One of the things we hear most from our customers is: "I love that I know exactly where this comes from."
That traceability is something we take seriously. So today we're pulling back the curtain on exactly how our tallow goes from cattle on our North Carolina ranch to the jar on your bathroom shelf.
It Starts with the Cattle
Everything begins with the animals. We raise our own grass-fed cattle on open pasture, which means they graze on fresh grass year-round — no feedlots, no grain finishing, no shortcuts.
Why does this matter for skincare? Because the nutritional quality of tallow is directly tied to what the animal eats. Grass-fed cattle produce suet that is higher in vitamins A, D, E, and K, and has a better omega-3 to omega-6 ratio than grain-fed alternatives.
Sourcing the Suet
Tallow is rendered from suet — the hard, dense fat that surrounds the kidneys and loins of the animal. This is the highest-quality fat on the animal, with a neutral scent and a stable fatty acid profile that makes it ideal for skincare.
We source our suet directly from our own herd, which means we have complete traceability from animal to product. No outsourced fat. No mystery supply chains.
The Rendering Process
Rendering is the process of slowly melting the raw suet to separate the pure fat from any connective tissue or impurities. Our process is thorough — and it can take up to a week from start to finish. We don't rush it. Here's exactly how we do it:
Step 1 – Trim and Prep
The raw suet is trimmed and cut into small pieces to ensure even, consistent rendering throughout the batch.
Step 2 – Wet Renders (x2)
We begin with two wet renders — a method where water is added to the suet during the rendering process. The water helps draw out impurities, blood, and other unwanted compounds from the fat. Once rendered, the tallow and water separate as they cool, allowing us to remove the impurities that have been pulled to the bottom.
This step is repeated twice to ensure a thorough purification before we move on.
Step 3 – Repeated Dry Renders
After the wet renders, we move into a series of dry renders — rendering the tallow without water at low heat, repeatedly, until we achieve a final product that is completely free of moisture, odor, and any remaining impurities.
This multi-step dry rendering process is what gives our tallow its characteristic clean scent, bright white color, and long shelf stability. Each render is inspected before we decide whether another pass is needed.
Step 4 – Strain and Inspect
Once fully rendered, the liquid tallow is strained through fine mesh to remove any remaining solids. We then inspect for color, scent, and consistency. Only tallow that meets our standards moves forward to formulation.
From Tallow to Balm
Once we have our finished tallow, we blend it with carefully selected complementary ingredients — things like magnesium, lavender, chamomile, jojoba, and calendula — depending on the product. Every formula is developed and tested by us, in small batches, right here on the ranch.
No contract manufacturers. No outsourced formulation. Just us, our cattle, and our kitchen.
Why Small Batch Matters
We could scale up. We choose not to — at least not at the expense of quality. Small-batch rendering means we can monitor every step of the process, maintain consistent quality, and ensure that every jar that leaves our ranch meets our standards.
It also means our products are always fresh. Tallow is naturally shelf-stable, but we believe fresh is always better.
The Result
A jar of Rivas Ranch tallow balm represents the full farm-to-skin journey — from the grass our cattle graze on, to the suet we render by hand over the course of a week, to the balm we craft in small batches. That's a level of care and traceability you simply can't get from a conventional skincare brand.
Explore our full range of grass-fed tallow balms and experience the difference that real farm-to-skin care makes.
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