Did I Drink the Tallow Kool-Aid?

Why I switched from lard to tallow—and why I’m still asking questions.

My mom butchered a pig, rendered the lard, and gave me a bunch.

That’s where this part of my story starts. Not with tallow. Not with a search for the perfect skincare ingredient. With my mom and some lard. I started making products with it. Later, as I became convicted not to eat pork, I kept coming back to the same thought: if I wasn’t going to put it inside my body, I didn’t want to put it on my body either.

That decision came from my faith and the way I felt called to live. It’s part of my story and why I chose to make a change.

Then came tallow.

And, goodness, there was a lot being said about tallow.

Did I drink the Kool-Aid? Yes, I took a sip.

Here’s the part I don’t want to lose

I really do love how my tallow products feel on my skin. The smoothness. The texture. The moisture. Even while I’m struggling with a skin issue, the areas that aren’t affected seem better than ever to me.

I get comments that I look younger than I am. Am I going to argue with those people? Absolutely not. I can’t tell you that tallow is the reason. But I like how my skin looks and feels, and I don’t want to talk myself out of saying that just because I still have questions.

I can enjoy what I’m using and want to understand it better.

And that’s where I tend to squirrel. One question becomes another question, and suddenly I’m researching oils when I was supposed to be writing a blog.

You can see how we got here.

I know I enjoy using tallow. What I’m asking now is whether I’ve also picked up claims about it that I need to look at more closely.

The research hasn’t given me a reason to call it the best oil for everyone. There are still big gaps in studies of tallow on human skin. [1] That doesn’t erase my experience. It just means “I love this” and “this is better than everything else” aren’t the same thing.

Then something got under my skin

Recently, I heard another maker talking about what their products didn’t contain—other oils—and about not diluting their products. I don’t remember the exact words, but I remember being irritated.

My products have other oils in them.

Then I had a less comfortable thought: have I done the same thing?

Have I been so excited about what I make that I’ve made someone else’s choice sound wrong? Have I said something about what I leave out without giving enough thought to how that sounds?

I can’t tell you what that maker meant. But I can pay attention to what I mean—and how I say it.

I don’t want to one-up another company. I want to tell you why I chose what’s in my jar.

Simply Nourish has tallow, rosehip, olive squalane, jojoba, and vitamin E. It’s a blend, and that’s the product I’m enjoying. I’m not testing each ingredient separately every time I use my skincare.

I took coconut oil out of my facial formulas because I felt it was contributing to clogged pores. I still use it in some body products. That’s me making a choice for a particular use, not declaring war on coconut oil.

There’s a whole other conversation here about those oils. I’ll save that for another post. Look at me, staying on topic.

And then there was the humble pie

My doctors diagnosed me with seborrheic dermatitis. I wanted to handle it naturally. I wanted the products I already loved to be enough.

The redness and dryness around my nose weren’t getting worse, but they weren’t completely clearing either.

So this past weekend, I started the ketoconazole 2% cream and shampoo my dermatologist recommended. I’m using them as prescribed. We’ll see how it goes.

I wanted to say my products must have been keeping my face from getting worse. The honest answer is that I don’t know that. I know how they feel on my skin. I also know the problem was still there.

Skincare and medication can both have a place in managing this condition. [8] I’m learning where my products fit in my dermatologist’s plan instead of expecting them to do every job.

Would I love my products to be the BEST thing for everyone and everything?

Of course I would. I make them. I care about them. I want you to love them too.

They can be good products without being the answer to everything. I’m learning to be okay with that.

Following my dermatologist’s advice doesn’t mean I’ve stopped caring about what I put on my skin. I still care. I’m simply accepting some help caring for the body God gave me.

So, am I still using tallow?

Yes. I still like it. I’m still proud of what I make.

But I don’t want Simple Farm Life to be a tallow brand so much as a reflection of how I want to make things: thoughtfully, honestly, and with room to learn.

I want to hear what you love about my products and what isn’t working for you. I want to understand my ingredients without turning every conversation into a lecture. And if I find that I’ve said something too strongly, I want to be willing to change my words.

My mom’s lard was part of the beginning. My faith helped shape a change. Tallow caught my attention, and I found things I genuinely love about it.

Now I’m learning how to love what I make without asking it to be everything.

So yes, I took a sip of the Kool-Aid.

Apparently, mine came with a serving of humble pie.

Sources and further reading

The research behind the questions is collected below. Numbers in the story point to the sources used there; the other links are background reading for the wider ingredient research. My personal experience is not a treatment plan for anyone else.

Research and professional guidance

[1] Russell and colleagues — Tallow, Rendered Animal Fat, and Its Biocompatibility With Skin: A Scoping Review. A broad review identifying substantial gaps in direct human-skin research; not proof that tallow is superior.

[2] Almatroud and colleagues — Beef Tallow-Based Skincare Claims in Social Media: A Cross-Sectional Analysis. Examines claims and their supporting evidence, not a trial of skincare products.

[3] Jojoba in dermatology: a succinct review. Background on jojoba, including its liquid-wax composition.

[4] Squalane and Squalene — published cosmetic ingredient safety assessment. Addresses safety under the uses and concentrations assessed, not the effectiveness of my finished formulas.

[5] American Academy of Dermatology — How to pick the right moisturizer for your skin. Explains different moisturizer types and functions.

[6] U.S. Food and Drug Administration — Parabens in Cosmetics. Includes why preservatives are used to prevent harmful bacteria and mold; cited here for that general function, not as a statement about my formulas.

[7] Evangelista and colleagues — The effect of topical virgin coconut oil on SCORAD index, transepidermal water loss, and skin capacitance in mild to moderate pediatric atopic dermatitis: a randomized, double-blind, clinical trial. Pediatric eczema research; not evidence about adult acne or my products.

[8] American Academy of Dermatology — Seborrheic dermatitis: Diagnosis and treatment.

[9] U.S. Food and Drug Administration — Product Testing of Cosmetics. Explains why a natural or organic source alone does not establish safety.