Bet you didn't have this one on your TikTok trend bingo card: The buzziest skincare trend on the platform involves whipping up homemade beef tallow creams (or paying big bucks for artisan blends). The New York Times, however, notes that not all dermatologists are on board with the practice.
- What doctors say: Dr. Zakia Rahman, a clinical professor of dermatology, told the Times that beef tallow has too much oleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid, for the face, and too little linoleic acid, which should make up more content in facial creams. "I give it a thumbs down from the scientific and dermatologic perspective. It could potentially cause acne flares or cause irritation."
- Rave reviews: "I made my own to start, just by getting meat from Costco and stripping the fat off the meat and rendering it," beef tallow enthusiast Sascha Green told the Times. She uses her homemade concoctions on everything, from bug bites to rashes, in addition to her skincare routine. On TikTok, plenty more users concur.
- No thanks: Over at Vogue, writer Daisy Jones took the beef tallow trend out for a spin, and it didn't go as well. She found the greasy layer the tallow left on her skin (and its beefy scent) deeply unpleasant, and ended up breaking out by the end of her one-week trial. She acknowledges that the trend might be helpful for people with dry skin conditions, but for her, "I may as well have dunked my face in fryer oil. Which is, weirdly, exactly what beef tallow is usually used for."
- Test drive: If you want to join Jones and test out the trend, Healthline notes it could most benefit people with dry skin and eczema, but to proceed with caution. Using no more than two "penny-sized portions," start a routine slowly. "This should only be done once or twice a week," says dermatologist Dr. Anil Sharma. "Tallow is extremely oily and isn't good for everyday use."
(The "
morning shed" trend is also big on TikTok, and also controversial.)
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