Planning a function or a special occasion? We have the answer….
Tallow is the ‘not-so-new-kid-on-the-block.’ It’s a super versatile product derived from animals but has been becoming increasingly popular in recent years- and for good reason.
Tallow is the suet or beef fat surrounding the kidneys of beef cows- but do not be put off by its origins. It is prized for its nutritional vitamins A,E,D and K, and fatty acid profile.
Like so many Victorians in Winter, Lakes Entrance resident Shailah Buckley wanted something to make her dry skin feel fresh and healthy again. She took a chance on Tallow, and when it worked, she passed it on to her sister who struggles with eczema. Within three days, her sister’s skin was clear.
This led to Shailah researching more about Tallow, learning to create her own products and beginning her own business venture, MamaDuck. Tallow.
‘I sought out to better understand the benefits and process of making tallow, so that I might be of help to others,’ Shailah said. ‘This coincided with my need to grow something of my own and support my beautiful two young children as a single mama – thus began the unravelling of MamaDuck. Tallow.’
Shailah said that in the meat industry, tallow was considered a bi-product and unusable. It is essentially thrown into the waste bin. At MamaDuck. Tallow, Shailah sources her beef tallow from Gippsland butchers, and her mother helps her to renders the fat to ensure the impurities are taking out for topical use.
‘Rendering tallow is labour-some and messy, but it’s also therapeutic. It is purified through a slow repetitive heating and cooling process that in cooperates sea-salt,’ Shailah said.
‘Making tallow into creams also involves temperature variations to infuse or add oils, essential oils, and herbs to retain their beneficial constituents. A stir versus a whisk will produce completely different textural outcomes. It’s fun!’
And the end results are exceptionally beneficial.
Tallow can relieve symptoms of eczema and dermatitis, can condition dry skin, sooth burns and bites, be used for lip-balm or deodorant, It can also be worn as a sun-barrier cream, perfect for a diversity of skin types including babies and the elderly.
It can be used as a body oil, or liquid soap, a moisturiser or primer for a natural under make-up glow. It can also be used as for hair health- and can add an extra glistening to a man’s prized beard or mo!
Shailah said her work has been rewarding, from creating the product, educating others about it, and helping people feel great in their skin.
‘I love helping people connect with a natural product that helps their skin issues or makes them feel more confident or get some relief. It’s satisfying that, from the label artwork to the manufacturing of my product, it has come from the heart. It’s been an artful process.
‘I hope that other people in small creative businesses feel as full as I do in their own accomplishments no matter how small the reach has been’.
Shailah tragically lost a close friend to suicide earlier this year and will be donating some of the profits from a new Camomile and Calendula balm to Live4Life, a Victorian charity that works to empower improving mental health in Youth.
‘I hope to achieve nothing more than reiterating the importance of showing kindness and compassion to our neighbours and friends and looking after this next generation coming through,’ she said. ‘It might be corny, but Bob Marley once sang ‘Overcome the devils with a thing called love.’’
To learn more about this and other MamaDuck. Tallow products, visit MamaDuck. Tallows Instagram page @MamaDuck.Tallow or the website mamaducktallow.com.
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