Rubbing beef fat on your face is one of the newest skincare fads.

Beef tallow is currently trending on social media as an alternative to traditional skincare products.

The simple-ingredient balms are made from the fat surrounding the kidneys of cows and processed into a butter that can be used as a moisturizer.

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While many might turn up their noses to using an animal-based product on the face, natural skincare company Hearth and Homestead in Virginia sold out of its tallow balm product on Black Friday.

Lily Wilmoth, the company’s founder and president, spoke with Fox News Digital in an on-camera interview about the skyrocketing demand for beef tallow.

“It’s bigger than ever,” she said. “The biggest product for us has always been our tallow-based skincare products.”

How is beef tallow made?

Wilmoth revealed that her tallow balm is made from 100% grass-fed beef suet, or the fat that encases a cow’s kidney, which is sourced from farms across the country.

The fat is harvested, ground into a butter consistency and blended with an herb-infused olive oil before being melted, whipped, cooled and jarred, she said.

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“It’s not the back fat or other types of fat that you might find on your steak,” Wilmoth said. “It’s a very specific fat … our ancestors recognized that this fat was special.”

“It has a higher amount of nutrients than all the other fats in the animal,” she went on. “It’s very creamy and white in texture. It doesn’t have a weird smell or taste.” 

This specific fat is where nutrients, including vitamins D and A, are stored, according to Wilmoth.

Potential benefits for the skin

“Our skin is an organ,” Wilmoth said. “That’s why it’s so important that anything we put on our skin should be something we’re really thinking about carefully.”

Some moisturizers on the market have a “long list of complex ingredients, preservatives, emulsifiers … fragrances and dyes,” which could worsen skin conditions like eczema and acne, she cautioned.

Tallow balm is recommended as a moisturizer at the end of a skincare routine, after washing with a simple, all-natural soap. (Hearth and Homestead)

“Tallow balm, which is oil-based, doesn’t need preservatives because it doesn’t contain water,” she said. “It’s not going to disrupt the natural skin barrier.”

While tallow balm is “not a healing remedy” and each person’s skin will react to it differently, Wilmoth noted that many customers say it helps with conditions like acne and psoriasis.

“It has a higher amount of nutrients than all the other fats in the animal.”

Dr. Brendan Camp, a New York-based dermatologist, agreed that beef tallow is “generally well-tolerated” by most skin types.

He confirmed that beef tallow acts as a moisturizer to help “trap water into the skin” and make it feel “smooth and soft.”

For the skeptics who may think using fat on the face can be pore-clogging, one expert noted that tallow’s fatty acid profile is “similar to our own skin’s make-up.” (Hearth and Homestead)

“As an emollient, beef tallow fills in cracks and crevices in the skin that contribute to a rough texture,” he said to Fox News Digital.

Beef tallow also contains omega-3 fatty acids and various vitamins, Camp noted, which help maintain the health of the skin barrier and protect it from “oxidative stress.”

Not ideal for everyone

Wilmoth admitted that she “cannot guarantee that every single person is going to see amazing results with tallow,” as every person’s microbiome is different. 

“Depending on your particular skin type, you may find that something else works better for you,” she said.

People with oily skin may find beef tallow products to be “too heavy or greasy,” Camp cautioned.

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“If you have sensitive skin, you may want to consider doing a patch test on the inside of your arm prior to using it more liberally on the skin,” he recommended.

For those who opt not to use beef tallow, Camp suggested trying other basic moisturizers that are free of fragrances and dyes and that contain hydrating ingredients like ceramides, glycerin, hyaluronic acid and squalane. 

One dermatologist warned that beef tallow could cause inflammation for some people. (iStock)

He also noted that, like most over-the-counter supplements, beef tallow products are not FDA-regulated.

In a video posted to Instagram and shared with Fox News Digital, Dr. Tiina Meder — a cosmetic safety expert, dermatologist and founder of Meder Beauty in London — questioned the hype around tallow balm.

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Meder, who grew up in Estonia in the 1970s, shared that her mother applied beef tallow to her face and hands in the cold winters because there weren’t any other options.

“It was the only thing to protect children’s faces and hands from cold burn,” she said.

One expert warned that some of the lipids found in beef tallow can be pro-inflammatory for humans and can “sensitize the skin.” (iStock)

But Meder wondered why people would choose not to take advantage of the variety of creams and moisturizers available today that are “better than beef tallow.”

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“Beef tallow is not bioidentical,” she said. “Beef tallow lipids have very little in common with lipids of the human skin.”

“Depending on your particular skin type, you may find that something else works better for you.”

Linoleic acid, which is found in human sebum glands, is particularly essential for skin health, Meder noted, as it’s an anti-inflammatory antioxidant and also promotes viscosity — but beef tallow doesn’t contain any.

Meder added that other lipids found in beef tallow can be pro-inflammatory for humans and can “sensitize the skin.”

“It is simply not right to apply beef tallow on the skin when you have such a huge choice,” she said.

A Costco-brand cold and flu medicine has been pulled from shelves by the thousands.

A total of 8,640 boxes of Kirkland Severe Cold & Flu Plus Congestion Day and Night packs were recalled by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) last week.

This is following the FDA’s proposal to ban the use of oral phenylephrine as an over-the-counter nasal decongestant in early November.

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After “extensive review,” the FDA concluded that the active ingredient in the product (oral phenylephrine) is “not effective” as a nasal decongestant.

Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, said he agrees with the recent pushback against the ingredient.

“This chemical is shown to be ineffective against cold and flu in its oral form, except at a dose that has some heart toxicity and can lead to palpitations, arrhythmia and high blood pressure.”

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The FDA stated that the Kirkland recall was related to quality control issues, noting in the official recall that the “released product should have been rejected.”

This was a Class II recall, which the FDA describes as a “situation in which use of, or exposure to, a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.”

Recalled boxes of Kirkland Severe Cold & Flu Plus Congestion had lot numbers P139953 or P139815 with an August 2026 expiration date. (eBay)

Katy Dubinsky, a New York pharmacist and founder and CEO of Vitalize, confirmed with Fox News Digital that the recall most likely occurred due to deviations from CGMP (Current Good Manufacturing Practice).

“[That means] the product failed to meet required quality control standards and should have been rejected before release,” she said.

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“To guarantee all products meet strict safety and quality guidelines, the FDA made a Class II recall, which suggests low consumer risk and typically addresses issues unlikely to cause serious harm.”

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Manufacturing inconsistencies and labeling errors can cause “many” CGMP deviations, according to the pharmacist, as well as other procedural issues rather than ingredient problems.

“Acetaminophen, dextromethorphan, guaifenesin and phenylephrine – the listed active ingredients – are widely used as well as considered safe when taken as directed,” she said.

Pharmacist Katy Dubinsky told consumers to stop using recalled lots of this product. (iStock)

Dubinsky instructed consumers to stop using the recalled lots and consult with a health care professional if concerns or symptoms arise after taking the product.

“However, there is no need for panic,” she said. “Recalls like this are important to keep products safe and help people trust the over-the-counter medications they rely on.”

Recalled boxes of the Kirkland Cold & Flu product had lot numbers P139953 or P139815 with an August 2026 expiration date.

Fox News Digital reached out to the FDA and Costco for comment.

Bird flu (H5N1) continues to spark warnings around the country.

On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the country’s first severe case of bird flu in a human.

The patient, who lives in southwestern Louisiana, is currently hospitalized, according to a release from the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH).

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The infected person is known to have been exposed to sick and dead birds that are “suspected to have been infected,” the same source stated.

The LDH is working with the CDC on genomic testing of the virus infecting the hospitalized patient. Fox News Digital reached out to the department for comment.

There have been a total of 61 human cases throughout the country since April.

No human-to-human transmission has been reported, leading the CDC to maintain its stance that risk to the public is low.

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Despite the low risk, California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday declared a state of emergency due to the bird flu.

The declaration follows an outbreak of the virus among dairy cows in Southern California farms, according to the news release on the governor’s website.

“This proclamation is a targeted action to ensure government agencies have the resources and flexibility they need to respond quickly to this outbreak,” Newsom said in a statement. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday declared a state of emergency due to the bird flu. (Mario Tama)

“Building on California’s testing and monitoring system — the largest in the nation — we are committed to further protecting public health, supporting our agricultural industry, and ensuring that Californians have access to accurate, up-to-date information,” he continued.

“While the risk to the public remains low, we will continue to take all necessary steps to prevent the spread of this virus.”

Doctors discuss bird flu risk

Sam Scarpino, PhD, director of AI and life sciences at Northeastern University in Boston, said the “tragic case” in Louisiana is evidence of the “widespread nature” of H5N1 in the U.S.

“It also reinforces the very serious situation we are facing,” he told Fox News Digital.

“We need to take more decisive action to control the spread of H5N1 in animal populations.”

“We need to take more decisive action to control the spread of H5N1 in animal populations. Until then, we will continue to see human spillover cases, and some of them will unfortunately be severe.”

Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Health and Fox News senior medical analyst, pointed out that this severe case represents just one instance of the infection and is not necessarily cause for alarm.

No human-to-human transmission has been reported, leading the CDC to maintain its stance that risk to the public is low. (iStock)

“We’d have to know more about the patient’s particular medical details,” he told Fox News Digital. “We can’t conclude [from one case] that it’s becoming more severe in humans.”

Previous iterations of bird flu have had a 50% death rate in humans, Siegel noted, but the 61 human cases in the U.S. this year have been “very mild.”

“That is actually a good sign, that the virus is mutating away from severity, as traditionally H5N1 makes humans very sick,” he told Fox News Digital. 

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The most critical thing to watch, according to the doctor, is whether bird flu will begin to spread from human to human. 

“That’s the key thing we’re concerned about — that it doesn’t get into the upper respiratory tract among humans,” Siegel said.

“Bird flu is a group of influenza viruses that primarily circulate among bird populations,” an expert told Fox News Digital. “However, influenza viruses are also known to jump species, and bird flu has done this a few times in history.” (Uli Deck/picture alliance via Getty Images)

“It hasn’t up until now, and that’s because it would take some mutations — at least one. We’re tracking that, but probably not closely enough.”

The vast majority of recent human cases have stemmed from direct contact with animals, he said — “but it’s now spread into the cattle population and into milk, which worries a lot of people, including me.”

Rebecca C. Christofferson, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Pathobiological Sciences at Louisiana State University, commented to Fox News Digital about the potential for a pandemic.

“Nobody wants another pandemic.”

“Bird flu is a group of influenza viruses that primarily circulate among bird populations,” she told Fox News Digital. 

“However, influenza viruses are also known to jump species, and bird flu has done this a few times in history.”

A researcher wears a protective suit while collecting samples of wildlife where the H5N1 bird flu virus was detected in Chilean Antarctic territory in Antarctica. (Reuters/Instituto Antartico Chileno)

“The more the virus gets into mammals and then the more it passes from mammal to mammal, the greater the concern that it will adapt to mammals and spread more easily among them and then spill over into humans,” Christofferson added.

“Nobody wants another pandemic.”

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The good news, Cristofferson said, is that it’s easy to protect yourself from catching bird flu. 

“If you have to handle birds or suspected ill animals (or be around ill people), wearing gloves and masks and washing your hands will protect you as it does with other respiratory viruses,” she said.