Beef tallow, a modest underproduce of bovine fat, is no longer used only to grill a steak or when cooked by fries. From now on, it is invited into skin care.
Invoking its vitamin content and other biochemical benefits, certain influencers and well-being gurus praise beef tallow as a miracle tip to have soft and bright skin. With the growing craze for “clean” and “natural” alternatives to skin care, it is hardly surprising but animal products, such as beef tallow or snail mucin, know their hour of glory in the world of cosmetics.
But does the transformed bovine fat really have its place on our cheeks? Specialists still debate the benefits and potential risks of this new trend – from the face to face?
The beef tif comes from the melting and purification of fatty fatty tissues. Solid at room temperature, beef tallow has long been popular for cooking roasted and fried foods (especially for that of the original McDonald’s fries), but also for the manufacture of natural soap and, more recently, for the production of biofuel.
Last year, Tiktok firmly anchored in the air the reuse of animal fats for beauty purposes. Whether it’s whipped and fragrant body butter or biological balm from cattle fed with grass, beef tallow makes a remarkable entry into the world of skin care, with promises ranging from “deep hydration” to “healing of skin diseases”. The ready-made products, which can cost more than 30 euros for sixty grams, invade the market, and some consumers even get tallow at the butcher to transform it themselves at home.
Geeta Yadav, certified dermatologist and founder of facet dermatology, attributes this tendency to “the convergence of clean beauty And trends that we see on Tiktok, such as carnivorous regimes, as well as an increasing mistrust in society vis-à-vis the reliability of products and ingredients ”.
From an environmental point of view, it may not be a bad thing. As a by-product of the meat industry, the consumption of beef tallow “is part of the approach consisting in using the whole animal without wasting anything,” explains Ermias Kebreab, professor of animal science at the University of California in Davis. But, he adds, if the beef tallow demand increases too much, it could increase prices and encourage an increase in cattle production, which “goes against the principle of sustainability”.
According to Koji Fujioka, butcher manager at The Local Butcher Shop, Berkeley, California, there is generally “an abundance of unused beef”, in the meat industry. Although he did not find a considerable increase in beef tallow, he noticed an interest in products like his own; That is to say less processed and from known and confidence sources.
The supporters of the beef tank boast him as a natural source of nourishing vitamins and fatty acids and attribute to him all kinds of benefits, both cosmetic and medicinal.
As Adam Friedman, professor and director of the Dermatology Department at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at George-Washington University, explains, beef tallow, in fact contains saturated and not saturated fats, such as palmitic acid, stearic acid and oleic acid, which is found in the natural state and which could make it ” The skin barrier, capable of strengthening skin armor, retaining hydration and softening the skin. “Beef tif also contains” a small amount of fat -soluble vitamins, such as vitamins A, D, E and K, which are likely to provide antioxidant benefits or strengthen the skin “.
In theory, according to him, beef tallow could “imitate natural skin lipids”, that is to say its fats, in order to restore the external skin barrier, to reduce the loss of water so to be better hydrated and even to soothe inflammation.
On the other hand, with regard to promises of luminous skin, acne healing and firmness comparable to that brought by Botox, dermatologists are not convinced. The problem, they warn, is the blatant absence of clinical evidence.
“This is a trend in which popularity has taken precedence over science,” deplores Rajani Katta, certified dermatologist and Dermatology Clinical Professor at the University of Texas in Houston. A literature review, published in 2024, comes to the conclusion that beef tallow has moisturizing properties, without clearly knowing what composition of tallow and associated ingredients is the most effective. While some preliminary studies show beneficial therapeutic effects for certain skin conditions, the undesirable or long -term undesirable side effects of the beef are unknown. “There are important gaps in research regarding the uses of tallow on human skin,” write the authors.
In addition, despite certain contrary claims, the beef tallow does not find its roots in traditional Chinese medicine, as Lixing Lao, professor and president of the University of Integrative Medicine of Virginia recalls. Although he found some proofs of old medical uses, beef tif “was not a much used or practiced remedy” to treat skin conditions. Xumin Li, professor of pathology, microbiology and immunology at the New York Medical College, adds that animal fats, although not specifically beef tif, used to support for plant ingredients in Chinese medicine, but relationships on their effectiveness are contradictory.
Adam Friedman points out that although beef tallow “may seem natural and harmless”, if it is not properly selected or transformed, there is a risk of contamination by pathogens or pesticides. In addition, it is difficult to guarantee the quality. In the United States, no regulation is important to the beef as a beauty product, specifies Geeta Yadav, who adds that it is “very easy to launch a brand of cosmetics”.
According to Samantha Karlin, certified dermatologist from Louisiana, some skins are likely to react to animal fat. People subject to acne or sensitive to animal products could see buttons appear or have allergic reactions. “I heard patients say that if they could eat it, then they could well use it on their skin,” she says. If it may seem logical in theory, unfortunately, as dermatologists, we see cases of allergic contact dermatitis caused by ingredients or “natural” foods used on the skin. »»
For those that it does not discourage, Adam Friedman recommends proceeding with caution. Start with a small quantity, make sure of the origin, make a moderate use and monitor the results.
And don’t forget that there are already better and verified options.
« [Le suif de bœuf] is not a targeted mechanism, he warns. There are many products for well formulated and validated by science on the market which are specifically designed for affections such as eczema, psoriasis and droughts with a proven tolerance and safety profile. »»