I used to have a skincare shelf that looked like a pharmacy. Cleanser, toner, serum, eye cream, moisturizer, SPF, exfoliant, face oil, mask, spot treatment. Ten products, easy. And my skin was still reactive, still dry in some places and oily in others, still not quite right.
I am April Rivas. My husband and I raise grass-fed cattle on our family ranch in North Carolina. My daughter and I render the suet by hand and make every skincare product ourselves. I did not set out to simplify my routine. I set out to find something I could trust on my own face — something with an ingredient list I could actually read.
What I found changed everything.
The Problem With a Long Skincare Routine
More products does not mean better skin. In most cases, it means more opportunities for irritation, more synthetic ingredients layered on top of each other, and more confusion about what is actually working.
The skin is the body's largest organ. It is designed to regulate itself. When we pile on ten products — many of which contain synthetic emulsifiers, preservatives, and fragrance — we can disrupt the skin's natural barrier rather than support it.
The clean beauty movement has helped, but even many "clean" products still rely on long ingredient lists, synthetic stabilizers, and white-labeled formulas that any brand can buy and rebrand. The transparency problem runs deep.
What Tallow Actually Is
Tallow is rendered beef fat — specifically the fat surrounding the kidneys, called suet, which is the purest, most nutrient-dense fat on the animal. When rendered slowly and carefully, it becomes a stable fat that is remarkably similar in composition to human sebum.
That similarity is not a coincidence. For most of human history, animal fats were the primary skincare ingredient. Tallow is rich in vitamins A, D, E, and K — the same fat-soluble vitamins that support skin cell turnover, collagen production, and barrier repair. It absorbs without clogging pores because the skin recognizes it as biologically compatible.
How Bareface Replaced Five Products for Me
When I started using Bareface — the facial tallow balm my daughter and I make from our own cattle — I was not expecting much. I had tried a lot of things.
Within two weeks, I had stopped using my serum. Then my face oil. Then my eye cream. Then my toner. Eventually, my routine became: wash my face, apply a pea-sized amount of Bareface to slightly damp skin, done.
My skin is calmer than it has ever been. Less reactive. More even. The kind of glow that used to require three products to fake.
What to Look for in a Tallow Skincare Product
- Source: Grass-fed, pasture-raised cattle produce tallow with a better fatty acid profile and higher nutrient density. Look for brands that can tell you exactly where their tallow comes from.
- Rendering process: Slow, careful rendering removes impurities and produces a clean, odor-neutral fat. Rushed rendering affects both smell and skin performance.
- Ingredient list: The shorter, the better. A quality facial tallow should have five ingredients or fewer.
- Transparency: Can you find out who made it, where, and how? A brand that raises its own cattle and renders its own suet is a different category entirely.
A Note on Simplicity
Simplifying your skincare routine is not about deprivation. It is about giving your skin fewer things to react to and more of what it actually needs. For many people, that means one well-made product instead of ten mediocre ones.
Bareface is the only thing I put on my face now. It is made from our cattle, rendered by my daughter and me, and whipped into every jar by hand on our North Carolina ranch. The ingredient list is four items long. My skin has never been calmer.
Shop Bareface Facial Tallow Balm →
Frequently Asked Questions
Is tallow good for oily or acne-prone skin?
Yes. Tallow is non-comedogenic and biologically compatible with human sebum. Many people with oily or acne-prone skin find that tallow helps regulate oil production. Our Bareface formula includes lemongrass essential oil, which is gently astringent and helps balance oily skin.
Can I use tallow if I have sensitive skin?
Tallow is one of the gentlest options for sensitive skin precisely because it is so biologically similar to the skin's own oils. We recommend starting with a small amount on a patch of skin if you have significant sensitivities.
How is grass-fed tallow different from conventional tallow?
Grass-fed cattle produce fat with a higher concentration of omega-3 fatty acids, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), and fat-soluble vitamins compared to grain-fed animals. The nutritional profile of the animal's diet is reflected in the quality of the fat.
Where does Rivas Ranch tallow come from?
We raise our own cattle on our family ranch in North Carolina. My husband and I manage the herd together. My daughter and I render the suet and make every product by hand. There is no middleman, no supplier, and no white-labeling.
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