NEW!! All of my tallow creams and soaps are now infused with one or more of the following - yarrow, calendula, comfrey, or chamomile.  The comfrey is grown here in my garden and the yarrow is locally foraged. The other two come from reputable, sustainable sources.  I hope to harvest all of these on our property by 2025. 

The use of tallow can be traced back to the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans who used it for medicinal and cosmetic purposes. Tallow is what we call certain animal fat after it has gone through a process of heating and cleaning.  At Mountainside Chapel Farm, I render locally sourced beef tallow, bear fat, lamb tallow and pig lard myself.  This is a long and very time consuming process that typically requires three to four cleanings to get to the final product (which can take days).  Sometime animal fats (regardless of what kind) will have some level of smell to it even after this cleaning process - to remedy this, I infuse the fats with herbs, spices, vanilla bean and other natural ingredients so you will only ever receive a lovely smelling end product. And in some products, I do use essential oils but I will never use fragrances or chemicals in my products. 

Tallow has very similar characteristics as the oil our own skin produces and is very nutrient dense. It has many qualities important for repairing dry skin and is reported to support skin in preventing acne and healing eczema. It is non-comedogenic, which means it won't clog your pores.  Use it on your face, your hands, your body, your feet, and even your lips. 

Tallow works best on slightly damp or towel dried skin so it's perfect to use right out of the shower - and a little goes a long way!! Using too much may leave you feeling greasy so experiment a little to find what works best for you.  Once it soaks in, you will feel like you've added a protective glove to your face, hands, and body - locking in moisture for the whole day.