Wandering Stars

About Our Tallow

About Our Tallow

By Shane Clayton

Wandering Stars’ authentic ancient Egyptian unguent reproductions, Nudj Immortelle and Madjet, contain cosmetic-grade beef tallow that is 100% rendered beef kidney fat, organically produced by small family farms in Michigan and Wisconsin, all members of a co-op producing certified organic products. The livestock is raised without antibiotics, synthetic hormones, or pesticide exposure, is seasonally pasture grazed, and is not given feed containing GMOs. They lead healthy and happy lives and are slaughtered as quickly and humanely as possible. Besides all of the associated health benefits listed below, this makes our Egyptian Unguent recreations as true as possible to the ancient unguent formulas, both in spirit and physical properties.

Unfortunately, beef tallow has all but vanished from our collective vocabulary over the last 70 years. It was vilified in the ’50s and ’60s by the sugar, vegetable oil, and healthcare industries as a cholesterol-laden, artery-clogging, and generally unhealthy fat. We now know that the exact opposite is true. Tallow has recently been re-evaluated by nutritionists and has proven to be one of the best and most nutritious oils to cook with – along with being doubly valuable for cosmetics. Thankfully, scientific research now suggests that tallow from grass-fed cattle is in truth very beneficial to human health, both in our diet and in therapeutic skin care.

While tallow was being slammed as an unhealthy throwback of the past, it was - and still is - widely used throughout the cosmetics and personal care marketplace under various pseudonyms. Look closely and you will discover cosmetic tallow lurking in the ingredient lists of many over-the-counter lipsticks, facial moisturizers, eye makeup, face foundations, shampoos, shaving creams, soaps, and facial cleansers under the names Stearic Acid, Lauric Acid, Myristic Acid, Oleic Acid, Palmitic Acid. While some are available from plant sources, these are more expensive and so are rarely used. Another common ingredient, Sodium Tallowate, is a little more straightforward as to its source.

And so, using tallow-based products in everyday body care is not a bad thing, but using conventionally farmed tallow, especially in conjunction with the synthetic chemical compounds and fragrances found in cosmetics, can be cumulatively toxic. That is why handcrafted 100% natural, organic products, such as those offered by Wandering Stars, are far superior health-wise compared to most of the synthetic stuff found in stores, whether labeled “Vegan” or not. Simply look at the ingredient lists and decide for yourselves which one you really would rather smooth over your eyelids.

Here we will discuss what tallow is, the history of tallow, why organic grass-fed is better than conventional tallow, and the many health benefits of using tallow.

WHAT IS TALLOW?

Tallow is rendered suet, or fat that surrounds the organs of a cow or deer, typically the kidneys. Once heated, the suet will liquefy into gold-colored oil that separates from the tissues within the suet. In this liquid state, the fat is then strained through a filter to remove this solid material and any other impurities. Once cooled, the tallow becomes nearly white in color and hard like wax. Tallow is shelf-stable at room temperature for over a year and can last many years if frozen immediately after rendering. Cosmetic-grade tallow has been so finely filtered that virtually no odor can be detected - although admittedly, dogs sure do seem to love it!

A BRIEF HISTORY OF TALLOW

Since ages untold, men and women used everything they had available to them, wasting nothing. The use of tallow certainly goes just as far back in human history. Being early hunter-gatherers, humans and ungulates (i.e. cows and their ancestors) have had a deep and abiding relationship going back into the hazy mists of time, becoming literally imprinted into the DNA of both species – man and beast. Nearly every culture of the human species on earth had, and still has, a closer relationship with their cattle than we in the western industrialized societies now do; out of sight - out of mind, literally.

The ancient Egyptians revered cattle, and considered every animal killed to be a mindful sacrifice – its spirit essence an offering both of gratitude and of life force to their deities or Neteru, its material nutrients shared amongst each other, building and maintaining what were considered to be sacred temples as well - their own bodies. This was a truly civilized culture, sustainable and in balance with nature, unlike the incorporated horror we see today, perpetrated in the name of the bottom line and megayachts for the wealthy. 

The most obvious use for tallow is culinary. Kitchens worldwide have used tallows to cook everything and anything from time immemorial, being especially favored for frying foods and for adding flavor to soups and stews. Aside from its rich culinary flavor, tallow is a chef’s favorite because it is heat stable up to 400° F and rarely gets a rancid oil taste.

Tallow was also used by our ancestors to make candles, bar soaps, and especially skin salves and unguents. Fragrant unguents using tallow were among the most sacred of offerings to the Egyptian gods and goddesses from proto-dynastic times (3500 BCE), also figuring greatly in their medical papyri. Traditional wisdom was always well aware of the wonderful healing and emollient properties of tallow, and it was very widely used in the cosmetic industry long before synthetic body care products came onto the mass marketing media machine after World War II.

BENEFITS OF GRASS-FED TALLOW

Tallow from organic grass-fed, grass-finished, pasture-raised cows is much different than that obtained from inhumane corporate “cow factories”, where the animals are subjected to filth, antibiotics, toxins, fear, and pain all of their lives. Living grass fodder, fresh air, sunshine, and physical exercise when allowed to graze naturally results in the mental well-being of the pasture-raised cow, which in turn provides a more dynamic production of vital nutrients inside the animal's body, as opposed to the physically weaker animal storing pharmaceuticals, toxins and stress/fear hormones in its fat. Just as the human body stores nutrients in the fat for later use, so does the cow, thus a wealth of benefits hidden inside its fat or tallow when raised organically and humanely.

First and foremost, of all the naturally occurring organic oils, beef tallow is the most penetrating when applied to human skin, and this gives it its incredible deep moisturizing capabilities. Additionally, tallow is loaded with antioxidants, vitamins such as A, D and K, anti-microbial palmitoleic acid, and the anti-inflammatory essential fatty acid called CLA - Conjugated Linoleic Acid - which has been linked to cancer prevention, fat loss, and improved brain function. (1) (2)

Being derived from an animal instead of plants, tallow is far closer in composition to our own cellular fats and oils, containing the same lipids found in the oils from cell samples taken from healthy, supple human skin. Thus, tallow is believed to prevent dryness at the cellular level without suffocating the skin's osmotic barrier like petroleum-based synthetic lotions do. Truly, tallow is the most nutrient-dense skin-plumping emollient known to humankind. Revered by traditional cultures for countless millennia, after 70-odd years of virtual obscurity tallow is finally making a big comeback.

“Modern-day research confirms the traditional wisdom of our ancestors. From biology, we know that the cell membrane is made up primarily of fatty acids, a double layer, to be exact. Saturated fats constitute at least 50 percent of the cell membrane. Since saturated fats tend to be more solid than unsaturated fats at a given temperature, they help give the cell membrane its necessary stiffness and integrity for proper function.” ~ Sally Fallon (3)

The fact is, while there are a lot of natural organic plant-based oils used nowadays to moisturize skin, they simply do not penetrate as deeply as tallow. Coconut oil is probably the most popular among natural-products-minded folks, but it’s actually a very light moisturizer and sinks in very quickly. While that appeals to a lot of people and is fine for some, it just doesn’t cut it for those with very dry or damaged skin, since it does not moisturize deeply enough or provide the complex cellular nutrients. Argan and Moringa oils are quite a bit better (we use them both in our Nudj Immortelle and Madjet unguents), and West African Shea butter perhaps comes closest to tallow as a salve, but they do not have the full arsenal of the animal essential fatty acids we humans share with cows.

For those who may be on the fence about the use of an animal product in their diet and skin care, please refer to my article About Veganism, which gives a complete history of its practice and the predominant Hindu philosophy of Ahimsa (not harming sentient lifeforms), and their three Gunas at the core of the contemporary practices of either veganism or vegetarianism. This is followed by the Wandering Stars philosophy concerning these, with a mindful and responsible inclusion of certain animal products in one’s diet and body care.

I’ve had several requests for a vegan version of our popular Nudj Immortelle, with Shea butter usually suggested as a replacement for our cosmetic-grade tallow. Below is a chart comparing the fatty acid percentage of tallow compared to Shea butter. As you can see, Shea butter is rather lacking in variety and heavy on stearic and oleic acids.

Fatty Acid Complex Comparison Between Tallow and Shea Butter

Tallow Shea Butter

Lauric Acid 2 0

Myristic Acid 6 0

Palmitic Acid 28 5

Stearic Acid 22 40

Oleic Acid 36 48

Linoleic Acid 3 6

Linolenic Acid 1 0

All in all, Shea butter is twice the cost of tallow and is lacking in the total fatty acid complex of human skin oil and/or tallow. Shea butter also contains fine particulates called unsaponifiables that are comedogenic and really shouldn’t be used daily on the face or eye area, especially if one is prone to clogged pores or blackheads. With an SPF of 6, Shea butter is great for rubbing on the body outdoors, but it wears undesirably heavy and greasy indoors - especially on the face. Being nearly identical to our human oils, cosmetic-grade tallow does not clog pores and is safe for the most delicate skin types. 

As such, because of these drawbacks, and because there are no ancient Egyptian recipes for unguents using vegetable oils alone, I will not be producing a Vegan version at this time. Simply put, ‘The Egyptian’ is dedicated to formulating authentic reproductions of the ancient Egyptian sacred oils and unguents and will remain so for now. We should note here that only the two unguents contain cosmetic-grade tallow, while the fragrant oils are all 100% plant-based.

The ancient Egyptians clearly knew what they were doing when it comes to the now medically-proven healing properties of the ingredients of their sacred oils and unguents. As such, I believe that, unless you adhere to strict Veganism, organic grass-fed tallow deserves to take back its rightful place in our lives again, not only as a cooking oil but most especially for therapeutic skin and hair care.

WHERE WE GET OUR TALLOW

Our tallow comes primarily from Fannie and Flo, the Finch sisters of Michigan, www.fannieandflo.net, using the same time-honored traditional kettle batch methods passed down in their family for generations.  Here is their statement “addressing the most common concerns”:

“… natural fats are where true “Organic” REALLY DOES matter. We all try to make the healthiest possible choices and are fast returning to the basics of sustainability. We understand that excess “fat soluble” toxins and chemicals can and will be stored in fat. Common sense alone dictates that the fewer toxins any animal (or person) is exposed to, the fewer toxins will be stored in its fat. Argue the pros and cons as we may, true organically raised animals simply consume and store fewer toxins.

Our “Beef Tallow” is 100% rendered organic beef suet (kidney fat). The fats that we render are from small family farms, members of the Organic Valley Farmers Co-op producing certified organic products. The livestock is raised without antibiotics, synthetic hormones or pesticide exposure. They are seasonally grazed, and not given feed containing GMOs. We take pride that since August 2015 all of our tallow comes from 100% grass fed and finished beef. We render in two licensed kitchens, inspected and certified (MI and WI) for safe food production.”

Needless to say, until such time as I can secure additional local sources for tallow produced with such generational experience and high standards, Fannie and Flo are my go-to gals for tallow.

And so, with the blessings of ancient Egyptian wisdom, folk tradition, agreement with scientific research, and from my own personal experiences and those of others, I’m satisfied in saying that you will simply love the tallow-based Egyptian Unguents offered exclusively by Wandering Stars. Try them. I am positive you will agree! Simply put... tallow is truly magickal

Visit our Wandering Stars Sacred Scents Store to see our entire line of ancient Egyptian sacred oil and unguent reproductions.

(1) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8039138

(2) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2846864/

(3) Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig, Phd. – Nourishing Traditions , New Trends Publishing

About Our Tallow © 2022-24 Shane Clayton - Wandering Stars Publishing

All Rights Reserved

Wandering Stars is dedicated to expounding the Sacred Science of Ancient Egypt

In memory and in honor of John Anthony West

Born July 9, 1932 - Wested February 6, 2018

AUM