For every endorsement beef tallow receives, there’s an equal amount of opposition. Today, it’s harder than ever to discern truth from clickbait when it comes to ingredients. Even outlets that claim to “ask the experts” often politicize their coverage — leaving readers unsure if they’re reading a health report or a hit piece.

Here’s what they miss: not all non-toxic products are created equal. Unregulated scraps may be the reason your “tallow” from Amazon isn’t working.

At Toups, we’re here to expose the lies you’ve been told about tallow — and more importantly, empower you with information the mainstream isn’t sharing. Today, we’ll answer the internet’s burning questions:

• Is tallow non-comedogenic?

• Does tallow cause acne?

• Is tallow pore-clogging?

• Does tallow smell bad?

• Are essential oils safe in tallow?

• Does tallow need to be organic?
  
  

Tallow Is Trending (But It’s Not New)

A Timeless Ingredient

This year, The Guardian published an article questioning whether beef tallow is truly safe for skin and health (Rogers, 2025). But while it’s being treated like the newest “wellness trend,” tallow is as old as time.

Our ancestors used fats like tallow, lard, and olive oil on their bodies and in their frying pans. At Toups, our mindset is to get back to those basics.

Tallow reentered the spotlight when concerns over seed oils rose and health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urged U.S. companies to swap them for tallow. Now, consumers are asking more questions about what they put both inside and on their bodies.

As founder Emilie Toups reminds us:

“I don’t think it’s the government’s job to protect us – it’s our own job to be educated. I feel a responsibility to educate others in a non-judgmental way because we’re all on our own health journeys.”

That’s our mission: to encourage independent research and empower you with truth so you can make informed decisions for your family.

 

Are You Getting Scraps or “Suet”?

Quality Impacts Efficacy

Before discussing tallow’s benefits, we have to talk about quality. Some dermatologists say “beef tallow is technically safe for your skin… but isn’t necessarily worth using in skincare” (The Guardian, Rogers, 2025).

That may be true — if we’re talking about low-quality, mass-produced tallow. If your tallow isn’t helping your skin, chances are it’s made from scraps instead of suet. Emilie explains:

“The internal fat around the kidneys (called suet) is far superior to the trimmings on the outer hide. You only get about 20 pounds of tallow from a grass-fed cow. For mass production, companies use the outer trimmings, which are more abundant but lower quality. I started making tallow balm from suet because it’s higher in all the fat-soluble vitamins for skin healing.”

Just like you’d want to know your farmer, you should know where your tallow comes from — and where it comes from on the cow.

Addressing the Smell in the Room

Why Some Tallow Stinks

One common criticism is that tallow “smells bad.” Some describe a “meaty” odor — valid concerns, since no one wants to put something stinky on their face.

Raw or unrefined tallow does have a distinct scent, but properly formulated skincare tallow does not. Emilie shares:

“Our tallow balm has great essential oils. We use organic essential oils at proper dilution rates. It doesn’t smell like beef tallow — even the unscented balm barely smells at all.”

So while you could technically buy tallow from your local farmer, that version is better for cooking than skincare. Our formulations let you enjoy the benefits without the smell — farm-to-face quality made luxurious.

Essential Oils in Tallow: A Recipe for Reactions?

The Difference Between “Fragrance” and “Essential Oils”

Some articles claim that essential oils cause irritation — but they often conflate them with synthetic “fragrances.” The word fragrance can mask up to 1,440 different chemicals, many of which can trigger reactions or hormone disruption.

Properly diluted essential oils, however, are medicinal, not harmful.

“A lot of companies are throwing too many essential oils in their products and saying it’s all natural, but the amount and dilution matter,” Emilie says. “We follow Robert Tisserand’s essential oil guidelines. Any time we use an oil, we check the safe dilution rate to ensure it’s safe for children.”

Think of it like baking: adding too much baking powder doesn’t make the ingredient “bad,” it just ruins the recipe. The real problem comes from synthetic fragrance — ingredients that don’t belong there in the first place.

 

Our Skin “Eats” Products — Feed It Organic!

The Guardian rightly notes that “chemicals accumulate in fat, so beef tallow can contain harmful substances like pesticides if the cattle it came from were exposed to them” and advises using “products from grass-fed or organically raised cows” (Rogers, 2025).

We couldn’t agree more.

“Cows make beta carotene (Vitamin A) when they eat fresh green grass,” Emilie explains. “When cows graze on multi-species pastures, their fat is yellow, not white. Retinol from beta carotene increases cell turnover and is great for skin — and if you can get that naturally through tallow, it’s even better.”

That’s why Toups started the Regenerative Initiative — because farmers are the true producers of wellness, and good skincare starts with good soil.

 

The Internet Has Beef With Non-Comedogenic Claims

Is Tallow Non-Comedogenic?

The biggest debate about tallow is whether it clogs pores. Poor-quality or additive-heavy products can, but pure, well-rendered tallow does not.

Tallow is 98% bioidentical to the oils naturally produced by our skin. That’s why it absorbs easily and nourishes deeply.

In fact, Toups was featured in a 2024 PubMed study on tallow’s biocompatibility:

“Companies such as Toups and Co. found a way to use tallow as the main ingredient in their moisturizers. The product is marketed as being non-comedogenic, which makes an ingredient like tallow beneficial to many skin types. The research results thus far support that tallow is biocompatible with and beneficial to healthy skin.”

Science confirms what nature already knew.

 

Don’t Overheat It

Rendering Makes All the Difference

Some claim tallow doesn’t contain enough vitamins to be effective. The truth? It depends on how it’s rendered (melted down for processing).

“At Toups, we render the same way I learned to do it at home — low and slow to preserve fat-soluble vitamins and amino acids,” Emilie says. “High heat destroys that. When you grind, dry-render, and triple-filter it slowly, you get a beautiful, nutrient-dense tallow.”

Like overcooking food, overheating tallow kills its nutrients. Our process preserves fatty acids like CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) — powerful anti-inflammatories that reduce redness and support cellular health.

 

There’s No Dupe for Toups

The Real Thing. The Real Truth. 

When it comes to tallow, there’s no dupe for Toups — and no substitute for doing your own research. We’re proud to be a science-backed voice you can trust on your health journey.

Whether you’re switching to non-toxic products or soothing a condition like eczema, introducing something new can feel intimidating. Start small:

• Try a tallow lip balm to see how your skin responds.

• Swap one daily product to reduce your “toxic load.”

• Remember: the fewer chemicals your skin eats, the better.

(Not so) fun fact: Over five years, the average woman ingests up to 12 pounds of lipstick. Choosing clean ingredients makes a measurable difference.

Wherever you are in your health journey, we’re here to make your toxic load — and the mental load of finding the truth — a little lighter.

 

References

Russell, M. F., Sandhu, M., Vail, M., Haran, C., Batool, U., & Leo, J. (2024). Tallow, Rendered Animal Fat, and Its Biocompatibility With Skin: A Scoping Review. Cureus, 16(5), e60981. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.60981

Rogers, K. (2025, April 8). Is beef tallow good for skin? The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/wellness/2025/apr/08/is-beef-tallow-good-for-skin