A photo of a billboard for a beef-tallow sunscreen by a brand called Primally Pure has people doing a double-take.
Along with a photo of the product, the ad reads, “Poison-free SPF with tallow. Next to that ad, there is a photo of a blonde woman under text that reads: “The sun isn’t poison but your sunscreen is.”
Shared to X (formerly Twitter) @PeterHamby posted a photo of the controversial ad along with text that joked, “babes you’re poisoning your face try this rendered beef fat instead.”
And of course, when people saw this Tweet — which has almost 18,000 views — jokes were made.
“For skin as healthy as a McDonald’s french fry,” read one Tweet.
“My great grandfather (a farmer) slathered his arms with bacon grease, thinking it would help him to keep from sunburning. Nope, it just made him extra crispy!” another person pointed out.
“Lewis Black had a bit about how we should use Crisco instead of sunscreen, because it’s cheaper and ‘when you start to sizzle, you move your ass,’” Same principle,” someone else quipped.
According to their site, the brand promises that its SPF products are free of seed oils, fragrance, chemicals — and that it’s made with grass-fed tallow, which is technically the fat derived from the kidneys and loins of cows that eat a grass-fed diet.
The company declares that “tallow is biocompatible with skin for deeper moisture and nourishment.”
And this isn’t the first time these tallow claims have been made.
Late last year, when people on social media were slathering their bodies in the animal fat to not only give them glowy skin but also to soothe bug bites, rashes and burns — experts were skeptical about it.
“I give it a thumbs down from the scientific and dermatologic perspective,” Dr. Zakia Rahman, a clinical professor of dermatology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, told the New York Times.
“It could potentially cause acne flares or cause irritation.”
And before you read too much into this ad, believing that you need to throw out the sunscreen you’re using because it’s not safe or effective — board-certified dermatologist, Dr. Shereene Idriss, wants you to be cautious of this claim.
In an Instagram reel, the expert cleared the air on this supposed myth, saying, “The danger is not what’s in your sunscreen but the misinformation that’s stopping you from using it. Just wear the damn sunscreen.”
When it comes down to it, there doesn’t seem to be enough data on how effective tallow SPF is just yet — so continue to wear whatever sunscreen is accessible to you and stay out of the sun during peak hours, which is typically between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
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