Tag: natural skin

Why Our Body Butter Contains Coconut Oil

Resting Beef Face Unscented Tallow Body Butter with fresh coconut and unrefined cocoa butter on a rustic wooden surface.

When it comes to skincare, we believe every ingredient should have a purpose. Not because it’s trending, not because it looks impressive on a label, but because it contributes something valuable to the finished product.

At Resting Beef Face, our whipped Body Butter starts with three core ingredients: beef tallow, organic virgin coconut oil, and unrefined cocoa butter from Ghana.

That’s it. For our scented varieties, we add carefully selected essential oils or fragrance.

So why coconut oil? Why not make our Body Butter entirely from beef tallow?

The answer comes down to how ingredients work together, how they feel on your skin, and what we want from the finished product.

Why We Choose Organic Virgin Coconut Oil

Coconut oil has been used in skin and hair care for generations. It’s naturally rich in saturated fatty acids, particularly lauric acid, and is valued for its ability to soften and condition the skin.

We specifically choose organic virgin coconut oil, which is extracted from coconut without the refining processes typically used to produce refined coconut oil.

Unlike refined coconut oil, virgin coconut oil retains more of its naturally occurring coconut aroma and minor plant compounds.

But we don’t include coconut oil simply because it’s natural or organic. We use it because of what it contributes to our Body Butter formulation.

What Coconut Oil Brings to Our Body Butter

1. A Different Texture and Feel

Beef tallow is a wonderful foundation for a rich, conditioning body butter, but its texture and melting characteristics differ from those of coconut oil.

Coconut oil typically melts around 24–26°C (76–79°F), meaning it softens readily with warmth.

When combined with tallow and cocoa butter, it contributes to the way the finished product softens and spreads across your skin.

The result is a formulation designed to feel rich while remaining easy to apply.

2. Helping Skin Retain Moisture

Coconut oil acts as an emollient, helping soften and condition the skin while reducing moisture loss.

When combined with beef tallow and unrefined cocoa butter, it contributes to a rich, conditioning Body Butter that helps skin feel soft and smooth.

Each ingredient plays a specific role in the finished formulation, working together to create a product designed for everyday body care.

3. Working Alongside Our Other Ingredients

Coconut oil isn’t the star of the show on its own.

It’s part of a carefully chosen combination of ingredients that each contribute something different to our finished Body Butter.

The tallow provides a rich foundation, coconut oil contributes softness and spreadability, and cocoa butter adds firmness and structure.

Together, these ingredients create a balanced formulation that can be whipped into the texture we want from our Body Butter.

Freshly whipped tallow Body Butter in a stainless steel mixing bowl with a whisk, showing its creamy texture during production at Resting Beef Face.

Three Ingredients, Three Different Roles

Beef Tallow: The Foundation

Our beef tallow begins as locally sourced, grass-fed beef suet that we render ourselves.

Rather than purchasing finished tallow, we handle the rendering process in-house, giving us direct involvement in preparing the primary ingredient used in our skincare.

Tallow contains a combination of fatty acids, including oleic, palmitic, and stearic acids. These contribute to its rich texture and conditioning properties.

It forms the foundation of our Body Butter, providing the substance and richness that make tallow-based skincare distinctive.

Organic Virgin Coconut Oil: The Emollient

Coconut oil brings a different fatty acid composition and melting point to the formulation.

It helps soften the skin while influencing how the finished butter spreads and feels during application.

Because coconut oil softens at relatively low temperatures, it contributes to the way our Body Butter responds to warmth when applied to the skin.

It’s not simply an additional oil. It’s an ingredient chosen for a specific purpose.

Unrefined Cocoa Butter: The Structure

Our cocoa butter comes from Ghana and is used in its unrefined form.

Cocoa butter is naturally firm at room temperature and melts at approximately 34–38°C (93–100°F), depending on its composition.

Its firmness helps provide structure to the finished Body Butter, balancing the softer characteristics of coconut oil.

Unrefined cocoa butter also retains its naturally occurring cocoa aroma, which is part of the character of this ingredient.

Together, these three ingredients form the foundation of every jar of Resting Beef Face Body Butter.

And while the whipping process introduces air and gives the finished product its light, whipped appearance, the balance of fats and oils helps determine how that texture behaves.

Why Our Face Balm Has a Different Formula

If you’ve explored our other products, you may have noticed that our Face Balm doesn’t contain coconut oil or cocoa butter.

Instead, we use beef tallow and castor oil.

That’s intentional.

Our Face Balm and Body Butter are designed for different applications, so we don’t believe they need identical formulations.

For our Face Balm, we chose castor oil to complement tallow in a simple, non-whipped balm.

For our Body Butter, we use coconut oil and cocoa butter to create a richer, whipped product intended for larger areas of the body.

Neither formula needs a long ingredient list to accomplish its purpose.

If you’re curious about our Face Balm formulation, you can read our article, Why Use Castor Oil in Face Balm?

Is Coconut Oil Right for Every Skin Type?

Not necessarily, and we think that’s worth discussing.

Although coconut oil works well for many people as a body moisturizer, it can feel too heavy for some skin types.

People who are prone to clogged pores or acne may find that coconut oil isn’t the best choice for their facial skin.

This is one reason we formulate our Face Balm and Body Butter differently.

Skin is individual, and an ingredient that works beautifully for one person may not suit another.

We recommend trying new skincare products on a small area first, particularly if you have sensitive or reactive skin.

Why We Keep Our Body Butter Simple

There are countless ingredients we could add to our Body Butter.

But more ingredients don’t automatically mean better skincare.

Our approach is to choose ingredients for their purpose, understand how they work together, and create products that are straightforward to use.

We render our own beef tallow, select our supporting ingredients intentionally, and make our Body Butter in small batches.

No unnecessary additions. No complicated routine.

Just a thoughtfully formulated Body Butter made with ingredients we can explain.

Experience Our Whipped Tallow Body Butter

Our Resting Beef Face whipped Body Butters are made with beef tallow, organic virgin coconut oil, and unrefined cocoa butter from Ghana, with scent added to our scented varieties.

Whether you prefer unscented skincare or one of our signature blends, the same three core ingredients form the foundation of every jar.

Explore our collection of handcrafted Tallow Body Butters at Resting Beef Face.

What Does a Healthy Skin Barrier Actually Do?

Woman looking at her skin in a bathroom mirror as part of a simple skincare routine.

What Does a Healthy Skin Barrier Actually Do?

And why can doing more to your skin sometimes feel like it’s making things worse?

“Support your skin barrier” has become one of those skincare phrases that gets thrown around so often that it starts to lose its meaning.

Buy this barrier cream. Add this serum. Try this active. Use this cleanser first. Exfoliate twice a week. Add another product to counteract the irritation from the other product.

At some point, you may find yourself standing in the bathroom with six bottles on the counter wondering why your skin feels tighter, drier or generally more annoyed than it did when you started.

So, what is your skin barrier actually supposed to do, and does taking care of it really need to be that complicated?

What Is the Skin Barrier?

When people talk about the “skin barrier,” they’re generally talking about the outermost layer of your skin.

You can think of it as the boundary between your body and everything happening outside of it. Its job isn’t to make your skin look glossy, poreless or ten years younger. It has much more practical work to do.

A well-functioning skin barrier helps keep moisture from escaping too quickly while creating a physical boundary between your skin and the outside world.

Your skin naturally contains both skin cells and lipids, fats that help fill the spaces between those cells. A common analogy is bricks and mortar: the cells are the bricks and the lipids help form the mortar between them.

When that outer layer is doing its job well, skin is generally better able to hold onto its own moisture and tolerate everyday exposure without needing constant intervention.

Which raises an interesting question:

If your skin already has a system for doing this, why are we constantly trying to interfere with it?

Sometimes More Skincare Isn’t More Skin Care

Modern skincare routines can get complicated quickly.

Cleansers. Toners. Exfoliating acids. Retinoids. Serums. Masks. Scrubs. Treatments. Moisturizers.

None of those categories automatically makes a product bad. The issue is that layering more products onto your skin isn’t necessarily the same thing as taking better care of it.

Cleansing too aggressively can remove more of the oils sitting on the skin’s surface than you intended. Frequent exfoliation can leave skin feeling uncomfortable. Fragrance or particular ingredients may simply not agree with your skin. Even products you’ve used successfully before can sometimes feel different when the weather changes or when you’re using them alongside something new.

And then there is the temptation to fix the problem by adding another product.

Skin feels dry? Add a serum.

Still dry? Try a stronger moisturizer.

Now it feels irritated? Buy something marketed specifically for the “skin barrier.”

Before long, you’re trying to solve a complicated routine with an even more complicated routine.

Sometimes the more useful question is:

What can I stop doing?

What Can Affect Your Skin Barrier?

There isn’t one universal skincare routine because everyone’s skin, and everyday environment, is different.

But there are plenty of ordinary things that can leave skin feeling dry, tight or uncomfortable.

Washing frequently, very hot water, strong cleansers, repeated exfoliation, dry indoor air and cold Canadian weather can all change how your skin feels.

Using several products at once can also make it surprisingly difficult to figure out which product your skin actually likes.

When your skin starts feeling unhappy, that doesn’t automatically mean you’ve “damaged your skin barrier.” Dryness, redness, sensitivity and irritation can happen for many different reasons.

But they can be useful signals that your current routine might deserve another look.

What Are the Signs Your Skin Barrier May Be Struggling?

Your skin doesn’t send you a notification saying:

Congratulations! Your moisture barrier is compromised. Click here to repair.

It usually just starts feeling different.

You might notice that your skin feels unusually tight after washing. It may feel rougher or drier than usual. You might see flaky areas or find that products you normally use suddenly feel uncomfortable.

Those observations aren’t a diagnosis, and they don’t necessarily tell you exactly what is happening underneath the surface.

They’re simply reasons to pay attention.

If your twelve-step skincare routine consistently leaves your face feeling worse than when you started, adding step thirteen may not be the obvious solution.

Where Does Oil-Based Skincare Fit?

This is where things can get confusing because oil and water are not the same thing when we’re talking about skin moisture.

An oil or balm doesn’t add water to your skin.

Instead, oils can soften the skin and create a layer on its surface that helps slow the loss of moisture already present.

That’s one reason applying an oil-based balm to slightly damp skin can feel different from putting it onto completely dry skin. You’re not asking the oil to provide water, it doesn’t. You’re using it as part of a routine that helps hold onto the moisture that’s already there.

And this is where simple formulations can be appealing.

Rather than layering multiple products containing long lists of ingredients, some people prefer a straightforward balm made with only a few ingredients they understand.

That doesn’t mean simple skincare is automatically right for everyone.

It simply means more ingredients aren’t automatically better either.

Because sometimes doing less is still doing something.

And Yes, This Is Where Tallow Comes In

We make tallow skincare, so pretending tallow has nothing to do with this conversation would be a little ridiculous.

Tallow is a fat.

When used in a skincare balm, it functions as an oil-based ingredient that helps soften the skin and provides that protective, occlusive layer on the surface.

That’s it.

We don’t need to tell you that it performs miracles, “heals” your skin barrier or transforms your skin at a cellular level.

We like tallow because it allows us to make rich, simple skincare without turning your bathroom counter into a chemistry set.

Our Face Balm, for example, is intentionally uncomplicated. The unscented version contains rendered beef tallow and castor oil. Nothing hiding behind a twenty-line ingredient list.

You know what’s in the jar.

Supporting Your Skin Doesn’t Have to Become Another Project

If your skin constantly feels like it’s fighting your skincare routine, simplifying things may be worth considering.

That might mean washing more gently. Turning down the temperature of your shower. Taking a break from constant exfoliation. Paying attention to how individual products actually make your skin feel. Or simply using fewer products at once so you can tell what your skin does and doesn’t tolerate.

And when you use an oil-based product, try applying a small amount to slightly damp skin rather than expecting the balm itself to provide hydration.

You don’t necessarily need a shelf full of products to have a thoughtful skincare routine.

Sometimes skincare can simply be:

Clean gently.

Leave some things alone.

Keep moisture from disappearing unnecessarily.

Pay attention to your own skin.

Not particularly glamorous, perhaps.

But your skin has been doing its job considerably longer than the skincare industry has been selling you twelve-step routines.

The Bottom Line

A healthy skin barrier isn’t something you can see in a mirror and grade out of ten.

It’s part of the normal structure of your skin, helping create a boundary with the outside world and helping limit unnecessary moisture loss.

You don’t need to become a skincare expert to start thinking differently about how you treat it.

If your routine regularly leaves your skin feeling tight, dry or uncomfortable, you don’t necessarily need another bottle.

You might just need to question what all those bottles are doing there in the first place.

At Resting Beef Face, that’s largely why we keep things simple.

Fewer ingredients. Straightforward formulas. No twelve-step routine required.

What Is Beef Suet? The Starting Point of Our Tallow Skincare

Cattle from Meunier Livestock, the Alberta farm behind our beef suet

What Is Beef Suet? The Starting Point of Our Tallow Skincare

If you’ve spent any time around tallow skincare, you’ve probably heard the words tallow and suet used almost interchangeably.

They’re not the same thing.

Tallow is the finished rendered fat we use to make our skincare products.

Suet is where it starts.

At Resting Beef Face, every batch of tallow begins with Alberta beef suet. As we’ve grown, we’ve also become more intentional about where that suet comes from and building relationships closer to the source.

Today, our suet comes from the Alberta cattle operation behind 1899 Beef Co. and Modern Pastures.

Before that suet becomes the smooth, creamy tallow that goes into our Face Balms, Body Butters, soaps and other products, however, it looks considerably less glamorous.

It’s raw beef fat.

Skincare has had better marketing moments.

But understanding what beef suet actually is—and where ours comes from—is an important part of understanding the ingredient at the foundation of Resting Beef Face.

What Is Beef Suet?

Beef suet is a firm type of fat found primarily around a cow’s kidneys and loins.

Unlike the softer fat found throughout other parts of the animal, suet is naturally firm and dense. Traditionally, it has been valued for cooking, baking, soapmaking and, of course, rendering into tallow.

When suet arrives at Resting Beef Face, it hasn’t magically become skincare yet.

It needs to be carefully rendered to separate the usable fat from the connective tissue, moisture and other material naturally present in the raw ingredient.

What remains after that process is beef tallow.

So the easiest way to remember the difference is:

Suet = the raw fat.
Tallow = the rendered fat.

Same animal. Different stage of the process.

Is All Beef Fat Suet?

No—and this is where the terminology can get confusing.

Cattle naturally carry fat in different areas of the body, but not all beef fat is suet.

Suet specifically refers to the firm fat concentrated around the kidneys and nearby loin area. Other beef fat and fatty trimmings can also be rendered, but they aren’t technically the same raw material.

That distinction matters to us because we deliberately use beef suet as the starting material for our tallow.

We’re not simply collecting miscellaneous beef fat, melting it down and putting it into a jar.

The raw material matters too.

Why We Start With Beef Suet

When you look at a finished jar of Face Balm, it’s easy to focus on what’s directly in front of you.

But our tallow starts long before anything goes into that amber jar.

It starts with the fat.

At Resting Beef Face, we render our own tallow rather than purchasing finished, pre-rendered tallow from a cosmetic ingredient supplier.

That means we’re involved with our core ingredient before it becomes tallow at all.

We know what we’re starting with.

We know where it’s coming from.

We know how it’s rendered.

We know how it’s filtered.

And we know what happens to it before it reaches one of our formulas.

For a skincare brand built around one very important ingredient, that matters to us.

Where Our Beef Suet Comes From

Cattle from Meunier Livestock, the Alberta farm behind our beef suet
Our beef suet comes from Meunier Livestock, the Alberta cattle operation behind 1899 Beef Co. Photo courtesy of 1899 Beef Co.

This is where the story has become even more interesting.

Our suet now comes from Meunier Livestock, the fourth-generation Alberta cattle operation behind 1899 Beef Co.

The Meunier family’s ranching history dates back to 1899. Today, their cattle operation spans Alberta ranchland and maintains control and traceability throughout the lifecycle of its cattle. Their approach includes practices such as rotational grazing and diverse forage systems, and the operation is Verified Beef Production Plus (VBP+) approved and certified to the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef’s Sustainable Beef Production Standard.

For us, having a relationship closer to the agricultural source of our suet is important.

Tallow isn’t some mysterious laboratory ingredient.

It came from an animal.

We don’t want to disguise that part of the story—we want to know more about it.

Working with the farm behind our suet gives us a clearer connection between the raw agricultural ingredient we receive and the finished skincare product we eventually make from it.

1899 Beef Co. is the Meunier family’s beef brand, while Modern Pastures provides a way for consumers to purchase that same Alberta beef and learn more about the farms behind their food.

And then there’s us.

They raise the beef. We get excited about the fat. Your face gets involved somewhere down the line.

Everyone has their thing.

From Beef Suet to Tallow

Once the suet reaches us, our part of the process begins.

Turning beef suet into tallow is called rendering.

Using controlled heat, we slowly render the suet to separate the usable fat from the other material naturally present in it.

As the fat melts, it separates from the remaining solids. The liquid fat is then carefully filtered before being allowed to cool and solidify.

The transformation is fairly remarkable.

What begins as raw beef suet becomes clean, pale tallow with a smooth, firm consistency.

That’s the ingredient that eventually makes its way into our skincare.

If you’d like to see that process in more detail, our guide What Is Beef Tallow? follows the transformation from raw suet to the finished ingredient.

Why Do We Render Our Own Tallow?

We could buy tallow already rendered.

It would certainly save some time.

It would also remove us from one of the most important parts of making our products.

Rendering in-house gives us control over how our core ingredient is handled and processed before we formulate with it.

We’re not opening a bucket of finished tallow from a cosmetic ingredient supplier and hoping it meets our expectations.

We start with the suet.

That means the process isn’t particularly glamorous. There are large quantities of raw beef fat, rendering equipment, filtering, cleaning and quite a lot happening before you ever see a tidy amber jar with a Resting Beef Face label on it.

Apparently farm-to-face skincare has a middle part nobody puts on the brochure.

We happen to think that middle part matters.

Using More of What Already Exists

There’s another reason this relationship between beef production and tallow skincare makes sense to us.

We’re not raising cattle to make moisturizer.

The cattle are already being raised for beef. Suet is one part of that animal, and by taking that fat and carefully rendering it into tallow, we’re able to give an existing animal-derived resource another purpose.

It’s one of the things we’ve always appreciated about tallow.

Instead of distancing ourselves from where the ingredient comes from, we’d rather understand the entire chain.

In our case, that chain now looks something like:

Alberta ranch → beef → suet → Resting Beef Face → rendered tallow → skincare.

The beef itself can make its way to Canadian tables through 1899 Beef and Modern Pastures.

We get the suet.

And we’re perfectly happy with our end of that deal.

Suet Isn’t Skincare—Yet

This is probably the most important distinction to make.

Raw beef suet isn’t the ingredient we’re rubbing on your face.

It’s the raw material used to make the tallow that goes into our skincare.

Rendering transforms that raw fat into a usable cosmetic ingredient by separating the fat from moisture, tissue and other remaining material.

Only after the rendering and filtering process is complete do we have the tallow we use as the foundation of our formulas.

That’s why saying suet and tallow mean the same thing skips an important part of the process.

One is where we begin.

The other is what we make from it.

What Happens to the Tallow Next?

Resting Beef Face Body Butter made with rendered Alberta beef tallow
From rendered beef tallow to finished skincare—our tallow is formulated by hand into small-batch Resting Beef Face products.

Once our tallow has been rendered, filtered and cooled, it becomes the foundation for much of what we make at Resting Beef Face.

From there, formulation matters.

Depending on the product, we combine our tallow with other carefully selected natural ingredients to achieve the texture, consistency and purpose we’re looking for.

We don’t use synthetic ingredients in our formulations, but that doesn’t mean we’re simply throwing a handful of natural ingredients together and hoping for the best.

Every ingredient needs a reason to be there.

Our Face Balm is a good example. We pair our rendered tallow with castor oil because the castor oil helps us create the smooth, spreadable consistency we wanted from a daily facial balm.

You can read more about that decision in Why We Use Castor Oil in Our Face Balm.

The progression looks something like this:

Beef suet → rendered tallow → intentional formulation → finished skincare.

Simple on paper.

Slightly messier in real life.

From an Alberta Farm to Your Skincare

One of the reasons we’re creating our Understanding Tallow series is because we think people should know where their skincare ingredients actually come from.

With tallow, we’re not interested in hiding its origin behind prettier terminology.

It starts with beef fat.

More specifically, ours starts with Alberta beef suet from Meunier Livestock—the farm behind 1899 Beef Co. and the same beef available to consumers through Modern Pastures.

Then it comes to us.

We render it ourselves. We filter it carefully. And we turn the resulting tallow into the foundation for much of what we make.

There isn’t anything especially mysterious about the process.

There is, however, quite a lot of care between raw beef fat and finished Face Balm.

And we think that part of the story is worth showing too.

Suet is where our tallow starts. Tallow is where our skincare starts.

If you want to follow the next step, read What Is Beef Tallow? to see how we turn beef suet into the ingredient behind Resting Beef Face.

And if you’re curious about the Alberta beef behind our suet, visit 1899 Beef Co. or Modern Pastures to learn more about the farm and where their beef comes from.

Why We Use Castor Oil in Our Face Balm

Resting Beef Face Unscented Tallow Face Balm displayed with rendered beef tallow and golden castor oil on a rustic wood surface with natural linen and soft light.

Why We Use Castor Oil in Our Face Balm

When we created our Face Balm, our goal wasn’t to make a product with the longest ingredient list or the trendiest oils. We wanted to make something simple—something where every ingredient had a clear purpose.

Today, many skincare products contain dozens of ingredients. Some are included to stabilize water-based formulas, improve texture, extend shelf life, or create a particular sensory experience. Those ingredients all have their place, but we chose a different approach.

Our Face Balm is made with just two core ingredients: grass-fed beef tallow and castor oil. Our Lavender Face Balm uses that same foundation with the addition of a small amount of lavender essential oil for those who enjoy a subtle botanical scent.

People occasionally ask why we add castor oil at all. If tallow can be used as a moisturizer on its own, why not simply use pure tallow?

The answer comes down to formulation, usability, and creating a balm that feels good to use every day.

Starting With the Foundation: Grass-Fed Beef Tallow

Before we talk about castor oil, it’s worth understanding what it’s working alongside.

At Resting Beef Face, every batch begins with grass-fed Alberta beef suet, which we slowly render into tallow in-house. We don’t purchase pre-rendered tallow or private label our products. Rendering our own tallow allows us to oversee the ingredient from raw suet through to the finished tallow we use in our skincare.

If you’re new to tallow skincare, start with our guide, What Is Beef Tallow?, where we explain what tallow is, where it comes from, and how we make ours.

Tallow is naturally rich and, on its own, can be used as a simple moisturizer.

So why add anything to it?

Pure Tallow Is Simple—But Formulation Matters

One of the misconceptions about simple skincare is that fewer ingredients must mean using only one ingredient.

Sometimes that’s exactly what you want. Other times, combining a small number of carefully selected ingredients creates a product that’s simply more enjoyable to use.

When we were developing our Face Balm, we weren’t trying to create the richest or most complicated balm possible. We wanted something people could comfortably incorporate into their everyday skincare routine.

That meant finding the right balance between the natural firmness of tallow and the smooth, spreadable texture we wanted from a face balm.

We wanted a balm that would:

  • glide comfortably across the skin
  • soften easily with the warmth of your fingertips
  • spread well when using only a small amount
  • remain simple and straightforward to use
  • complement the natural characteristics of tallow rather than overwhelm them

After experimenting with different formulations and ratios, we found that castor oil gave us the balance we were looking for.

What Is Castor Oil?

Castor oil is a plant-based oil pressed from the seeds of the castor plant, Ricinus communis.

Unlike many lighter cosmetic oils, castor oil has a naturally thick, viscous consistency. It’s used in a wide variety of cosmetic formulations, including balms, because of the texture and skin feel it can contribute to a finished product.

That distinctive consistency is one of the reasons it works so well in our Face Balm.

Rather than adding several different oils to change the texture of our tallow, we can use a carefully chosen amount of castor oil and keep the overall formula remarkably simple.

Why We Pair Castor Oil With Tallow

Tallow forms the foundation of our Face Balm, but rendered tallow is naturally firm—especially when temperatures are cooler.

Castor oil helps soften that firmness and creates a smoother, more spreadable finished balm.

Its naturally thick consistency also contributes glide. Instead of having to work a firm product extensively across the skin, a small amount of our Face Balm can be warmed between your fingertips and gently applied.

That’s particularly important with tallow skincare because you don’t need much.

Our goal wasn’t to make the castor oil the star of the formula. Its job is to complement the tallow and improve the overall experience of using the finished balm.

Handmade Resting Beef Face Unscented Tallow Face Balm beside fresh oils being measured in a professional skincare workshop.
Every jar starts here. Fresh ingredients, careful measuring, and small-batch craftsmanship—our Unscented Tallow Face Balm is made by hand from start to finish.

Why Not Just Use Pure Tallow?

You absolutely can use plain rendered tallow on your skin.

For us, however, creating a finished skincare product is about more than choosing a single ingredient we like. It’s also about considering how that product feels, spreads, and performs during everyday use.

Pure tallow naturally changes in firmness depending on temperature. In a cooler room, it can become quite firm. As temperatures rise, it softens.

When developing our Face Balm, we wanted to maintain the simplicity of tallow while creating a texture that was easier to scoop, warm between the fingers, and spread across the face.

Castor oil helped us achieve that without turning a simple balm into a long, complicated formulation.

We Didn’t Choose Castor Oil Because It Was Trendy

Natural skincare trends come and go.

Every year seems to bring another “must-have” oil or ingredient promising to transform your skincare routine.

That’s not how we want to formulate products at Resting Beef Face.

Instead, we ask a much simpler question:

Does this ingredient improve the product?

If the answer is yes, it earns its place.

If not, it stays out.

Castor oil wasn’t selected because it was fashionable. We chose it because, after experimenting with different formulations, it helped us achieve the texture and application experience we wanted from our Face Balm.

That philosophy guides the way we approach all of our products.

Every jar starts here. Carefully measured ingredients and small-batch craftsmanship—our Unscented Tallow Face Balm is made by hand from start to finish.

Why Not Use Other Popular Oils?

Why castor oil instead of olive oil, jojoba oil, sweet almond oil, avocado oil, or one of the many other oils commonly found in skincare?

It isn’t because those ingredients are inherently good or bad.

They’re simply different.

Every oil brings its own characteristics to a formulation. Changing the oil can change the texture, consistency, scent, spreadability, and overall feel of the finished balm.

Our goal wasn’t to create a Face Balm containing as many popular skincare oils as possible.

It was to create a balm with as few ingredients as necessary while achieving the texture and experience we wanted.

Sometimes thoughtful formulation is as much about what you leave out as what you put in.

A Formula We Continued to Refine

Something you don’t always see when looking at a finished jar of skincare is what happened before that jar existed.

Formulas rarely arrive fully developed on the first attempt.

Ours certainly didn’t.

We spent time experimenting with different ratios before arriving at the Face Balm formulation we use today.

Small adjustments made noticeable differences in how the balm spread, how it felt during application, and the overall consistency of the finished product.

Eventually, we found the balance we were looking for: tallow remains the foundation of the formula while castor oil quietly helps make the balm easier and more enjoyable to use.

Sometimes the smallest changes make the biggest difference.

The Same Philosophy Goes Into Our Lavender Face Balm

Our Lavender Face Balm starts with the same philosophy and the same tallow-and-castor-oil foundation.

The difference is the addition of a small amount of lavender essential oil for those who prefer a lightly scented option.

We intentionally keep the lavender subtle. The goal wasn’t to turn our original Face Balm into a heavily scented product, but simply to offer another option while maintaining the simplicity of the original formulation.

Whether you prefer unscented skincare or a hint of lavender, the foundation remains the same.

Resting Beef Face Lavender Tallow Face Balm in an amber glass jar displayed on a rustic wooden surface with subtle lavender sprigs, natural wood tones, and soft linen accents.

Simple Doesn’t Mean Accidental

Keeping an ingredient list short doesn’t mean throwing two ingredients together and calling it finished.

When you work with a small number of ingredients, every decision becomes more noticeable.

Changing one ingredient changes the formula.

Changing the ratio changes the formula.

Even a small adjustment can change how the finished product feels and behaves.

That’s why our approach to simple skincare isn’t about using the fewest ingredients simply for the sake of having a short label.

It’s about using what the product needs—and leaving out what it doesn’t.

Why Castor Oil Earned Its Place

At Resting Beef Face, we believe every ingredient should have a reason for being there.

Grass-fed beef tallow forms the foundation of our Face Balm.

Castor oil earns its place because it complements that tallow, helping us create the smooth, spreadable consistency and application experience we wanted without adding unnecessary complexity.

Two simple ingredients, each doing its job.

That’s the philosophy behind our Unscented Face Balm and the foundation of our Lavender Face Balm: thoughtfully chosen ingredients, carefully developed ratios, and small-batch products made by hand from start to finish.

If you’d like to try the formula for yourself, explore our Unscented Tallow Face Balm or Lavender Tallow Face Balm.

And if you’re just beginning to explore tallow skincare, our What Is Beef Tallow? guide is a great place to start.

What Is Beef Tallow?

Fresh grass-fed beef suet prepared and broken into smaller pieces before the rendering process begins.

What Is Beef Tallow?

Introduction

What is beef tallow? Beef tallow is a natural fat made by slowly rendering beef suet—the firm fat found around a cow’s kidneys. While it’s been used for generations in cooking and soap making, it’s also become a popular ingredient in handcrafted skincare.

At Resting Beef Face, we start with locally sourced grass-fed beef suet and render our own tallow before it becomes part of our Face Balms and Body Butters. In this article, we’ll explain what beef tallow is, how it’s made, and why we choose to use it.

Step 1: What Is Beef Suet?

Everything begins with beef suet—the firm fat found around a cow’s kidneys. Unlike softer fat from other areas of the animal, suet has long been prized for rendering because of its clean, firm structure.

After sourcing our beef suet locally, it’s trimmed and broken into smaller pieces to help it render evenly.

Every batch starts here.

Fresh grass-fed beef suet prepared and broken into smaller pieces before the rendering process begins.
The journey begins with locally sourced grass-fed beef suet, prepared for slow rendering into cosmetic-grade tallow.

Step 2: How Beef Tallow Is Made

Once the suet has been prepared, it’s placed into a slow cooker where gentle, consistent heat begins the rendering process.

Rendering isn’t about cooking the fat quickly. It’s about patience.

As the suet slowly warms over several hours, the pure fat gradually separates from moisture and connective tissue. This slow approach helps create a clean, stable tallow that’s ready for the next stage.

Fresh grass-fed beef suet being placed into a slow cooker before the rendering process.
Fresh beef suet is added to the slow cooker, where gentle heat slowly transforms it into rendered tallow.

Step 3: Filtering the Freshly Rendered Tallow

When rendering is complete, the tallow is still a clear golden liquid.

At this stage, it’s carefully filtered through layers of cheesecloth to remove any remaining solids.

Filtering is one of the most satisfying parts of the process. Watching the warm tallow pass through the cloth leaves behind a beautifully clean ingredient that’s ready to cool.

Freshly rendered beef tallow being filtered through cheesecloth to remove impurities before skincare formulation.
Freshly rendered tallow is carefully filtered to create a clean, cosmetic-grade ingredient ready for skincare.

Step 4: Cooling Into Tallow

Freshly rendered tallow doesn’t stay golden for long.

As it cools, it naturally transforms into the creamy, pale tallow that’s used throughout our skincare collection.

This colour change is completely natural and simply reflects the fat returning to a solid state.

What began as raw beef suet has now become clean, handcrafted tallow.

Handcrafted rendered beef tallow after cooling, showing its naturally creamy texture before being formulated into skincare products.
After cooling, freshly rendered tallow transforms from a clear golden liquid into the naturally creamy ingredient that forms the foundation of our
handcrafted skincare.

Step 5: From Tallow to Skincare

Once our tallow has cooled, it becomes the foundation of our formulations.

Our Face Balm is intentionally simple, combining handcrafted tallow with castor oil to create a rich, water-free moisturizer. Our Lavender Face Balm follows the same minimalist formula with the addition of lavender essential oil.

Our Body Butters use the same handcrafted tallow but are formulated differently. By adding ingredients such as coconut oil, we’re able to create a lighter, whipped texture that’s designed specifically for full-body hydration.

Rather than using one formula for every product, each recipe is developed with its own purpose in mind.

Why We Make Our Own Tallow

Rendering our own tallow isn’t the quickest part of making skincare, but it’s one of the most important.

By starting with locally sourced grass-fed beef suet, we’re involved in every step—from preparing the raw ingredient to filtering the finished tallow before it ever reaches one of our mixing bowls.

For us, that process reflects the values behind Resting Beef Face: simple ingredients, thoughtful craftsmanship, and knowing exactly what goes into every batch.

Final Thoughts

When people see a jar of tallow skincare, they usually see the finished product.

What they don’t always see is the work that comes before it.

Preparing the beef suet.

Waiting patiently while it renders.

Filtering it by hand.

Watching it cool into creamy tallow.

These steps are all part of the process, and they’re the reason every batch begins with care long before it reaches your bathroom shelf.

Because at Resting Beef Face, quality doesn’t start in the jar.

It starts with the ingredient.

Continue Exploring

If you’d like to learn more about tallow skincare, these articles are a great place to start:

Tallow Skincare for Men: Why More Men Are Switching to a Simpler Routine

Tallow Skincare for Men: Why More Men Are Switching to a Simpler Routine

Whiskey & Oak tallow soap, Mr. Tallow conditioning salve, and Woods-Man tallow body butter displayed on a rustic wooden surface with men's grooming accessories in a warm, natural setting.
Simple ingredients. Timeless routine. Everything needed for clean skin and daily care without the clutter.

For years, men’s skincare has been dominated by complicated routines and products packed with ingredients most people can’t pronounce.

But many men aren’t looking for a ten-step routine.

They want skin that feels comfortable, healthy, and cared for without spending twenty minutes in front of the mirror every morning.

That’s one reason why tallow skincare for men has become increasingly popular. Built around traditional ingredients and simple routines, tallow offers a straightforward approach to skincare that fits easily into everyday life.

What Is Tallow Skincare?

Tallow is a nutrient-rich fat traditionally sourced from cattle and carefully rendered for use in skincare products.

What makes tallow unique is its similarity to the natural oils found in human skin. Rather than relying on synthetic ingredients, tallow-based products work with your skin’s natural moisture barrier to help keep skin feeling soft and hydrated.

For men who prefer simple ingredients and uncomplicated routines, tallow offers a practical alternative to many conventional skincare products.

Why Men Are Choosing Tallow Skincare

Many men experience common skincare concerns such as:

  • Dry skin
  • Rough patches
  • Tightness after washing
  • Irritation from shaving
  • Seasonal dryness during winter

The challenge is that many products designed to address these concerns often add more complexity than necessary.

Tallow skincare takes a different approach.

Instead of layering multiple products, many men find that a quality tallow soap and moisturizer provide everything they need for a simple daily routine.

Tallow Skincare and Shaving

Shaving can be one of the biggest sources of irritation for men’s skin.

Even a close, comfortable shave can leave skin feeling dry, tight, or sensitive afterward. Traditional aftershaves often contain alcohol-based ingredients that can further dry out the skin.

That’s where a tallow-based moisturizer can make a difference.

Applying a small amount after shaving helps replenish moisture and leaves skin feeling soft and comfortable instead of tight and irritated.

Meet Mr. Tallow

At Resting Beef Face, we created Mr. Tallow for men who want straightforward skincare that actually fits their lifestyle.

Made with grass-fed tallow and simple ingredients, Mr. Tallow can be used as both a daily face moisturizer and a post-shave balm.

Rather than adding another product to your routine, it simplifies it.

After shaving, apply a small amount to clean skin to help restore moisture. On days you don’t shave, use it as part of your regular skincare routine to keep your skin feeling nourished throughout the day.

No complicated instructions. No lengthy ingredient list. Just simple skincare designed for men.

Mr. Tallow Conditioning Salve in a black glass jar displayed on a wooden tray in a warm rustic bathroom setting with a candle, folded towel, and natural grooming elements.

A Simple Tallow Skincare Routine for Men

One of the biggest advantages of tallow skincare is how easy it is to use.

Step 1: Cleanse

Wash your face with a gentle tallow soap to remove dirt, sweat, and excess oil without leaving your skin feeling stripped.

Step 2: Moisturize

Apply a small amount of Mr. Tallow to slightly damp skin.

A pea-sized amount is often all you need. Warm it between your fingertips and massage it into your face and neck.

Step 3: Stay Consistent

You don’t need a complicated routine to see results.

Consistent daily care with simple products often works better than constantly switching between products and ingredients.

Is Tallow Skincare Good for Men’s Skin?

Every man’s skin is different, but many appreciate tallow because it delivers moisture without requiring a complicated routine.

Tallow skincare is especially popular among men who:

  • Prefer natural ingredients
  • Want a simple skincare routine
  • Experience dry or rough skin
  • Shave regularly
  • Are looking to reduce the number of products they use

The key is choosing high-quality products made with grass-fed tallow and thoughtfully selected ingredients.

Why Simpler Often Works Better

Modern skincare often encourages people to buy more products to solve every possible concern.

For many men, the better solution is simply building a consistent routine with products that support the skin rather than overwhelm it.

A quality tallow soap and a moisturizer like Mr. Tallow can form the foundation of a practical skincare routine that’s easy to maintain year-round.

Final Thoughts

Healthy skin doesn’t have to be complicated.

Tallow skincare for men offers a simple, traditional approach built around ingredients that work with your skin rather than against it.

Whether you’re looking to improve dryness, find a better post-shave moisturizer, or simplify your daily routine, tallow skincare provides an effective solution without unnecessary complexity.

Sometimes the best skincare routine is the one you’ll actually stick to.

Natural Skincare for Women: Why Simpler May Be Better

Woman in her 40s with healthy skin enjoying a simple natural skincare routine in a bright, minimalist setting.

Natural Skincare for Women: Why Simpler May Be Better

The beauty industry offers no shortage of skincare products promising flawless skin. Serums, masks, toners, exfoliants, and treatments often leave women wondering which products are actually necessary and which are simply adding complexity to their routine.

For many women, the answer may be surprisingly simple: focus on quality ingredients, consistent habits, and products that support the skin rather than overwhelm it.

What Is Natural Skincare?

Natural skincare focuses on ingredients derived from nature rather than heavily processed synthetic alternatives. While definitions vary, many people choose natural skincare because they prefer recognizable ingredients and a more minimalist approach to caring for their skin.

The goal isn’t perfection—it’s creating a routine that helps skin feel healthy, comfortable, and well cared for.

Why Many Women Are Simplifying Their Skincare Routines

A growing number of women are moving away from lengthy, multi-step routines in favor of simpler skincare practices.

A minimalist skincare routine can help reduce decision fatigue, lower costs, and make daily skincare more sustainable over the long term. Rather than constantly adding new products, many women are choosing a handful of trusted products that work well for their skin.

Choosing Natural Ingredients That Work

Not all natural skincare products are created equal. The best products often contain a short list of ingredients that serve a clear purpose.

Ingredients such as tallow, olive oil, castor oil, beeswax, and botanical oils have been used for generations to help moisturize and condition the skin. These traditional ingredients continue to be valued for their simplicity and effectiveness.

When evaluating skincare products, consider whether the ingredient list is easy to understand and whether the product fits your skin’s needs rather than the latest trend.

Why Tallow Has Become Popular in Natural Skincare

Tallow has experienced a resurgence among women looking for simple, traditional skincare products. Because it closely resembles the natural oils found in human skin, many people find that tallow-based moisturizers absorb well and provide lasting hydration.

Tallow skincare is often chosen by women who appreciate minimal ingredients and want a rich moisturizer without relying on complicated formulations.

Natural Skincare for Canadian Women

Canada’s climate can be challenging for skin. Cold winters, dry indoor air, wind, and seasonal weather changes can leave skin feeling dry and uncomfortable.

Many Canadian women choose richer moisturizers and protective skincare products during the colder months to help maintain soft, hydrated skin throughout the year.

Finding a Routine That Works for You

There is no perfect skincare routine that works for everyone. The best routine is often the one you can follow consistently using products that suit your skin type and lifestyle.

Whether you prefer a simple tallow balm, a nourishing body butter, or a handcrafted soap, natural skincare is ultimately about supporting your skin with ingredients you trust and a routine you enjoy using.

Benefits of Tallow for Skin: Why This Traditional Moisturizer Is Making a Comeback

alberta foothills cow ranging in pasture on grass

Tallow is rendered beef fat traditionally used in cooking, soap making, and skincare. When properly rendered and purified, grass-fed beef tallow becomes a nutrient-rich moisturizer that closely resembles the natural oils found in human skin.

Obviously, animal fat is by far the most bioavailable and natural product on the market. It comes free of any chemicals or fillers (grass fed is best in this situation) and is one of the easiest products to get your hands on. As the concept of farm to table continues to gain momentum acquiring beef fat is easier than ever before. 

Since the farm to table movement entails shopping locally with the least amount of impact on the environment make friends with your local butcher. Your local butcher can be your best friend. Or depending on where you live you can even acquire your own cow from a local farm. This is also entirely dependant on your access to farms and storage situation. Cows are hefty and take up a lot of room.

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