FAQ's

 

Where is your tallow sourced?

We source our tallow from local West Country farms and small-holdings in the Cornwall area. The tallow is from grass fed and often *organic cows and hand rendered by ourselves so we keep the quality throughout the rendering process.

 

What is the rendering process and why is it important?

When we source the beef fat (suet fat) it is in its raw form. A beautiful white waxy fat from around the kidney area of the cow. We then heat this raw fat to melt it down into liquid gold fat – tallow.

 

This rendered tallow fat is then re-heated and solidified 4 times to purify it. Twice with water and then twice again as just tallow to ensure there is no water content in the finished purified tallow. Once purified, we can use it in our tallow skin care.

 

It’s an important step for us as we are in complete control of the rendering process. Commercial tallow is often rendered with chemicals to ‘purify’ or only rendered once with water meaning there could be water contamination leading to bacteria growth in the final product. We never buy ‘pre-rendered’ fat for our skincare.

 

Why do you ‘purify’ the tallow?

It gets any unwanted particles and water content out of the tallow which could otherwise lead to a shorter shelf life. It also helps to eliminate any beefy smell. It leaves a creamy odour rather than roast dinners!

 

What is MCT oil?

MCT stands for medium chain triglycerides. It is a form of coconut oil where the long fat chains have been ‘fractionated’ or shortened in to ‘medium’ fat chains. This means that the coconut oil stays liquid at room temperature and also is incredibly fast absorbing due to the shorter fat chain length. Added to the tallow, this creates a fast absorbing balm that doesn’t feel greasy.

 

Are your botanicals organic?

Yes, we try and grow as many as we can ourselves using organic growing practice and also source from local growers and organic sources. We also forage responsibly and ensure these botanicals are cleaned correctly before steeping in our fats and oils.

 

*A word on ‘organic’.

It is very difficult to label our product as ‘organic’ as this label needs to be certified by the soil association which many farms and growers just can’t afford or feel they don’t need the label. The farms we have relationships with use sustainable and regenerative farming methods and mindfully work with the environment. Not having ‘organic’ status does not mean that these amazing farmers and growers are not doing the most amazing job as custodians of their land with the highest animal welfare, respect and deep knowledge of soil health, biodiversity and love of the land.