No bull, beef fat has become a skincare trend

It sounds like a home remedy your grandmother may have sworn by for clear skin, but beef tallow, a kind of animal fat, is the latest skincare trend. Its proponents – who make it at home or spruik commercial products – credit it with everything from clear complexions to healing eczema . But what exactly does it do, and is it safe to use? Applying product containing beef tallow is the latest skincare trend.

Credit: Monique Westermann What is beef tallow? Beef tallow is essentially animal fat, and is often used in commercial cooking, candle-making and by soap hobbyists. “It’s a hard, waxy, odourless and tasteless fat rendered from the fatty tissue of cattle, typically from the suet around the kidneys,” says Sydney-based GP and cosmetic doctor Dr Prasanthi Purusothaman. She says beef tallow was used by the ancient Egyptians, Romans and Greeks, and in other areas where animal husbandry was common, to treat wounds and heal skin.



In those times, it was often mixed with herbs or oils and used as a balm or lotion. Dr Celestine Wong, a dermatologist based at Chroma Dermatology and the Royal Melbourne Hospital, says beef tallow is rich in triglycerides – a common type of fat – as well as vitamins A, D, E and K, which give the product its moisturising properties..