If your “For You Page” on Instagram or TikTok showcases any sort of skincare content, chances are good that you’ve come across tallow at some point in recent months. In an industry populated with high-tech products like red light masks and ingredient-heavy offerings that tease claims of reducing wrinkles and restoring a youthful glow, tallow is refreshingly simple. And locally, one Hudson Valley brand is making it easier than ever to shop local and try out all the skincare benefits tallow has to offer.
What is tallow?
For those who may not be familiar, tallow is beef suet. While it’s often used for cooking, it also boasts several skincare benefits, namely for its vitamin-rich formulation and moisturizing properties. It can act as a replacement for products like Vaseline or rich lotions that are often filled with chemicals and fragrances that can irritate skin.
For those with dry or sensitive skin, tallow can be a game-changer. It contains fatty acids such as stearic acid, oleic acid, and palmitic acid that can help to support the skin’s lipid barrier and reduce dryness. The omega-3 within tallow also boasts anti-inflammatory properties which are particularly attractive for individuals suffering from eczema, psoriasis, or rashes.
Meet My Neighbor’s Tallow
The benefits of tallow are precisely what attracted My Neighbor’s Tallow founder Harri Magaldi to it in the first place. After leaving behind her Wall Street career post-maternity leave to care for her daughter, Wilhelmina, Magaldi and her partner relocated to the Hudson Valley to raise their child in a quieter, more serene environment.
“We wanted to raise our daughter where the natural beauty and community-focused lifestyle were more readily available,” she says. “Our home in Hudson really had that feeling for us and really resonated with me as the place to raise her. As a new mother, I sought out ways to simplify life and prioritize natural, sustainable living wherever I could.”
It was around this time that Magaldi’s daughter began to suffer from eczema. While looking for ways to treat the rashes, Magaldi struggled to find commercial skincare products that weren’t filled with chemicals. Through research, she came across tallow as a natural remedy for eczema. She whipped up her first batch of tallow at the end of summer 2023 and was amazed to see just how well it worked on Wilhelmina’s rashes.
Soon after, she began sharing her creation with other mothers and family members, who often ended up asking for more. Magaldi embraced her success with the product and launched My Neighbor’s Tallow in May 2024 to share the benefits of tallow with the community at large.
Sourcing the tallow
Before Magaldi could launch her brand, she knew she needed a reliable supplier for her tallow.
Enter Kinderhook Farm. The upper Hudson Valley farm attracted Magaldi from the start, thanks to its commitment to regenerative farming and ethical practices. By collaborating with Kinderhook Farm, she’s able to craft products with 100-percent grass-fed and -finished tallow as a base.
Making the goods
Utilizing tallow from Kinderhook Farm, Magaldi creates skincare products that are all-natural and designed with sustainability in mind.
“The formulation process was deeply personal and hands-on,” she explains. “It took several months of experimenting in my kitchen, testing different combinations, and refining the recipe to create balms that were both effective and simple.”
Across all her products, she aims to feature no more than five or six ingredients, and she makes sure labels are 100-percent transparent, so shoppers know exactly what’s going into each jar.
The products
So what exactly does My Neighbor’s Tallow make? The Hudson Valley brand may be new to the scene, but Magaldi already has a number of products on offer. For little ones, the Bambino Balm and Bambino Zinc are both fragrance-free tallow balms designed specifically for children.
For adults, the brand stocks Blue Moon – Eternal, a facial tallow cream with blue tansy that helps retain moisture, reduce wrinkles, and support a youthful appearance. There’s also Eucalyptus at Dawn, a moisturizing balm featuring eucalyptus, which is known for its acne-treating and anti-inflammatory properties. Then, for those who are into soothing scents, the Lavender on the Hudson and Wild Bergamot tallow balms have just enough fragrance (natural, of course) without being overpowering.
“Our Blue Moon tallow balm is the biggest seller of our product line,” Magaldi enthuses. “It’s loved for its elasticity properties for the face and its amazing smell. Second would be our Wild Bergamot, which is great for inflammation/scars and has a lovely scent. The Bambino Balm is particularly popular among parents seeking a gentle, natural remedy for their children’s skin issues, diaper cream, and even cradle cap.”
While the balms are the core offering, My Neighbor’s Tallow has also ventured into tallow-based soaps. Shoppers looking for a serene bath or shower experience can check out the fragrance-free calendula tallow soap or the Hudson-foraged nettle tallow soap to cleanse without stripping the skin. In addition to tallow, the soaps also feature enriching ingredients like organic olive oil, organic coconut oil, and raw honey to soothe and moisturize.
The road ahead
With My Neighbor’s Tallow officially up and running in the Hudson Valley, Magaldi is excited for the months to come. This fall, she plans to expand the product line with new offerings like Luna Balm, a magnesium tallow blend, and Arnica Mountain Daisy tallow. She also hopes to secure more wholesale partners and introduce the products to like-minded stores with similar ethical standards in other states.
On top of that, she’s launching an exciting collaboration with Mask Skincare, another female-founded brand based in Windham. The two brands are working together on a special formulation featuring sea buckthorn and geranium, along with a calendula body butter tallow.
“Our goal remains to nurture our connection to the land and community, ensuring that every product we create honors the beauty and bounty of the Hudson Valley,” Magaldi says.
Where to find My Neighbor’s Tallow
In addition to the online store, shoppers can find My Neighbor’s Tallow at local markets like Hudson Farmers’ Market and Copake Hilldale Farmers Market, as well as at stores throughout the Hudson Valley, including:
- Kinderhook Farm Store, Valatie
- Churchtown Dairy, Churchtown
- Hawthorne Valley Farm Store, Ghent
- Flowerkraut, Hudson
- Philmont Co-op, Philmont
- River, Hudson
- Kitty’s Market, Hudson
- Cafe Mornings, Arkville
- Mercantile at the Vanderpoel House, Kinderhook
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