Beef Tallow for Skin: What 5,800+ Comments Say

Key Takeaways

About 2 in 3 of the 136 people who described their own results were happy with beef tallow, and about 1 in 4 weren't
Breakouts are the top problem (about 12% of users), followed by "fine on my body, not on my face" (8%) and dryness or irritation (7%)
Dry skin and eczema are the top reasons to try it (about 49%), ahead of wanting fewer ingredients (33%) and "nothing else worked" (24%)
The smell splits people. About 37% of comments on smell and texture say it smells like beef, and 26% say theirs doesn't
The backlash is mostly about trends and politics. Many fans now open with "I'm not MAHA, but..." before saying it works for them

About 50,000 people a month search "beef tallow for skin" in the US. The first page of Google is mostly shops selling it and dermatologists warning against it. What I couldn't find anywhere was a simple count of what happens when ordinary people actually put it on their face. So I went looking for those people.

The short version: most of them like it, a real minority break out, and almost everyone has an opinion about the smell.

We analyzed 5,834 comments from 298 discussions about beef tallow skincare. Of 136 people describing their own results, about 2 in 3 were happy with it and about 1 in 4 were not. Breakouts were the most common problem (about 12% of users), and dry skin or eczema was the top reason to try it (49%).

About this study

Methodology

Corpus: 5,834 public comments from 298 hand-picked beef tallow skincare discussions in 60 communities. We analyzed 1,184 of them, taken at random from keyword searches for each theme plus one sample of people describing their own use, and sorted them into themes. About 500 said something we could count
Communities: General and age-based skincare forums, a tallow skincare community, natural and clean beauty groups, eczema, rosacea and perioral dermatitis groups, acne and tretinoin communities, parenting groups, carnivore and animal-based diet communities, homesteading and DIY beauty groups, and beauty creator discussion groups
Themes coded: Why people try it, whether it worked, breakouts, smell and texture, the backlash, and buying it
Analysis: We sorted each comment into themes by hand, and one comment can fit more than one theme. So the percentages in each section only describe that section and do not add up to 100. Treat them as rough guides rather than exact measurements.
Quotes: Word for word, with only broken characters fixed. The wording, spelling and typos are the commenter's own.

Most of these comments are from 2024 to 2026, when tallow went from a niche homestead product to a trend. The busiest places were general skincare forums, which tend to be skeptical, so the fans here are often arguing with a crowd. There's also one community just for tallow skincare, and I expected it to be much more positive. It wasn't, which surprised me (more on that in section 2).

I also left some comments out of the counts, like copied testimonials ("Sarah: I've battled eczema for years...") and sellers posting about their own balms. Three brands also showed up in small clusters of almost identical glowing reviews. I can't prove those were planted, but I'd rather count too few happy users than count the same ad five times.

This study sits next to our persimmon soap study, another viral body care product. That one was about whether a niche remedy fixes one specific problem. This one is about a moisturizer that half the internet finds gross, so the sections are built differently.

The research question

Why do people put beef tallow on their skin, and what do they say happens after a few weeks? And what makes them keep buying it, or go back to a regular moisturizer? The short version: they try it for dry, reactive skin, and most of the people who stick with it are happy. The ones who stop mostly blame breakouts, the smell or being judged for using it.

1. Why people try it

Seven reasons, ranked by how often people mention them

This section pulls together two random samples. 55 people said why they, or someone in their family, started using tallow.

Based on 55 people who said why they tried it

1. Dry skin, eczema or another skin condition~49%

2. Wants fewer, simpler ingredients, or reacts to regular products~33%

3. Nothing else had worked~24%

4. Saw it on social media~15%

5. Acne~15%

6. A friend, a relative or a gift~13%

7. Using the whole animal~4%

I expected TikTok to come first. Nope, fourth. Most people describe a skin problem they'd been fighting for a while, usually dryness or eczema. To them, tallow is one more thing to try after the usual products let them down.

"If one more person or doctor told me to use aquaphor I was going to launch them into the sun."

"I started using it out of desperation (I've tried everything,) before it became a fad (I don't even have Tik Tok,)"

"I have a petrochemical allergy (itchy rashes from petroleum or petrolatum) and honestly the beef tallow from whatever face company is making my face look moisturized"

The social media group is smaller but it's there. So are the gifts. A lot of tallow arrives as a present from a mom, an aunt or a sister-in-law, and those people are much less keen than the ones who went looking for it.

"Instagram reels. Whim purchase to see what would happen. Lol"

"I got a tin of tallow balm with lavender for Christmas. It smells like lavender scented beef fat and I can’t imagine putting it on my face."

2. Did it work?

Eight results, ranked by how often people mention them

For this section I took a separate random sample of comments where people talk about their own use, so the result wouldn't lean toward happy or angry posts. 136 people said how it went for them or for someone in their household.

Based on 136 people who described their own results

1. It works, and they like it~61%

2. It helped a specific skin problem: eczema, rosacea, dry patches or acne~15%

3. It broke them out or clogged their pores~12%

4. Fine on the body, lips or hands, but not the face~8%

5. It dried out or irritated their skin~7%

6. No difference~5%

7. Too greasy~4%

8. The smell put them off~4%

One person can report more than one result (it helped their eczema but broke out their chin, say), so the percentages do not add up to 100. The chart leaves out two smaller results: too greasy and the smell. All of these are rough guides from these comments rather than a count of everyone who has tried tallow.

Put together, about 2 in 3 of these people were only positive, about 1 in 4 were only negative, and the rest were mixed. Not bad for a jar of beef fat. The happy group is very specific about what changed. They talk about dry patches that went away, skin that stopped stinging, and a routine that went from ten products to one or two.

"I have rosacea and it is literally the only moisturizer that I put on at night that has me looking like a dewy-faced 20-year-old the next morning."

"Love it and I still can’t believe I found something really simple and cheap."

"I’m a life long eczema sufferer and it has healed me."

Here's the part I didn't expect. When I split the results by where people posted, the general skincare forums came out a little more positive, even though they're full of people warning against tallow. 70% of users there were happy, against 61% in the fan community and natural living groups (a small group, only 31 people). So once you only count people who actually used it, the hostile forums aren't more negative at all. Maybe the fans who post there are the confident ones, I'm not sure.

The unhappy group splits in two. Some broke out, which is the next section. Others found it worked on their hands or legs but not on their face, or that their skin felt drier after a week or two.

"Tallow on my body… amazing! Tallow on my face, ugh- clogged pores."

"If you want the unique feeling of having very greasy hands that are somehow still dry underneath the grease, can't recommend it enough."

"That green organic natural product marketing got me goooodd"

What this means for brands

Your happiest buyers have dry or reactive skin and a long list of products that failed them. So speak to that person directly ("for skin that reacts to everything") rather than to everyone. And sell a body or hand balm next to the face cream. "Fine on my body, not my face" is common, so some unhappy face buyers could still be happy customers.

3. Breakouts

Seven explanations, ranked by how often people mention them

This section uses a random sample of 200 comments about acne, pores and breakouts. 69 of them gave a reason why tallow breaks people out, and 56 described what happened to their own skin.

Based on 69 comments that explained breakouts

1. Tallow itself clogs pores~51%

2. It depends on skin type: fine for dry, bad for oily~19%

3. Low-quality or badly made tallow~16%

4. Something else in the jar: essential oils, honey, olive oil~12%

5. Everyone's skin is different~9%

6. Using too much, or putting it on unwashed skin~6%

7. Yeast or fungal acne~4%

Half the explanations are simply "tallow clogs pores", and they read like warnings: don't put fat on your face, it's comedogenic, see a dermatologist. But only 4 of those 35 people said it had happened to them. Most were repeating what they'd heard.

The people who did break out describe it very clearly, and it often came after a good first week or two. Closed comedones and milia (tiny hard white bumps) come up again and again.

"Broke out soooo badly with closed comedones everywhere. Everyone said I smelled weird."

"My derm admonished me for following internet fads as she lanced the milia around my eyes from beef tallow. 0/5 do not recommend"

"My skin was so glowy and clean at first, but it’s gradually become dry with closed comedones."

Among the people in this sample who described their own skin, 23 broke out and 33 didn't, or said their acne got better. The breakout rate here is much higher than in section 2, but keep in mind I pulled this sample by searching for acne words.

The people who defend tallow mostly blame something other than the fat: the wrong skin type, cheap tallow, or what got mixed into it. One maker put it bluntly, and some users found the same thing by accident.

"99% of the time, tallow isn't what breaks someone out. It's what is added to the jar."

"I stupidly added tea tree oil to mine, it made the loveliest balm, but gave me the worst break out I've ever had!"

"If I use too much tallow to moisturize, I break out a little (1-2 pimples). If I use the right amount (what feels like not enough at application), my skin is glowing and perfect."

I went in expecting "purging" to be a big theme, the idea that breakouts are your skin adjusting and you should push through. It came up once in this sample. People either stopped or blamed the product.

What this means for brands

Your buyers already believe the "it's what's in the jar" story, so make it easy to check. Sell an unscented version with only tallow and maybe one oil, list the source of the fat, and say plainly who it isn't for (very oily, acne-prone skin). And tell people how much to use, since "a pea-sized amount" is a lesson a lot of them learn the hard way.

4. Smell, texture and the "ick"

Seven reactions, ranked by how often people mention them

This section is based on a random sample of 200 comments about smell, texture and how tallow feels. 68 of them said something about it.

Based on 68 comments about smell and texture

1. It smells like beef~37%

2. No smell, or it fades fast~26%

3. The idea of animal fat on your face~21%

4. Greasy, or sits on top of the skin~16%

5. Soaks in well~10%

6. The dog or cat tries to lick it off~7%

7. Vegan or animal welfare objection~4%

The smell is the most argued-about thing in this whole study, and people describe it in very concrete terms: hamburger grease, jerky, sour milk, a butcher shop. For a few, it cost them more than the breakouts did, because other people noticed.

"The only thing is it smells soooo bad. Like hamburger cooking grease. But the smell does go away after a while. My dogs 100% tried to lick it off. Lmao."

"Tallow was the best. I had to stop using (got a few comments of butter scent) it because of interacting with people from multiple departments at my work."

"People begin to smell like processed meat think jerky, hot dogs, ect."

That last one comes from someone who works on other people's skin. Clients notice. On the other side, about a quarter of these comments say theirs has no smell at all, and they usually credit the brand or how it was made.

"It doesn’t smell bad, it doesn’t clog my pores or look greasy. I find they absorb pretty fast, but might not be compatible with wearing makeup."

"None of the ones I’ve used have smelled or anything."

And then there's the ick. That mostly comes from people who'd never use it anyway, and they don't hold back.

"The idea of rubbing dead cow fat into my skin is revolting. I don’t understand people who do it."

5. The backlash

Eight arguments against it, ranked by how often people mention them

This section is based on a random sample of 200 comments about trends, evidence, dermatologists and politics. 75 of them argued against tallow, and 24 defended it.

Based on 75 comments against tallow

1. It's a trend, stop following influencers~43%

2. No evidence, no regulation, and "natural" isn't better~24%

3. Politics: MAHA, right-wing, tradwife or meat lobby~23%

4. See a dermatologist instead~17%

5. A scam, or a marketing grift~13%

6. It clogs pores~13%

7. Vaseline or CeraVe does the same job~12%

8. It's just gross~11%

The biggest complaints about tallow have little to do with skin. Most are about who's selling it and why people fall for trends, and about 1 in 4 of these comments tie it to a political movement. For some readers, tallow has become a sign of which side someone is on.

"peoples beef tallow usage is a political signifier for me now :/"

"Doesn't petroleum jelly more or less the same kind of results?"

What I found most interesting is how the users respond, because 10 of the 24 people defending tallow started by saying they aren't anti-vax, MAHA or a tradwife. They feel they have to clear their name before they can say a moisturizer works. Over a face cream.

"I’m also pro-science, pro-vaccine, etc. Ready for the downvotes, regardless."

"I personally like it, but I don't like the MAHA association lol"

"I started using it out of desperation (I've tried everything,) before it became a fad (I don't even have Tik Tok,) but now I'm afraid to tell people I use it and it actually works for me."

At least one person stopped using it because of the pushback, and I didn't expect that. But the other defenders go the opposite way. They turn on dermatologists, saying they can't make money from something you can render at home.

"i posted about it and kind of got downvoted to hell on some other sub and everyone just said i was a clueless trend-follower 😭 so i stopped using it and my skin is nowhere near as good as it was when i was just using tallow"

"I watched a YouTube video of several dermatologists at a Procter & Gamble-sponsored event dismissing tallow while standing in front of cosmetics advertisements. Funny how that works."

What this means for brands

Plenty of your possible buyers like the product but hate the company it keeps. So keep the brand away from culture-war talk and keep the claims to what a moisturizer can do. Talk about the person with dry, reactive skin, and leave out toxins and "what our ancestors knew". A buyer who already has to defend the jar to friends shouldn't also have to defend your Instagram.

6. Buying it

Four checks, ranked by how often people mention them

This section is based on a random sample of 200 comments about brands, prices and making your own. 50 said where they get their tallow and 54 said what they look for.

Where people get it is the first surprise, because 21 of the 50 make their own, usually from fat a butcher sells cheaply. 15 buy from a farm, a farmers market or a friend, 11 from Amazon or a big store, and 7 from Etsy or a small online shop. So a big part of this market never buys a branded jar at all. That surprised me.

Based on 54 comments about what to look for

1. Where the fat comes from: suet, grass-fed, how it's rendered~44%

2. Price: a small jar of beef fat for $20 to $45~33%

3. No essential oils or added scent~31%

4. Fakes and sellers they don't trust~15%

Price comes up a lot, mostly because everyone knows what the raw material costs, and the DIY crowd quotes butcher prices that buyers then compare to the jar.

"It’s crazy that it’s having its moment in the sun and that people are charging $45 per jar. It’s a jar of beef fat that would have otherwise been tossed, should cost a max of $5-10"

"I buy trimmings from the butcher @ $1.99/lb."

But making it isn't easy. Some people who tried gave up because the smell is so hard to get out. That gap, between cheap fat and a jar that doesn't smell, is what people are paying a brand for.

"I absolutely cannot be bothered doing it again. Too time consuming to go through the process that's required to make it not smell disgusting"

Across the whole set, VanMan and Better Tallow got mentioned most (about 40 comments each), then Primally Pure, Toups & Co and Smear (about 25 each). Fans praise brands for being open about where the fat comes from, and complain about copycats.

"They're transparent about their suet sourcing and are actually 3rd party lab tested."

"I keep getting frustrated because of all the fakes that have appeared lately."

One maker went further and warned that a lot of the glowing photos aren't what they look like.

"A wall of before and afters in 6 months with 300 followers is rarely organic."

What this means for brands

You're competing with a butcher. So tell people what they get from you that a pot of rendered fat can't give them: no smell, the right texture, a tested batch. Name the fat (suet or trim), the farm and the rendering method on the jar. And skip the before-and-after photos, because buyers here have started to read them as bought.

What I'd do with this if I sold tallow skincare

If a small tallow brand asked me about this, I'd start with section 2. The product mostly works for the people it's meant for, and those people have dry, reactive skin and a cupboard full of products that failed them. I'd write every page for that person, and I'd be honest that very oily, acne-prone skin is a gamble.

Then I'd fix the smell before anything else, and I'd lead with the unscented jar. Why? Smell comes up in hundreds of these comments, and unlike breakouts it's a problem a brand can fully control. A short line on the label about suet and slow rendering answers the two questions buyers keep asking each other.

If you want to test the wording with your own customers first, this piece on using customer language in DTC marketing may help. And if you're deciding whether a launch like this is worth it at all, our guide to validating a product with customer research covers a cheap way to check.

What I can't answer from this data is how many people simply stopped. Happy users keep posting about tallow, but people who broke out and quit mostly don't come back to say so. So the "2 in 3" is probably the best case. Honestly? I'd want a brand's own repeat-purchase numbers before trusting it.

A customer glossary

The words people actually use

If you write product pages, emails or ads for tallow skincare, these are the words your buyers use.

Term	What people mean	Signal
Suet	The hard fat from around a cow's kidneys. Buyers treat it as the better raw material and expect less smell.	benefit
Trim / trimmings	Leftover fat from cuts of meat. Cheaper, and blamed for the beefy smell.	objection
Rendering	Melting raw fat down and straining it. "Low and slow" and "rendered more than once" are read as signs of quality.	process
Whipped tallow	Tallow whipped with a little oil into a light, frosting-like cream. Seen as easier to spread and less greasy.	benefit
Tallow and honey balm	The most common blend. Some love it, and some blame the honey for breakouts.	category
Grass-fed / grass-finished	Where the cattle were raised. A trust signal, though some buyers doubt the label means much.	trust
Comedogenic	Likely to clog pores. The word critics use most, often without having tried it.	complaint
Closed comedones / milia	Small bumps under the skin. The way most people who broke out describe it.	complaint
Occlusive	A layer that seals moisture in, like Vaseline. Critics say tallow is "just an occlusive" and doesn't add moisture.	objection
Crunchy / MAHA	Labels critics use for the people they think are pushing tallow. Many users now say they're neither.	objection

Frequently asked questions

Is beef tallow good for your skin?

Among the 136 people in these comments who described their own results, about 2 in 3 were happy with it. Most of them have dry skin, eczema or skin that reacts to regular products. About 1 in 4 were not. The most common problems were breakouts or clogged pores (about 12%), finding it only worked on the body and not the face (8%), and dryness or irritation (7%). All of this comes from personal reports rather than a medical verdict.

Does beef tallow clog pores?

It did for some people. About 12% of the people who described their own results said it broke them out or clogged their pores, often as closed comedones or milia after a few weeks. Commenters who defend it blame skin type (about 19% of explanations), low-quality tallow (16%) or other ingredients in the jar like essential oils (12%). About half of the comments explaining breakouts simply said tallow itself clogs pores, but most of those people had not tried it.

Does beef tallow skincare smell?

It depends on the jar. About 37% of comments about smell and texture said it smells like beef, with comparisons to hamburger grease, jerky and a butcher shop. About 26% said theirs had no smell or that it faded quickly. Makers and users mostly blame the raw fat and the rendering: suet and slow rendering are described as close to odorless, trim fat as beefy.

Why do people use beef tallow on their skin?

Dry skin, eczema or another skin condition came first, at about 49% of the people who said why they tried it. About 33% wanted fewer or simpler ingredients, often because they react to regular products, and 24% said nothing else had worked. Social media and acne each came up about 15% of the time, and about 13% got it from a friend, a relative or as a gift.

What do people look for when buying beef tallow skincare?

The source of the fat comes first (about 44% of these comments), mostly suet rather than trim and grass-fed cattle. Price is next, at 33%. Most of those comments say a small jar of beef fat shouldn't cost $20 to $45. About 31% want no essential oils or added scent, and 15% warn about fakes and sellers they don't trust. Many skip brands altogether: 21 of 50 people who said where they get it make their own.

Want this run for your brand or category?

This is a public sample of how we work. Insightios reads Reddit, Amazon reviews, YouTube, and the communities where your buyers actually talk, then delivers a report with the exact language, objections, and use cases behind your product.

This report analyzes consumer language and perceptions and is not medical advice. We make no claim about the safety or efficacy of beef tallow on skin. What people say about skin conditions, breakouts, specific brands and sellers are personal accounts we have not checked, and we report them as what customers said rather than as fact. Percentages only describe their own section. Treat them as rough guides from these comments rather than a count of everyone who uses tallow, and don't compare them across sections. If you have a skin condition, talk to a doctor or dermatologist.