Why Is TikTok Telling Me To Smear Beef Tallow On My Face?

OPINION

It’s the buzzy TikTok trend that’s seen millions of people smooth on the meat derivative in pursuit of healthy, glowing skin. But can this greasy gunk really work skincare miracles? Beauty editor Ashleigh Cometti has questions.

I’ve done a lot of things to my face throughout my tenure as a beauty editor.

There’s the time I was zapped by lasers and left the clinic looking like a chessboard, the other time I tried a six-layer chemical peel (and shed all six layers for weeks on end) or the time I got injected with salmon sperm (more on that to come).

One thing I haven’t tried, though, is test driving TikTok’s latest skincare trend: beef tallow.

At the time of writing, 23.8 million TikTok users had viewed videos in the channel tagged “Epic Beef Tallow”.

What constitutes rendered bovine fat as “epic” is anyone’s guess, but a quick glimpse at the countless TikTok photos depicting haughty chunks of raw beef in commercial-grade pots feels far from it.

The saturated fat is touted on SkinTok as the beauty wunderkind for moisturising, tightening, and brightening complexions – praised for its naturally smooth and velvety consistency which makes easy work of smoothing it on your face, neck and body.

It’s supposed to be particularly effective in soothing inflammatory skin conditions like eczema and dermatitis.

Well, you start with a fatty cut of beef, which is heated and cooked down, then strained into a liquid that solidifies once cold. The recurrent melting and straining process helps to remove any impurities and residues (ew) leaving you with a shelf-stable product that is traditionally used in candle making and soap.

In the time since the carnivorous “cream” surfaced on the platform, the rumour mill was sent into overdrive following concerns that using beef tallow topically could cause health issues including mad cow disease (which is rare but fatal in both cows and humans).

The latter was disproved by double board-certified dermatologist Dr Brendan Camp, but questions around its efficacy and suitability for certain skin types remain.

While it may not give you diseases per se, it hasn’t been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as safe for use topically, nor has it been clinically proven to achieve any of the benefits TikTok users are so quick to claim.

Meaning most of the tubs of tallow you see on TikTok are homemade, and not regulated as safe for use in commercial skincare. This lack of regulation can breed a whole host of other issues, especially if you’re tempted to make like Nara Smith and DIY.

Purity and quality can be an issue, more so if you’re making tallow using factory-farmed cattle that have been exposed to steroids or antibiotics.

On the cusp of turning to vegetarianism, and eager to conduct my own research around the topic, I flicked Stacey Fraser an email.

A cosmetic chemist and design practice fellow at the University of Canterbury, Stacey is well-versed in product design and formulation, so it felt fitting to ask for her take on the trend.

“OMG, tallow! I’ve had so many product enquiries with this ingredient. I really do hope it doesn’t last long ... I have limits.”

Instead, Stacey described beef tallow as a passing phase or gimmick – one that points to the wider trend of people revisiting simple, historical ingredients.

She cited an article that explained the earliest recorded use of beef tallow traced back to Ancient Egypt in 3000 BC, where archaeologists noted Egyptians used animal fats like tallow alongside herbs and oils in skincare and beauty products.

While it was befitting Cleopatra and her cohort back then, Stacey explains the many modern pitfalls of using beef tallow include its smell and texture.

“If it’s not processed properly, even the most organically rendered tallow still has the faint animal fat aroma,” she says, adding: “I’m sure your fur baby would be happy to lick your face!”

As far as skincare benefits go, Stacey says tallow’s occlusive nature can be too rich for those with naturally oily or combination skin types. “It may cause the skin to feel greasy or unbalanced,” she says.

Instead, Stacey says natural, ancient ingredients including clay, coconut or plant-based oils, seaweed, aloe, honey, rice water and herbs are safer bets when it comes to skincare.

Below are the four naturally sourced ingredients revered in ancient beauty practices I’d much rather smooth on my face or spritz on my wrist than the stuff you’d expect to double-fry your hot chips in. Beef tallow, be gone.

Thermal mud

At iwi-owned luxury spa Wai Ariki in Rotorua, thermal mud is the hero throughout a suite of spa treatments designed to heal, detoxify and hydrate.

Thermal mud has long been revered in Māori culture, an ingredient to smooth on to soothe tired muscles, reduce stress, promote relaxation and rejuvenate skin. It was with this in mind that Wai Ariki reimagined thermal mud for the present day throughout their suite of te ao Māori-based treatments.

Here, you can indulge in a full-body mud mask as part of the spa’s 120-minute Restorative Journey, $175, which sees guests coated in a combination of locally sourced thermal mud and nourishing native kawakawa before rinsing off in the steam room, or take home a pot of the kumerahou mud body scrub to smooth on in the comfort of your own bathroom.

“At Wai Ariki, it was incredibly important for us to pay homage to our Ngati Whakaue tupuna and give new life to the traditional wellness practices and resources that have been used for centuries”, says general manager Debbie Robertson.

“With the composition of mud differing based on its origin, we’re so lucky to have access to Rotorua’s natural, thermal mud, which is packed with minerals and essential oils.”

The ritual of immersing the body in mud is one that Māori have partaken in for hundreds of years, not only as a means of connecting with Papatūānuku (mother earth), but to help promote relaxation and skin rejuvenation while easing muscle tension and pain of Māori warriors.

Botanicals

Across the Tasman, Goldfield & Banks founder and chief executive Dimitri Weber adopts a similar approach with fine fragrance.

The French-Belgian harnesses Australian botanicals with traditional French perfume-making methods to inform his range of genderless scents.

It’s the Australian landscape but bottled, and Dimitri says it was always his mission to honour both the people and land when dreaming up each fragrance.

“Each of our fragrances is deeply connected to a specific region in Australia because I believe scent has an incredible ability to transport people –one whiff can evoke the vastness of a coastline, the warmth of the desert, or the richness of a forest,” he says.

“By tying each fragrance to a particular place, I’m not just creating a scent; I’m telling a story about that region, capturing its essence and allowing people to experience it in a deeply personal way, no matter where they are.”

Each scent highlights key botanicals native to Australia, including boronia which is known for its floral and spicy qualities or blue cypress, which gives off a smoky, woody aroma. Dimitri notes that the brand is best known for its use of agarwood, which is sourced from the Daintree Rainforest. It’s notoriously costly to harvest sustainably, but the perfumer adds he’s proud to have figured out a way to include it in Silky Woods, $315, a delicate botanical scent.

Despite not growing up in Australia, Dimitri has worked hard to forge relationships with local growers and suppliers, travelling across Australia to learn about each botanical firsthand and understand the unique environments in which they thrive.

“Establishing relationships with local farmers and communities who have worked with these ingredients for generations is key for me. Their knowledge and sustainability practices have greatly influenced how we source and use these botanicals in our range; for example, our most recent fragrance, Mystic Bliss, features the rare Kunzea flower, grown on Flinders Island,” he says.

“Building a harmonious relationship with Ben Backhaus, the second-generation grower who cultivates the botanical, surely resulted in the final fragrance we ended up with.”

Ever the scientist, Dimitri says that while he’s excited to continue to experiment with Australia’s many underutilised natural ingredients, he also has his sights set on other regions, too.

“I’m working with ingredients from the Pacific Islands like vanilla and gardenias from Tahiti, hibiscus from Fiji – even coffee. New Guinea has amazing coffee, so can we make perfumes with coffee?” he says.

“A fragrance inspired by New Zealand is definitely on the horizon, one formulated with locally sourced ambergris, the most expensive and precious amber in the world.”

Seaweed

A brief recap: seaweed has been a go-to skincare ingredient for civilisations dating as far back as the Mesopotamians, who used mineral-rich algae to tint lips, and featured in the skincare routines of empresses throughout China’s Qin Dynasty.

Seaweed’s use in skincare points to the “blue beauty” movement, whereby ingredients sourced from the deep blue are adapted using biotechnology for use in skin, body and haircare formulations.

Brimming with amino acids, vitamins and minerals, seaweed is said to address the visible signs of ageing, reduce inflammation and boost hydration, not to mention defend against environmental aggressors.

Its many varieties depend on the region in which it’s grown, with strains spanning multiple shades of the rainbow.

Considering our island location, it’s hardly surprising that the underwater wonder is heroed throughout formulations created on our shores. Find Alaria Esculenta (which is extracted from a certain species of brown algae) in Aleph Beauty’s Concealer/Foundation, $65, a makeup/skincare hybrid said to care for skin while it perfects.

New Zealand native red seaweed was selected by local skincare maker Tailor as the hero ingredient in Restore, $70, its cosseting overnight balm which is said to brighten and even skin tone while enveloping skin in long-lasting hydration.

Locally-sourced red seaweed also crops up in Kowhai & Co.’s Vitamin Sea Serum, $60, which is geared towards the needs of ageing or mature skin, and Stewart Island Botanicals’ Rakiura Face Cream, $36, which twins red seaweed with mamaku black fern to hydrate, restore and protect skin.

Seaweed hasn’t just made waves locally, either, with a number of international brands adapting the ancient beauty essential to suit the consumer’s needs. New at Mecca is Osea, an American skin and body care brand that draws its inspiration from the healing powers of the ocean to replenish thirsty skin. This includes its Hyaluronic Sea Serum, $165, which looks to Japanese Miru seaweed to support healthy moisture levels.

Mānuka honey

Despite mānuka trees being native to Aotearoa New Zealand for centuries prior, it wasn’t until Mary Bumby, a beekeeper and European settler, introduced bumblebees in 1839 that mānuka honey was born.

It’s said that the first ever honey produced in Aotearoa was mānuka honey, large in part thanks to the proximity of Mary’s hives on the East Coast of the North Island which is known for its abundance of mānuka.

Revered for its antibacterial and medicinal properties (not to mention ease of access if you happen to have a jar stashed in your cupboard), mānuka honey’s benefits both topically and internally are well-documented.

The latest launch from Raaie is its Golden Nectar Mānuka Honey Enzyme Cleanser, $97, which includes pure mānuka honey and fruit enzymes to gently cleanse skin while maintaining its delicate pH balance. It also informs the formulation’s rich, honeyed hue.

In Aotea’s Kumarahou & Mānuka Honey Cleanser, $55, mānuka honey MGO100+ helps to deeply moisturise skin while combating inflammation and bacteria. Sans Ceuticals harnesses medical-grade mānuka (also MGO100+) in its Superdose Luminosity Masque, $65, to boost skin radiance and luminosity.

Mānuka Health’s suite of skincare goes one step further with high-grade mānuka honey (MGO 800+) which is combined with bee venom and royal jelly in its best-selling Eternal Renewal Regenerating Face Cream, $196. The intensely nourishing formula deeply moisturises skin, leaving it hydrated and protected.

More beauty

From expert recommendations to Viva team test drives.

The 20 Best Luxe Or Less Beauty Advent Calendars To Shop For In 2024. Your complete guide to the best beauty advent calendars of the season.

Eight Hairstylists Share Their Favourite Heat Styling Tools For Bouncy Blowouts Or Long, Sleek Locks. In search of a new hair straightener? Blow dryer? Curling wand? These are the best hair tools which come expert-recommended.

We Gave Four Makeup Artists $100 To Create A Special-Occasion Makeup Look. This Is What They Bought. Special event coming up? This is what the pros would buy, and why.

The Most Luxurious Beauty Items Worth Their Designer Price Tag, According To A Beauty Editor. This is what the best luxury beauty buys should look, smell and feel like (not to mention accomplish).