• Emmet’s move toward regenerative practices and lower-input farming.
• Why his steers take about 40 months to reach market.
• How sourcing, rendering, and processing affect tallow quality.
• Making tallow skincare with low-temperature dry rendering and herb infusions.
• How value-added products can support farm income.
• Emmet’s advice to aspiring farmers: learn hands-on from working producers and keep overhead manageable.

00:00 - Emmet’s path to regenerative farming
00:49 - A cattle experience that changed his approach
02:54 - What regenerative agriculture means to him
04:25 - Why his cattle take longer to finish
05:42 - Quality fat versus processed fat
08:32 - Why tallow skincare is gaining attention
09:25 - Making herb-infused tallow products
11:47 - Value-added products and farm income
15:05 - Why farmers need to set their own prices
20:20 - Advice for young farmers
22:37 - Vertical integration
24:55 - Leasing land versus buying it
28:00 - How Spill the Tallow got its name
30:11 - What to ask about tallow sourcing
31:53 - Why supporting farmers matters

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“Regenerative agriculture is not fast.”

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“We have to be price makers, not price takers.”

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“Friends don’t let friends use anonymous tallow.”

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• Why tallow isn’t one uniform ingredient, and how sourcing and the animal’s diet can affect quality.
• The difference between suet and trim fat, and why Shalley prefers suet for facial skincare.
• What RBD tallow is and why she cautions against heavily processed tallow in leave-on products.
• Why yellow fat may offer a clue about forage but isn’t proof of quality.
• How rendering and storage can affect stability, texture, and shelf life.
• Why high stearic acid content can be desirable but takes care to formulate.
• Why Shalley recommends shea butter or cocoa butter if high-quality tallow isn’t available.

00:00 - Is all tallow really the same?
02:17 - Sourcing, fat choice, rendering, storage, and formulation
05:00 - Tallow skincare’s popularity and expectations
07:08 - What tallow is; suet versus trim fat
10:04 - Commercial RBD tallow
14:34 - Yellow fat: a clue, not a verdict
16:55 - Rendering, stability, and shelf life
21:27 - Virgin tallow versus refined cosmetic-grade tallow
24:24 - Why some people believe low-quality tallow is working
29:30 - When botanical options may be a better choice
33:08 - What to look for when buying tallow from a farmer
35:01 - Stearic acid and formulation
39:59 - Tallow better suited to cooking than skincare
41:09 - Why Wagyu doesn’t automatically mean better tallow
43:56 - Scrutinizing claims about vitamins and sourcing
48:06 - Why transparency matters
49:33 - Shalley’s bottom line: choose botanicals if you can’t source quality tallow

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• Shalley shares how Buffalo Gal Grassfed Beauty started with an accidental spill of rendered tallow on her kitchen counter.
• She explains her background in natural foods, wellness, and an early skincare venture focused on bath salts, soaps, and boutique hotel products.
• Her interest in natural skincare grew from years of dry, sun-damaged skin and a long search for something that felt truly restorative.
• She recounts reconnecting with her husband David, a lifelong farmer who had been raising water buffalo since 2000.
• The family’s meat business pushed them toward full inspection processing, which later created the path for using the fat instead of wasting it.
• A chef, David Larkworthy, suggested they save the suet and consider uses like soap or candles, helping shift her thinking toward value-added products.
• She explains that at the time, few companies were making tallow skincare, and Vintage Tradition was one of the few names she knew in the space.
• Shalley describes the moment she realized tallow felt richer and more lasting on her hands than expected, which led her to explore lip balm and face balm formulas.
• She talks about early formulation challenges, including the need for beeswax to improve texture and stability.
• She says a mentor helped her understand that her face product was a balm, not a cream, and introduced her to herbal infusions.
• She explains that tallow is not hydrating in itself, but is occlusive, helping seal moisture into the skin.
• She closes by describing her rendering process and why dry rendering preserved the quality and smell of the tallow.

00:00 - Welcome to Spill the Tallow and the origin of Buffalo Gal Grassfed Beauty
00:57 - A brief college romance, years apart, and a return to Georgia
01:25 - Wellness work, natural foods, and an early skincare side project
02:44 - Why natural skincare felt fringe before it became mainstream
04:08 - Searching for a unique ingredient to address dry, sun-damaged skin
05:51 - Looking abroad for inspiration and reconnecting with David
06:20 - Discovering tallow as the ingredient already on the farm
07:33 - Chef David Larkworthy and the idea to use suet for dessert
08:43 - Nose-to-tail thinking and turning waste into value
09:34 - Vintage Tradition and the modern return of tallow skincare
11:57 - The kitchen spill that made tallow feel different
13:25 - From Burt’s Bees frustration to a tallow lip balm idea
14:55 - Early lip balm batches, beeswax, and texture problems
15:45 - Meeting the tallow community at the Weston A. Price Foundation conference
16:41 - Learning the difference between a cream and a balm
17:33 - Building a face balm for long-lasting moisture retention
18:27 - Dry rendering, preserving quality, and the smell of fresh tallow

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