Q&A

Tallow in it's raw form is called suet. This is the fat around the kidneys of a cow that, when rendered, creates an end product that is packed with vitamins and other amazing nutrients.

The benefits of tallow for the skin are as follows:

• high in vitamins A, D, E, and K (necessary for general health and skin health)
• contains conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which has been shown to have anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties
• similar in composition to the sebum/triglycerides on our skin (our skin barrier), as well as the saturated fat nature of our cell membrane, which makes it compatible with our biology
• A natural and effective option for skin conditions like excess dryness, eczema, and rashes

*As a note, grassfed and finished cows are known to have a higher amount of these benefits and nutrients.

*Source: Weston A. Price

The short answer - - -

We purchase our suet from a ranch that practices rotational grazing with their cows. This means that the cows have access to fresh grass at all times, from birth to harvest. The cows have never been treated with antibiotics or hormones, and they have never been fed soy, grain, or corn. They live a very happy, awesome life for a cow. The ranchers work hard to care for the entire ecosystem, which includes focus on soil health and carbon. This makes for very healthy animals, and in turn, a very healthy, high quality suet.

To take a deeper dive in the concept of regenerative agriculture - - -

Healthy soil, healthy plants, healthy animals, healthy people.

We live in a day and age where most of what is in the supermarket and store is subpar in terms of nutritional density. Even if you are doing all of "it" right, you are likely deficient in various vitamins, minerals, etc. This is because much of our food and animals are on dead soil. Soil needs to be teeming with microbial life to allow plants to be teeming with nutrients, and that impact continues on to animals and people.

Unfortunately, we are starting to learn that conventional agriculture, which relies heavily on tilling the soil, monocrops, high chemical inputs, and the use of various herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides, has actually been degrading our soil health, releasing carbon into the atmosphere, and making our food less nutrient dense.

Enter regenerative agriculture.

Regenerative agriculture, in refreshing contrast, focuses on 5 things:
minimizing soil disturbance, providing soil armor, keeping living roots in the
soil, diversifying crops, and implementing grazing animals into the system.  In doing this, farmers are then feeding the microorganisms in the soil, sequestering carbon, capturing more rainwater which combats the seemingly increasing droughts, naturally fertilizing the soil, and protecting the soil from erosion.

One thing we are constantly hearing and reading (and even experiencing in our own lives) is that people today are over-fed and undernourished. We believe that one of the best ways to improve our health is to improve the nutrient density in our food, which can be done by improving the health of our soils through regenerative agriculture. We go through great lengths, when possible, to source our products from regenerative farmers and ranchers because we believe it is so much better for our family, our customers, the climate, and the farmers themselves (who we view more as partners than suppliers).

This hardly scratches the surface or what Regenerative Agriculture is. There
are many books, movies, podcasts, and videos that dive more into the meat and
potatoes of it. If you are interested and want to learn more, reach out and we
can give you a few recommendations. Although, we must warn you, it’s a rather addictive topic… soon you’ll be raising chickens, baking sourdough, and trying to figure out how to start a homestead.

Wet rendering involves melting down the suet to tallow by adding a large quantity of water as well as salt (or other ingredients like baking soda) to the rendering vessel. This method is hailed as a way to purify and deodorize the tallow, and to give it a white color.

When starting out this journey (before selling our products), we used this method. However, in our experience and with further research, we realize that this comes at a cost. This large amount of water has the opportunity to introduce various contaminants to the final product and can cause mold (we shockingly experienced this on some of our tallow a few weeks after wet rendering). With the final product being white instead of yellow, it loses some benefits through this process. That wonderful yellow color is a hallmark sign of grass fed and finished beef (hello conjugated linoleic acid from the sun) and not something to work on getting rid of.

On to dry rendering - this is the melting process that happens over low heat with no other ingredients. It is a long process, as high heat could burn the tallow and give it more of a beefy smell. When you see tallow companies posting videos of their tallow at a rolling boil, that is too hot! Slow and steady is the name of the game to preserve all the benefits that you can.

We aren't going to say that there isn't somewhat of an "animal" or "earthy" smell to the tallow, because at the end of the day, it's an animal product. But, we try our best to keep that at a minimum by rendering with care and adding in essential oils to make the most pleasant end product.

Forever chemicals (PFAS) earn their name by breaking down slowly not only in the environment but also in the human body. These chemicals have been shown to cause harm in many ways to the body (cancer, endocrine disruption, decreased fertility, etc.). Furthermore, recent research on microplastics indicates additional underestimated health problems.

Skin is the largest organ in the body, and we don't take it lightly that you are choosing to put our products on your body! If we want to avoid these types of things for our family, we certainly want to for you as well! We have one body, and we need to take care of it to the best of our ability.

Currently, we handle our suet on a wooden cutting board with stainless steel knives, and render in quality stainless steel pots. We always have our eyes open for other great products that could make our process even better!

*We never want to cause people to buy our products by appealing to fear. It's been an eye opening and honestly frustrating process searching for tools for our tallow production, as the quality of so many products is subpar! We are in pursuit of making the best products out there and that starts with the best tools.

First of all, it's necessary to find a trustworthy source to purchase essential oils from. We have had a wonderful experience with the company we work with, and they are fairly local too which is a huge bonus. They source oils from all around the world and buy oils from native areas that are known to grow high quality product.

A sign of a good company is helpfulness in communication. I have reached out so many times to ask various questions, and have even been in contact with an aromatherapist that is on staff. They are truly the experts! I wouldn't advise buying from a tallow company who is solely purchasing oils off of big retail stores or sites solely because these companies don't have open lines of communication.

We have been told (and have read in various sources online) that reference literature from Robert Tisserand is the gold standard for ensuring safe levels of essential oils. We have a few of his books and have familiarized ourselves with his recommendations.

Furthermore, IFRA Conformity Certificates are documents tied to each essential oil and go over necessary dilutions based on type of use. Businesses using essential oils should know about this document and should be referencing it.

*Though we adhere to the guidelines and research as best we can, we are in no way offering any medical advice or treating any medical conditions. You know your body best and need to make the best decisions you can for yourself by doing your own research!

Please send us a picture of your product as soon as it's noted to be in a damaged condition and we will be happy to send a replacement your way.

As for skin reactions, we cannot accept opened products as returns for cleanliness reasons. We place responsibility on the consumer to read ingredients (and ask questions if needed) before ordering to ensure that the best product is selected for your body. We recommend patch testing on a small area of your body before continuing on with more broad use. Of course, if a reaction is noted, please discontinue use.