What exactly is tallow, you may be wondering. Tallow is the main ingredient in a carnivore moisturizer. Tallow is fat that is cooked down from any ruminant animal. These are hoofed herbivores with a four-chambered stomach like cattle, sheep, goats, bison, elk, and deer. Essentially, when we use tallow, we create an animal-based moisturizer. A WHAT?! Yep, the benefits of tallow skin care are undeniable. We are animals. All animal fats require zero conversions to be made usable by our animal bodies. Tallow has the unique quality of being welcomed into the top layer of our skin while leaving a satin-thin residue that is surprisingly effective against water loss. If you are new to the idea of using a tallow skin care product, you are probably thinking – Why would I want to apply animal fat on my face?
Why Is Tallow Skin Care Good For My Skin?
Tallow is rich in naturally occurring, fat-soluble vitamins such as A, D, E, and K, along with essential activators that are unique to animal-derived fats. These nutrients play a vital role in nourishing and supporting healthy skin. Additionally, tallow contains beneficial compounds like conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), known for its anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer benefits, and palmitoleic acid, a fatty acid with natural antimicrobial qualities.
Our bodies require fat in order to absorb vitamins A, D, & E. These vitamins are incredibly important for our bodies to function properly. Supporting everything from brain function, to immunity, to providing antioxidants, you want your body to receive an abundant supply of these nutrients. Tallow is a potent superfood, and eating bison has a long list of great health benefits. Not so long ago, it was a kitchen staple. However, it’s been replaced over the years by unhealthy oils from seeds due to their cheap manufacturing costs. Large companies once considered them (seed oils) a waste product. They’re now sold to consumers as cooking oils with no consideration for long-term effects on health.
Why Isn’t Tallow Used In More Products If It’s So Good?
The “health police” have told us that fat is bad and saturated fat is the worst. That message has been spreading throughout the food and farming industry and that has trickled over to the skin industry as well. Instead of seeking out all traditional, whole ingredients for our face and body’s nourishment, most companies focus solely on overly processed plant ingredients, and petroleum-based products, and exclude boring old-fashioned tallow.
Grass-fed high-quality tallow is limited as industrial farming simply cannot yield this premium ingredient, which makes it undesirable for mammoth skin companies to produce. In addition, there is a tremendous amount of variation from batch to batch, which means it can only be consistently crafted by a skilled artisan in a certified lab, but in the old ways. This does not lend itself to mass production.
So, Why Bison Tallow For Skin Care?
Well, honestly, it was a toss-up between Sheep or Bison. Both of these animals are of my particular admiration as these are both basic staples from the Native American reservation where I was born. Bison have very low fat compared to genetically bred bovines and they require land to roam which both makes me happy.
Meet Nomad⎜Bison Tallow Repair Butter
Nomad Skin Repair Butter is whipped to fluffy satin-silk perfection with Bison Tallow, a smidge of Organic Jojoba, and a double kiss of Organic Bulgarian Rose & Frankincense Essential Oils.
I have to admit that tallow can smell a bit funky…but I assure you that ours does not. The genius blend of Organic Bulgarian Rose and Frankincense gives Nomad a superb scent that is also incredibly nourishing.
And, like all of my products, Nomad is naturally free of gluten, wheat, soy, nuts, peanuts, dairy, egg, and shellfish.
Where Do We Source From?
Unlike our other ingredients, the tallow we use isn’t certified organic—and that’s intentional. The truth is, organic certification doesn’t always guarantee high standards. For instance, even organically labeled cattle can be confined to crowded feedlots for months and fed grains or soy. Instead, we’ve chosen to source our tallow from free-roaming bison raised with integrity. Our suppliers follow a truly holistic approach: 100% grass-fed, chemical-free, pesticide-free, and pharmaceutical-free, all while nurturing healthy soil and a thriving ecosystem. These animals are field harvested with deep respect and gratitude.
Organic certification can be both costly and time-consuming, which is why many high-quality ranches opt out of the process. Unfortunately, the burden of those certification fees often ends up raising the price for consumers. That’s why many people now rely on trusted brands instead of third-party labels. We take that responsibility seriously—personally vetting and sourcing the exceptional tallow used in our Nomad Bison Tallow Repair Butter, so you can feel confident in its purity and integrity.
I have had to vet a small handful of multiple ranches to source from as the divine quality I seek is hard to find, available only seasonally, and in low volumes. This first batch is made from wild and jubilant bison in Santa Fe, New Mexico which is near my old stomping grounds in Taos.
Tallow repair butter is the crowing jewel of tallow skin care. If you’re interested in our Nomad Repair Butter, check it out in our shop and let us know what you think!
About the author
I took many wrong turns when I started learning about skin at 19. The more I spent on skincare, equipment, and training, the further I felt from actually helping skin. I was frustrated with only being able to offer temporary and superficial solutions at best. What emerged from the disappointment and turmoil, I now call, The Regenerative Skin Process. Skin Harmonics is a dedicated medical fusion holistic skincare clinic that provides a root cause approach delivering lifetime skin health through medical grade skin care products, new learning, and Deep Pore Cleansing Facials.
