There’s a reason why beef tallow is making waves in skin care.
As the top searched skin care ingredient by year-on-year growth, with an increase of 17.4k Google searches across the US according to Spate’s report The Ingredients Defining Beauty in 2025, tallow is trending among Gen Z – and on TikTok.
Driving this trend is the growing desire among Gen Z for ‘ancestral’ skin care – a movement that has been steadily gaining momentum in recent years as traditional ingredients used by past generations gain newfound appeal on social media.
A rendered form of beef fat, beef tallow fits into movement towards traditional, single-ingredient skin care, as well as an aesthetic of minimalism and purity, and is marketed as being rich in fats and vitamins.
According to board-certified dermatologist Dr Hallie McDonald, who is also co-founder of skin care brand Erly, there is a shift towards simple, whole-ingredient routines among many young consumers as they are skeptical of synthetic ingredients.
“There's a distrust of mainstream skin care and dermatology advice in some corners of social media, driven by frustration with chronic skin conditions and the trial-and-error nature of treatment,” McDonald tells Cosmetics Business.
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