Seven ingredients. You can pronounce all of them, and I will tell you what each one is doing rather than listing them and hoping the length of the list does the work.
The list
- Beef tallow. The base, and most of the tin. Rendered beef fat, composed largely of the same fatty acids your own skin produces, which is why it absorbs instead of sitting on the surface. From a family farm in northern Indiana, pasture raised and grain finished.
- Beeswax. Structure and staying power. It is what makes a balm a balm rather than an oil, and it slows moisture leaving the skin after the tallow has gone in. Filtered beeswax from a beekeeper in New Paris, Indiana.
- Shea butter. Adds a surface barrier the tallow does not provide on its own, and softens the feel.
- Jojoba oil. Technically a wax ester rather than an oil, and unusually close to human sebum. Thins the balm enough to spread and helps it absorb.
- Coconut oil. Lighter fat that helps the whole thing melt at body temperature instead of dragging across skin.
- Castor oil. Thick and slightly tacky, which sounds bad and is useful. It helps the balm stay put, which matters on hands that get washed.
- Vitamin E. An antioxidant. Its job is to slow the fats in the tin going off, which is why the balm keeps as long as it does.
Scented versions add one thing: fragrance oil. Raw adds nothing, so it is seven ingredients and stop.
What is not in it
- No water, which means no preservative system is needed to keep bacteria out of it. Water is what makes lotions need preservatives.
- No petroleum products
- No parabens or phenoxyethanol
- No fillers to make the tin feel fuller than it is
- No essential oils in the unscented version, for people who react to those too
Allergen notes, plainly
- Tree nuts: shea butter is derived from the shea nut. If you have a tree nut allergy, take that seriously.
- Beef: the base is beef fat. Rare as a topical allergy, but real.
- Bees: contains beeswax.
- Fragrance: the single most common cause of reaction to any skincare product. If that is you, use Raw.
Why it is not grass fed, said out loud
The farm I buy from is pasture raised and grain finished. That is not the same thing as grass fed, so I do not use the phrase, even though it would sell better. If that matters to you it should, and you should be suspicious of how many products use the term loosely.
Does the tallow smell like beef?
No, when it is rendered and filtered properly. It absolutely does when it is not, which is where tallow's reputation comes from. Raw is the honest test of what the base smells like with nothing covering it.
Made by hand in small batches in Wakarusa, Indiana. Seven ingredients, and 5% of every sale goes to FreedomSystem, which connects veterans through authentic camaraderie and meaningful programs.
