It was Ashley Siemens’s mother who first turned her on to the importance of a good skincare routine in keeping a youthful appearance, but more recently her inspiration has been more bovine than human.
“When I was a little girl, my mom taught me that taking care of my skin would help keep it younger looking, longer,” Siemens told the Times. “She made sure I knew to always have moisturiser, and to always give my face a good wash. I can remember trying a bunch of different kinds of skincare growing up. Some great, some not.”
Siemens, who was born in Red Lake, Ont., about 200 km north of Kenora, returned to Northwestern Ontario a few years ago after living in Alberta for 10 years while working as a nurse. Inspired by a skincare video she saw online in 2023 of a woman in Tennessee using beef tallow as a main ingredient in skincare and beauty products, she was inspired to start Tallow Beauty Company.
“We have so many farms in this district, we have so many people with cattle,” Siemens said. “I was like, ‘This is ideal, because we live in such a natural, great environment.’ I knew people would absolutely be grateful for someone coming up with the product and making it.”
So, in January 2024, she jumped into it and created some basic lotions. After a lot of learning, research, mistakes and a dash of self-motivation, she built Stratton-based Tallow Beauty into a growing company.
“This is my third year,” she said. “I’m growing this, but it’s just me. I’m a mom, I’m a full-time worker, and I’m running this business. It’s a lot, but I’ve done an immense amount of research.”
The proximity of cattle in the region isn’t the only reason Siemens chooses to use beef tallow in her products. There are a number of health benefits for the skin that beef tallow possesses that other products don’t have, or at least not all in one place. And there’s a scientific basis for their use.
“I use beef tallow for several reasons,” Siemens said. “The main ones are, it’s the closest animal fat to our own skins’ fatty acid profile, which allows the tallow to get nice and deep into our skin cells, helping the cells to hold moisture and allowing our skin to stay moisturised, rather than looking dry and sort of shrivelly,” Siemens said.
“Beef tallow also contains vitamins A, D, E and K, essential for our skin cell health and elasticity. It actually helps to balance the oils in the skin, rather than clogging pores. It’s a common misconception that it is a pore-clogging product. Lastly, because the beef tallow that I use is inspected at the abattoir, the animal has been deemed safe for human use and consumption.”
Siemens said that beef tallow is a two on the comedogenic scale, which measures how likely a skincare product is to clog the pores of the skin. Other common skincare ingredients such as coconut oil, cocoa butter, lanolin and shea butter all rank at three or higher.
Some of the truly diverse products Siemens offers for sale include a whipped body lotion, a beard balm, soap, a winter-hand healing salve, a tattoo-healing balm, leather conditioner, muscle relief lotion, lip balm, a diaper rash cream and a bug repellent balm that works on humans and animals to deter ticks and other pests.
“Everybody and anybody interested in natural skin care can use my products,” Siemens said. “From a baby to 99 years old or more, anyone can use these products. It’s all natural, safe, chemical free, and petroleum free. I only use plant based essential oils in my products. So, there’s no sketchy stuff going on. It’s all from the earth and what we’re provided.”
Siemens also wants to clear up some misconceptions people might have about using tallow for skincare.
“With tallow specifically, there’s two main things that people get wrong,” Siemens said. “First, people assume it smells like beef. If it’s rendered properly, it does not. It actually just smells like a clean oil. The other thing that people get wrong is they have a presumption or a preconception that it is very greasy, and when it is made properly, it is not, it is very light and silky.”
Siemens also remarked how surprised some of her clients have been when trying her products.
“People are surprised at how well it moisturises their skin and how well it can heal up cold sores, eczema patches, and it really helps to relieve psoriatic inflammation,” Siemens said. “People find that it really helps. The biggest thing is just how good it feels for them—that’s what they really seem to love.”
Siemens wants to share that love, too.
“I would like to give a huge thank you to everyone for their continued support,” Siemens said. “I’m very proud to provide the product. So, it’s just a big thank you to the communities for remembering me, always thinking about me, and continuing to buy my product.”
Tallow Beauty Co products can be found at Rainy Lake Sports, Devlin’s Corner Store, Emo Feeds and Stratton Grocery. She can also be reached online on Facebook, Instagram and the company’s website, https://www.tallowbeautyco.ca.
