural doesn’t mean you should put it on your face.
“I give it a thumbs down from the scientific and dermatologic perspective,” said Dr. Zakia Rahman, a clinical professor of dermatology at Stanford University School of Medicine. “It could potentially cause acne flares or cause irritation.”
Still, many people swear by its benefits. Last year, Ms. Green, 28, stopped spending a fortune on a litany of skin care products when she started seeing TikToks from people promoting what they described as a natural miracle ingredient that’s cheaper than Sephora products.
“I made my own to start, just by getting meat from Costco and stripping the fat off the meat and rendering it,” said Ms. Green, who lives in Hillsdale, Ind., about 70 miles west of Indianapolis.
In a video documenting her process, she cooked the fat repeatedly with water and salt, removing brown-colored impurities until she was left with a white, waxy disk. She then whipped it up with essential oils and declared it ready.