The tradwives of TikTok have superhuman trend-setting abilities. They’ve revived 1950s-style fashion and have made whipping up complicated recipes and even everyday household goods from scratch—like cough syrup and Coca-Cola—cool again. Now, beef tallow is a staple in their skincare routines and on their plates.
Over the last month, TikTok has exploded with videos of people applying beef tallow as a moisturizer, claiming that it heals skin conditions from acne to dryness to hyperpigmentation. In other clips, users share how they make their own tallow to cook with as a substitute for more conventional sautéing fats like olive oil and butter.
You might be wondering: What makes it so special? Registered dietitians and dermatologists help us get to the greasy bottom of it all below.
What Is Beef Tallow?
Beef tallow is the product produced after removing fatty tissues from cow meat and melting them down, a process that’s also called rendering. Once rendered, any solids are strained from the liquid, and the remaining liquid is tallow, explains Trista Best, a registered dietitian at Balance One, a…
