What Is Tallow? Why It Was Once a Household Staple (And Why It’s Back)

If you’ve ever wondered what tallow is and why it was used so widely, you’re not alone. Tallow was once a foundational household ingredient, used for cooking, skincare, soapmaking, and even lighting homes.

Before synthetic ingredients and petroleum-based products took over, families relied on animal fats like tallow because they were practical, nourishing, and long-lasting.

Today, as more people return to traditional skills and natural living, tallow is experiencing a quiet resurgence. If this interests you, be sure to check out our Natural Living page!

This post contains affiliate links. This will not cost you anything, but will help us offset the cost of running the blog. We only share products we use and would recommend to a friend. Thank you for your support! Click ‘HERE’ for more info.

What Is Tallow?

Tallow is a rendered fat, traditionally made from beef suet (the fat around the kidneys of the animal). Tallow can also be used to describe the fat of sheep, beer, deer, and other ruminant animals.

Through a slow heating process, the pure fat is separated from connective tissue and impurities, creating a stable, shelf-friendly ingredient. When properly rendered, tallow is solid at room temperature, creamy when warmed, and naturally rich in fat-soluble nutrients.

Historical Household Uses of Tallow

For generations, tallow was a true multitasker in the home. It was used for many things, from cooking to doing laundry. Common historical uses included:

• Cooking and frying
• Candle making for light
• Soapmaking and laundry bars
• Skin protection against harsh weather
• Leather conditioning and tool care

Nothing was wasted. Using animal fats was a practical extension of homesteading and food preservation, a way to honor the whole animal, which I absolutely love.

Why Animal Fats Were So Highly Valued

Animal fats like tallow were prized because they were:

• Shelf stable without refrigeration
• Locally sourced and renewable, maybe from your own butchered animal, so there was no extra cost
• Rich in skin-supportive fatty acids
• Compatible with the human skin barrier

Long before ingredient lists existed, people understood through experience that animal fats worked, especially for dry, cracked, or weather-exposed skin. When a single ingredient works beautifully on your skin and in the skillet, you know it’s something truly useful.

Benefits of Tallow in Soap and Skincare

For generations, people used tallow to care for their skin, long before ingredient lists were a mile long. And it wasn’t just tradition; there’s real science behind why it works so well.

Tallow contains many of the same kinds of fatty acids found in our skin. Instead of just sitting on the surface, it blends in and supports the skin barrier where it needs it most.

It’s naturally rich in:

• Vitamin A – helps skin stay smooth and functional
• Vitamin D – supports skin resilience
• Vitamin E – offers antioxidant support
• Vitamin K – plays a role in skin cell structure
• Barrier-loving fatty acids like stearic and palmitic acid

All of this means:

• It helps skin feel softer and less tight
• It supports a healthy moisture barrier
• It melts in beautifully, not a greasy layer (when you use the right kind of tallow)
• It’s gentle enough for dry, stressed, or sensitive skin

When used in soap, tallow makes a bar that cleans without stripping, with a creamy lather that feels like a little luxury every time you wash.

Tallow isn’t trendy, it’s timeless. Our great-grandparents were onto something all along, and I’m so glad this timeline skincare ingredient is making its way back into our lives!

How Tallow Was Used in Traditional Cooking

Tallow used to be a staple on every kitchen counter. It was the go-to fat for frying, sautéing, and baking because it’s incredibly stable and packed with fuel the body actually knows how to use.

It naturally contains:

• A balance of satisfying fats that keep you full longer
• Stearic acid, often linked with supporting energy metabolism
• Nutrients like vitamins A, D, E, and K, especially in grass-fed tallow

Why homesteaders loved it:

• High smoke point → perfect for cast iron cooking
• Long shelf life — even without refrigeration
• Great flavor → especially with potatoes and meat
• Zero waste — honoring the whole animal

Long story short, tallow earned its place in the kitchen because it’s nourishing, durable, economical, and delicious. And now more people are rediscovering what makes it such a smart everyday cooking fat.

Tallow vs. Modern Petroleum-Based Ingredients

Many modern skincare products rely on petroleum-derived bases such as mineral oil, petrolatum, and paraffin. There are several key differences between petroleum-based products and tallow.

Tallow is a naturally occurring fatty acid that is biologically familiar with our skin and supports the skin barrier. It is edible and often used to cook food in.

Petroleum products are heavily refined or even synthetic. They are not edible, and they do not provide any vitamins or support to the skin or skin barrier. Petroleum products act as a skin barrier and help lock in moisture, but they don’t nourish the skin in the same way whole fats do.

If you’re interested in reading more about toxic products, read my post about Ditching Toxic Ingredients in soap and skincare products! It’s wild what information is hiding on the back of a product label!

Why Animal Fats Fell Out of Favor

Tallow (and other animal fats like lard) didn’t disappear because it stopped working. It faded because there were other things being mass-produced, and families got away from being self-sufficient and staying local with their purchases.

Some reasons using tallow became less common include:

• Industrialization and mass production
• The rise of vegetable oils and synthetics
• Marketing that framed animal fats as “old-fashioned” or undesirable
• Cost efficiency for large manufacturers

Performance was never the issue; perception was. People started to become disconnected with where their food and products came from, and suddenly, using animal products became abnormal or “gross.”

Now I think we’ve done a 180º turn because what seems abnormal and gross to me are synthetic and highly processed oils. Call me old-fashioned and give me my tallow back!

Why Tallow Is Making a Comeback

As more people question ingredient transparency and return to traditional skills, tallow is being rediscovered for what it always was: practical, effective, and natural. It is exciting to get back to old-fashioned traditions and homemaking skills, just like canning and having a home garden, too.

Today, some small-batch makers are returning to tallow-based body care, using carefully rendered fats combined with botanicals to create balms, soaps, and salves rooted in tradition, not trends. Take a look at our Balms and Salves page for some DIY products you can make with just a few ingredients.

You can render your own tallow using a wet or a dry rendering method and use it for DIY skincare products or for your own cooking oil. It’s a great way to use up suet that you received when butchering a steer, or if you just want to use more natural products.

Explore More Natural Living Posts

If you want to learn more about tallow and DIY skincare, you may enjoy:

• How To Make Frankincense Tallow Balm: Make your own simple tallow balm.
• Tallow Soap: The Best Old-Fashioned Cleanser: Why use it and where to buy.
• How to Dry Render Tallow for Skincare or Cooking: Learn to make your own tallow!
• Calendula Tallow Baby Balm: A balm just for baby bottoms and nursing mommas.
• Ditch Toxic Ingredients: A little about toxic ingredients and what to buy instead.

FAQs About Tallow

Do you Use Tallow in Your Home?

Curious how traditional ingredients fit into modern natural living? Explore our Natural Living page to learn how time-tested materials like tallow, herbs, and oils are being thoughtfully used today, or browse our balms and soaps made with simple, intentional ingredients.