What's so special about tallow?

Clockwise from top:
1. Dried yellow rose petals infusing in tallow, releasing their fragrance and skin-nourishing properties into the tallow. Because of tallow's similarity to skin, those properties easily soak right in and begin doing their work right away. You'll be amazed how quickly your skin feels renewed!
2. A block of locally sourced unrefined beeswax--in this case, from a nearby neighbor's beehives.
3. A cheery yellow "Julia Child" rose. This variety is very fragrant, and most of my rose lotions and rose petal teas are from this plant.
4. Finally, on the left, pure white and almost scentless tallow. Beef fat (a special kind called leaf fat) comes from nearby sources that we know and trust: the small scale farmers who put so much natural care into their land and animals and plants. We "render" (purify) this fat here on our farm in a time consuming three day process that ensures our final product is completely pure, luxurious, and ready to pour over our home-grown and wild harvested herbs.

The bullet point version:

~~It's packed with readily absorbed fatty acids and fat-soluble vitamins that your skin needs to be its healthiest

~~Tallow's fatty acid profile is very similar to your own skin, so it has super enhanced nourishing and moisturizing capabilities

~~It's non-comedogenic, meaning it doesn't clog pores or cause acne.

~~It's a sustainable choice, because it's locally available from responsible farmers, and because it's a byproduct of beef production that usually gets thrown away. Very, very little fossil fuel is used in obtaining ingredients for our lotions and soaps.

~~It can be stored at room temperature without preservatives for a year or more, meaning we have no need for preservatives in any of our products here at Desert Song Urban Farm

~~Tallow makes a hard, long-lasting soap that needs no artificial hardeners added to keep it from melting away in the shower. Tallow soap is gentle on skin, has a rich later and has great "slip" for shaving. Additionally, because of how we render it, our tallow retains its natural glycerin--a welcome addition to any soap.

.....And this, taken from Wikipedia:

Tallow has a long history in humanity of being used to soothe and moisturize skin, and the word for sebum (the fat naturally produced by human skin) is the same as that for tallow in some languages, including Latin.

As tallow is rendered animal fat, the composition of the tallow oil is similar to the composition of human skin's natural sebum. This makes it often a suitable moisturizer for individuals who have sensitivities to commercial moisturizers. Tallow contains Vitamins A, D, K, E, & B12, conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) with natural anti-inflammatory properties, oleic acid (omega 9), palmitic acid, and stearic acid, which have beneficial healing and soothing properties.