Let's Talk Tallow

Cynthia Hogue • September 12, 2025

Self Testimonial: "I don’t like for my face to feel greasy or sticky But I do want it to be moisturized and healthy."


I rarely have skin issues or what we call bad skin and growing up the only product I’ve ever used on my face was Noxema and witch hazel. In the summer I’m between oily and dry and then dry all winter and then there’s the age factor. As we age our skin becomes increasingly dry and we may begin to see signs of increased skin thinning. A skin condition called “crepeness” What to do! There are sooooo many skin care products on the market and many of them are full of toxins and things we don’t want on our skin. But oftentimes the marketing of retinols, vitamins, hyaluronic acid etc. drive us to the checkout counter. Then one day we look around and we have drawers full of used, unused, and partially used expensive products that are just taking up drawer space. What to doooo?


Covid arrived in 2020 and with it we looked for ways to cope and survive. We amped up our survival skills. People relearned skills that were considered to be lost skills and with an uptick in online shopping we began to see homesteading items being purchased. Herbal medicine, holistic medicine and self-care was becoming trendy again. Things that once were popular became popular again. One of those being TALLOW. Tallow is being touted as the next miracle to skin health. Ironically, it wasn’t a new idea. It’s as old as time but was replaced by the newest convenience product that promised to give us all perfect skin. I too, after an illness, began looking into and for a more natural way of doing things. There was no lack of information via marketing campaigns and social media; and one of the new things on the horizon was Tallow. Natural products were popping up everywhere. I wanted to try this Tallow.


I did the research. Learned what tallow was and was not. I learned how to source good quality tallow and the rendering process. Although at first the thought of cow fat on my face was kind of creepy. Nevertheless I forged ahead. I purchased products from other vendors with the goal of trying to get a feel for the product. How it works, was it grainy, was it greasy, how it felt as I rubbed it in my skin. The smell, the color of the finished product. The ingredient list. I did not want a product loaded with essentials oils. When I tell you I’ve tried several brands, I mean several brands. Some were what I’d call expensive and some not so. I purchased the expensive ones to see if there was any difference in those and the less expensive jars. What I came away with is that it’s in the purity of the animal’s diet and the rendering process. I’ve even gone so far as to reach out to some of the companies to ask questions regarding their process. It’s has been stated that the cow fat from the kidney area is best for rendering for skin care because of the nutrient rich fatty acids. These nutrients are what help hydrate and protect our skin. Additionally the fat or suet from this area is considered a cleaner fat which gives us a good quality product. As well, the rendering process is important to get a good clear product and reduce the smell. I source grass feed and grass finished beef or wagyu beef. End result: I love it on my skin. It absorbs wonderfully and keeps me hydrated. Tallow also rates a 0-2 on the comedogenic scale as less likely to clog pores.


The winter weather combined with being in garden has been brutal to my face and arms. I did and do occasionally dab it on my face. As for tallow. I am a believer (my husband uses it to and he was a diehard Vaseline user until he learned what tallow could do). I love the texture on my skin and the hydrating properties. It glides on my skin and absorbs and moisturizes really well. The products I prepare at Latter Grace are made in small batches and all ingredients are responsibly sourced to ensure we are giving you a product you will be proud to purchase. I think you will love the product and will want to make it a regular part of your skin routine.


Reasons to purchase from Latter Grace; I’m local, the product is prepared in small batches with no toxic additions and minimal essential oil additions.

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Happy National Herbalist Day

By Cynthia Hogue • April 17, 2025
I spoke with my cousin the other night. Just wanted to check up on her and let her know I was thinking of her. She reminded me that the work I am doing is in my DNA. That it's how we grew up. Being fed and healed with what was available. Although she’s a little older than myself, we shared the same family growing up just at different times. The old house still stands for now. I told her I’d like to find an illustrator to walk with me and draw the house and the land as I remember it. We talked about the garden, the chicken coop, the water well and the barn in the area I called "down the hill". We spoke about the poultices that were made when we were sick and going to the doctor was not the first thing when one was ill. We were healed at home. My herbalist was my grandmother. From clay dirt packs to lard and turpentine salves for cases of bronchitis. Food was medicine and medicine was food. It all went hand in hand. Merriam Webster defines a herbalist as a person who practices healing by the use of herbs. The list of herbs is massive and the medicinal value of some plants is yet to be discovered. And you can’t talk about herbalism without including traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurveda and what the first ancestors called root work. The history is vast and a lot of it lost because it was a verbal pass down and rarely written. Each indigenous culture brings a myriad of practices to the art of herbalism. The body is a miraculous work of the creator and as much as we think we know, there is more to learn. Each cell is connected to and dependent on a corresponding part. Herbalism means to forever be a learner. And although we use fancy words and promote this ancient practice as the “new thing” please remember herbalism is not new. It was a way of life for many until convenience and big pharma came in. For some it was all they had and all there was to keep the family and community well. It’s shrouded in mystery, some even say dark magic. Today we celebrate National Herbalists Day. 
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Love Month

By Cynthia Hogue • February 12, 2025
What is love? Is it a feeling? Is it a condition? Is it just a word?

My Why

By Cynthia Hogue • September 9, 2024
2 years ago I had cardiac stents inserted for a blocked heart vessel. You may say that’s nothing big , that it happens to many people. And you are right it does. What was once a serious procedure when performed is now a simple outpatient appointment. But having that happen to me has reawakened my passion for living. And as age creeps up I realized there was more time behind me than in front of me. So whatever I was going to do, wanted to do or needed to do. Now was the time. To offset my anxiety, not so much of the aging process but of what this meant to my daily life. I needed to remain balanced. Keep distractions and drama in the low key or nil position. I read a lot and I have a published book, Permission: It’s in You. But I needed to stay active as well, and being active in not just doing things for the sake of doing things, but in things that move you and give you peace and most importantly purpose. I started a garden. A friend built me some raised beds and thus a new story and new revelations of life began I would come home from work and hit the beds. Pouring soil, weeding and planting and then harvesting. It felt like home. The garden of my grandmother. At the end of the day I could hardly wait until the next morning to see what had happened overnight. I dried herbs and canned vegetables until they no longer produced. And in that i remembered how my grandmother would use herbs and old remedies to heal. And as I researched and then took some informational classes I realized, THIS IS IT. This is home. I wanted to grow vegetables and herbs and then use this produce to make oils and lotions that helped our skin. As well as food for our table. As I researched and experimented with different oils and herbs I found that infused oils last much longer on my skin. And As we age, of course our skin ages and along with perimenopause and menopause we experience hormonal changes . Add that to skin dryness, skin spots, ashy skin color, the inevitable environmental exposure and the fact that our skin builds up dead skin cells as is natures course. It’s natural that man’s largest organ gets all the wear and tear and little care. I’ve never worn a lot of makeup at any time but I could see the subtle changes. The garden and the herbs gave me later grace oils. Its is so confirming to plant a seed see the land give back a harvest and then we are able to use this harvest for our good. Just as those who came before us and to those who will come after us please remember that We have been given everything that we need to survive and thrive in this world. Many things bring us home. It can be a thought, a smell or a feeling. Home is not just a house on a perfect piece of property . it is a place that is deep in our soul. It’s a place we can go to settle ourselves and maybe to find ourselves. To settle our minds and our hearts. To talk and then to listen for the answer. Home is a place of giving and receiving. A place where a part of you lives and every now and then needs to be reunited. After our mother’s womb , it’s where we began and Where we were nurtured and cared for. It remains home. It’s the place you return to in hopes of finding what was lost. It may not happen to you today or tomorrow but it will happen. And if you can’t travel there physically our mind will always thinking home. Our health is tied to our home , our lifestyle and genetics. Some of it we can control. Some not so much. The name latter Grace is how God ‘s Word never fails us and is a constant reminder to me that latter represents his word in action and that Grace has been given to us all You will find me at HOME. In my garden Where I am honored to bring you Latter Grace Oils & Balms.

Let's Talk Herbalism...

By Cynthia Hogue • September 9, 2024
According to the American herbalists guild, herbal medicine is the art and science of using plants to support health and wellness. It’s called by many names: Traditional Medicine, folk medicine, botanical medicine, root medicine, phototherapy, herbal healing and holistic healing. Some simply call it gardening. Becoming one with nature. Almost every culture has its own plant healing methods and no culture owns the practices . They all share a common thread; HEALING. These methods have such a place in antiquity and are so revered they have been labeled as unsafe and false medicine. Yet we go back to those methods time and time again because “they work”. The teachings and knowledge are as old as time and many birthed from the African continent. These practices have been verbally handed down and transmitted to other countries through the immigration of people as they began to filter out to populate this vast world and to this western country by way of slavery and oral tradition. From this We have lost a significant amount of knowledge. One needs to study each culture to understand the full story and impact of these practices . Some are steeped in religion. Some seem to be clothed in dark magic. Some in the open light. Some in just the pure beauty of healing and the reason God gave us plants for the healing of our bodies and mind. It’s not romantic fantasy and you don’t just say, I’m a herbalist, or I’m a healer without some evidence. It takes time and patience. It takes having a knowledge of nature, having a sense and knowledge of how the body works and that same sense of knowing that the body itself is able to communicate to us what it needs. It takes knowledge of each plant or herb and its cellular content. To some it’s a gift, to others it’s learned from being and doing. For every one thing you learn there are 10 more things to learn. It’s practice and observation. It’s love and understanding. It’s Gods gift to mankind as stated in the passages below:.