The Truth About "100% Natural" and Scents

I was recently looking for something on Facebook Marketplace and many of the things they show on the introduction page is tallow because we type tallow so much on our computer for our business. What comes up are all these cheap 4-12 oz jars of tallow stating 100% natural grass fed/finished beef tallow. Some are just beef tallow, which I stay away from and will cover in a different blog.

From my last post I explained just some of the reasons for the cheaper costs of these supposed grass fed/finished tallow or just the plain beef tallow. But a recent comment from someone made me want to check out some of these cheaper 100% natural grass fed/finished tallows available. I will tell you what that comment was later.

The first one I clicked on described their 12 oz jar of tallow for very cheap as "100% natural grass fed beef tallow" and then all the wonderful things about the vitamins, etc in tallow. So I wondered why they were selling such a large jar knowing so little is needed of a true grass fed tallow and because it is perishable. I question this because a 2 oz jar of tallow for twice a day use on the face typically lasts 2-3 months. If it was 100% natural, by the time a person could use 12 ounces, it would be long past its beneficial shelf life. Although tallow preserves itself in a natural way for a year or so, as with food, tallow and it's vitamins decline naturally along with the essential oils and their smells.

Then I saw their list of scents. All sounded natural. Except, I know what are actually fragrances and what are actual essential oil scents. The first "natural" fragrance I saw listed was Teakwood. Unfortunately, Teakwood is not a natural essential oil. It is only a fragrance. It is quite often marketed as a "natural essential oil" smell. If I didn't know any better, I would think it was an awesome natural smell. Same with some of the other smells that were said to be 100% natural.

Peach was another scent I saw that is not an essential oil that throws the fragrance. It is made from the peach seed or kernel of a peach. I use some of these types of carrier oils in my tallow for the health benefits they offer. However, they do not throw the smells. Added fragrances throw smells like peach. Therefore, it is NOT a 100% natural product if it SMELLS like a peach.

I also saw a blueberry smell. Blueberry oil is made from blueberry seeds and is not truly an essential oil either. A blueberry has no throw smell. So what smell is being thrown in a so called blueberry essential oil? Is it a synthetic fragrance made to smell like the crust and flour of baking something with blueberries in it? Strawberry, apple, mango, watermelon and apricot were some of the others I saw at a glance. All of which are synthetically made scents and called essential oils online in many cases. Not of these are actual essential oils.

Typically, the only true fruit essential oils are citrus oils like orange, lemon, lime and grapefruit due to it being able to be extracted from the rinds of the fruit that contain aromatic compounds.

One clue to a scented tallow product maker's knowledge of natural quality is if the product contains essential oils, it must be in an amber jar. A clear jar will typically be a fragranced lab grown scent. A clear jar can be used but will degrade your essential oil (as well as a carrier oil) benefits almost immediately due to sunlight exposure.

I was suddenly concerned because we named our new tallow Champagne due to the pleasantly fruity light champagne smell. But rest assured. Our Champagne smell contains only top quality, highly tested citrus essential oils, true non citrus essential oils and carrier oils brought to a silky youthful skin promoting tallow.

The comment made to me? I can buy a big jar of "pure tallow" just like yours for the same price as your 2 oz. Yes, you can buy a large jar of tallow labeled 100% natural. But the word "pure" and "natural" would be a somewhat deceptive description and the content of another blog. And why you would need that much tallow would be my question?