My friend sent me a TikTok last week. A girl rubbing this thick, creamy balm on her face and her skin was glowing, comments absolutely losing it. I clicked through to see what it was.

Beef tallow balm. Made from rendered beef fat.

And look, my first reaction was probably the same as yours right now. Beef fat. On your face. Really?

But then I watched a few more. And a few more after that. And I started to get why people are so into it, even if I don't think it's the full story.

So I did what I always do when something catches my attention, I looked up every ingredient and thought about what it's actually doing on skin.

Here's what I found. Who tallow genuinely suits, who it really doesn't, and why the difference between a balm and a face oil matters more than anyone's talking about.

First, tallow has a real case. I'm not here to dismiss it.

Beef tallow is made up of fatty acids that aren't that different from the ones your skin naturally produces. When people say skin "recognises" it, that's not entirely wrong.

It also contains naturally occurring vitamins A, D, E and K, not in huge amounts, but they're there.

And a formula with five ingredients and no preservatives needed? For anyone who has slathered on a seventeen-ingredient "clean" serum and broken out immediately, I completely understand the appeal. I do believe that simpler really is better.

For very dry skin. Mature skin. Skin that's been through it. Anyone living somewhere cold, tallow delivers something those skin types genuinely need: a rich, heavy layer that locks moisture in and doesn't budge.

The tallow trend is, at its core, is pretty much the "stop overcomplicating things" trend. And for certain skin types, that's a perfectly good trend.

Here's where it gets complicated.

A balm and a face oil are doing completely different things.

A balm sits on top of skin. That's the whole job. It creates a seal, locks moisture in, keeps everything out. It's heavy by design, slow to sink in, and it stays on the surface.

That's not a flaw. For the right skin, that's exactly what you want.

A face oil works differently. It absorbs. It sinks into skin and delivers what it's carrying - vitamins, fatty acids, whatever's in the bottle, then your skin gets on with things. No heavy layer left behind.

For very dry or mature skin, that sealing effect is a lifesaver. Your skin is struggling to hold onto moisture on its own, and the balm helps it do that.

For oily, combination, or congested skin, you don't need more sitting on top. Your skin is already producing oil. What it needs are things that absorb quickly, work with what it's already doing, and don't add to the heaviness.

This is the part the tallow conversation mostly skips. Not all skin types need the same thing. And whether something is a balm or a face oil changes everything about how it behaves before you've even looked at what's in it.

The plant oils worth knowing about.

These are the ones I reach for and why.

Squalane

Your skin already makes something very similar to squalane on its own. Which is part of why it absorbs so easily and suits every skin type, even oily skin. It comes from olives, has no scent, and it's one of those ingredients that sounds unremarkable until you use it consistently and your skin just quietly starts looking better.

Organic cold-pressed Prickly Pear Seed Oil

This one has the highest vitamin E content of any plant oil on the market. It's also rich in essential fatty acids that skin genuinely loves. It's expensive which is why most products that list it use such a tiny amount it's basically decorative. When it's in a small-batch formula at a real, meaningful amount, you can actually feel the difference. This is one I'm proud to use.

Jojoba

Technically a liquid wax rather than an oil, which is part of why it sits so well on skin. It closely mimics what your skin naturally produces. Extremely stable, absorbs well, and particularly good for oily or combination skin because of how similar it is to your skin's own output. A quiet workhorse.

So...balm or face oil?

Here's the simple version.

If your skin is very dry, mature, or your barrier has taken a beating, a balm makes sense. You need that seal. Tallow suits you. So does any well-made balm with the right rich, protective ingredients. The heaviness is doing useful work for you.

If your skin is oily, combination, congested, or prone to visible blemishes, you need something that absorbs, not something that sits. A face oil made with the right plant oils will work with what your skin is already doing. Layering something heavy on top of skin that's already producing oil is not the move.

The instinct to simplify your routine is completely right. Fewer products. Better ingredients. Things that make sense for how your skin actually works, rather than things that sound impressive on a label.

The choice between a balm and a face oil is where that simplicity starts.

What I actually look for when I'm making a formula.

Every oil I use gets chosen the same way - I want to know how it was made, whether it actually suits the skin I'm formulating for, and whether it does something in the formula or is just there because it sounds good on a label. That last question is the one I ask most often. The skincare industry is full of ingredients that are there for marketing reasons, not skin reasons.

A shorter ingredient list doesn't mean less effort went into it. Usually it means the opposite.

Anyway. The tallow thing. I'm not against it. For the right skin, it makes sense. I just think a lot of people are trying it because they want simpler, more intentional skincare and that's completely the right instinct but there are better fits depending on what your skin is actually doing.

The answer isn't always beef fat. But wanting fewer, better things on your skin? That I'm completely here for.