We Lab Tested Dry vs. Wet Rendered Tallow – Here Are the Results

Introduction

Quality is a core value at Kai Tallow. We take pride in creating products that are not only effective, but rooted in science and tradition. To investigate how different rendering methods impact the quality of tallow, we partnered with Jennifer Woodson from Grassland Beauty. Jennifer has had testing done before on fatty acids and has provided immense value and information to the practice of rendering tallow. Together we ran third-party lab testing on the fatty acid composition on three samples of tallow: dry rendered, lightly wet rendered, and wet rendered, all made from the same cow’s suet fat.

Why invest in this kind of testing? Because tallow’s benefits come from its natural fatty acid profile, and how it’s rendered directly affects those nutrients. Not all tallow is created equal. Many in the skincare space overlook the quality implications of rendering, but it's one of the most critical factors.

In this post, we’ll break down:

• What changed in the fatty acid profile

• Why those changes happened

• What this means for skincare quality, stability, and effectiveness

• Why we at Kai Tallow will continue to render our tallow using the traditional dry method

If you're here for the science, we dive deep. But if you just want the bottom line, skip ahead to the Conclusion for a quick summary.

 

Rendering Methods Compared

All samples were rendered from the same large batch of suet-only fat from a fully grass-fed and grass-finished cow from a cattle ranch in Arizona. The fat was first rendered using the traditional dry method to give all samples the same baseline, since different parts of the animal contain different fat compositions. From there:

• One sample was taken as-is from the dry render (control)

• One sample was very lightly wet rendered 3 times for 30 minutes each

• One sample was wet rendered 3 times for 5 hours each (15 hours total)

Both wet-rendered samples were reheated one final time to remove any residual water and prevent mold growth or spoilage. All three samples were sent to the same third-party lab, Food and Safety Net Services in Houston, Texas, for fatty acid profile testing.

 

Batch	Method	Time	Additives	Notes
Dry Rendered	Rendered at 200°F over ~12 hours	~12 hours	None	Traditional method: no water, no salt
Light Wet Rendered	3x purified with water + salt at 200°F for 30 min	1.5 hours total	Water + salt	Extremely gentle method, not commonly used
Wet Rendered	3x purified with water + salt at 200°F for 5 hrs	15 hours total	Water + salt	This is on the low end of common wet rendering (some purify up to 8x)

Visual Comparison of Key Fatty Acids

What changed the most? The chart below reflects the actual gram amounts from the lab and recalculates the percent change from dry to long wet rendering:

Fatty Acid	Dry (g)	Light Wet (g)	Wet (15hr) (g)	Change (Dry → Wet)
Myristic Acid	2.83	2.82	2.78	-1.8%
Myristoleic	0.14	0.14	0.12	-14.3%
Palmitic	24.30	24.31	25.42	+4.6%
Palmitoleic	1.50	1.49	0.83	-44.7%
Margaric	1.11	1.11	1.10	-0.9%
Stearic	31.47	31.58	33.79	+7.4%
Oleic	25.03	24.99	23.74	-5.2%
Trans Elaidic	8.35	8.35	8.07	-3.4%
Linoleic	3.79	3.74	2.81	-25.9%
Alpha Linolenic	0.23	0.22	0.13	-43.5%
Arachidic	0.24	0.24	0.25	+0.9%
Eicosenoic	0.18	0.19	0.17	-5.6%
Omega-3	0.23	0.22	0.13	-43.5%
Omega-6	3.84	3.79	2.89	-24.7%
Omega-9	0.18	0.19	22.87	+12,605% 🔥
Polyunsaturated (Total)	4.10	4.04	3.02	-26.3%
Saturated (Total)	60.59	60.69	63.98	+5.6%
Trans Fat	8.40	8.39	8.11	-3.5%

Let’s Break Down What Happened Scientifically

🔬 Unsaturated Fat Breakdown

Fats like oleic, linoleic, and palmitoleic acids are unsaturated fats. They contain double bonds that make them more fragile. Under heat, moisture, and oxygen, they oxidize and degrade easily. That’s exactly what happened in the wet-rendered tallow.

The wet rendering time with water and salt likely led to:

• Oxidation: oxygen reacted with unsaturated fats, breaking them down

• Hydrolysis: water broke fat molecules apart into smaller fragments

This destroyed a large portion of skin-beneficial unsaturated fats, especially:

• Linoleic acid (omega-6): down ~26%

• Palmitoleic acid (omega-7): down ~45%

• Alpha linolenic acid (omega-3): down ~43%

• Oleic acid (omega-9): down ~5%

🧪 Stearic and Saturated Fats Increased

The actual grams of stearic and palmitic acids increased, not just their percentages. Why?

• Hydrolysis likely played a role: heat and water broke down triglycerides, freeing more measurable free stearic and palmitic acids.

• While unsaturated fats degraded, saturated fats like stearic remained intact and more detectable.

• This means the increases were due to both actual concentration and chemical release, not simply a proportional shift.

🚨 The Omega-9 Mystery: 0.18g → 22.87g

This spike wasn’t an increase in healthy oleic acid (which actually dropped). Instead, this result likely came from:

• Oxidative degradation: fragile omega-3 and omega-6 fats broke down in heat + water + salt conditions.

• Hydrolysis: water cleaved triglycerides into fragments.

➡️ In short: this isn’t a gain, it’s a chemical degradation misread as an omega-9 spike. These altered fragments are not nutritionally or topically equivalent to native oleic acid.

This kind of lab artifact is a red flag that fatty acid integrity has been heavily compromised.

What This Means for Skincare

⚖️ Balance Matters

Healthy tallow has a natural blend of fatty acids that support skin barrier health and healing:

• Saturated fats help lock in moisture

• Unsaturated fats help with flexibility, calming inflammation, and aiding repair

When those unsaturated fats are lost, tallow:

• Becomes heavier and less breathable

• Loses key anti-inflammatory properties

• May cause more congestion or irritation, especially for acne-prone skin

🦮 Nutrient Depletion = Lower Potency

CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), part of the omega-6 group, likely degraded during wet rendering. Multiple studies show that CLA supports anti-inflammatory skin responses and tissue regeneration.

Source: Banni S. (2002). Conjugated linoleic acid metabolism. Curr Opin Lipidol. 13(3):261–266. PubMed

💨 Oxidation = Irritation Risk

Oxidized fats can form lipid peroxides and aldehydes — known irritants.

These compounds have been linked to:

• Barrier disruption

• Skin sensitivity

• Inflammatory reactions

Source: Menzel A, et al. (2001). Oxidized lipids induce skin irritation. Arch Dermatol Res. 293(10):470–476. PubMed

This reinforces why protecting fatty acids from heat and oxidative damage is critical for safe, effective tallow skincare.

 

Why Kai Tallow Will Continue to Dry Render

This test gave us more than lab data, it confirmed what we already practice:

• Low and slow dry rendering keeps the fatty acid profile intact

• No salt, no water, no degradation

• Fatty acids stay balanced, potent, and intact

We’re committed to this traditional method because it consistently results in the most stable, effective, and skin-friendly tallow possible.

📌 Conclusion (TL;DR)

• Wet rendering with water + salt for an extended time caused degradation of unsaturated fatty acids (omega-6, omega-3, palmitoleic, and even oleic).

• Saturated fats like stearic and palmitic increased in actual grams, likely due to hydrolysis.

• Omega-9 levels “spiked” due to fatty acid degradation, not from nutrient gain.

• The result? A less balanced, potentially irritating tallow.

Kai Tallow’s strictly dry-rendered fat keeps fatty acids in their most functional form. And that’s why it works so well for the skin.

Let us know if you'd like to see more visual breakdowns like this — we’re happy to dive into the data so you don’t have to.

Special thanks to Jennifer from Grassland Beauty for partnering on this study. Here is a link to her take on the test results.