Hearth and Homestead vs Wild Gold Tallow: An Honest Emu Oil Comparison

Written by Jamie, co-founder of Wild Gold Tallow. Jamie left Los Angeles for a farm outside Asheville, North Carolina to raise the family's own food and source every ingredient by hand, and now spends a strange amount of time thinking about carrier oils.

If you are comparing Hearth and Homestead vs Wild Gold Tallow, you have landed on one of the more interesting matchups in the tallow world, because Hearth and Homestead is one of the few other brands that actually uses emu oil. That is rare, and it is worth respecting. This is an honest, side-by-side look at how the two lines differ on emu oil, colostrum, and what else ends up in the jar. We make one of them, so I will say that plainly and stick to verifiable facts.

Hearth and Homestead is a real, well-regarded handmade brand. We are not here to run them down. We just made a few different choices, and if emu oil is what brought you here, those choices matter.

Hearth and Homestead vs Wild Gold Tallow at a glance

Here is the honest breakdown. Both are grass-fed tallow brands, and both use emu oil in at least some products. From there the formulas diverge.

• Emu oil: Hearth and Homestead uses emu oil in some scented variants, such as its Blue Outback balm, sourced from Australia. We use USA-certified emu oil in every jar, including the unscented.
• Other oils: Their emu-oil balms also include jojoba oil, and their unscented herb-infused balm uses olive oil instead of emu oil. We use no jojoba, olive, or other plant carrier oils at all.
• Colostrum: Hearth and Homestead does not list colostrum. We add rare first colostrum, the milking taken within about six hours of birth.
• Fragrance: Several of their balms are scented with essential oil blends like blue cypress and sandalwood. Our unscented balm has no essential oils at all.
• Ingredient count: Their balms layer tallow, plant oils, essential oils, and botanicals. Ours is three ingredients: grass-fed tallow, first colostrum, and USA emu oil.

Where Hearth and Homestead is a good choice

If you love a scented balm and enjoy the ritual of blue cypress or sandalwood, Hearth and Homestead does that beautifully. Their essential-oil blends are thoughtfully composed, they use grass-fed and finished tallow, and pairing emu oil with jojoba gives their scented balms a distinctive feel. For someone who wants a fragrant, botanical tallow balm from a small handmade maker, they are a genuinely good option.

Where Wild Gold Tallow differentiates

We went the minimalist direction. Emu oil is the one carrier we kept, because USA-certified emu oil penetrates deeper than jojoba or olive oil and helps carry the other nutrients down with it. Then we did two things most emu-oil balms do not. We paired it with rare first colostrum for the growth factors and lactoferrin, and we left everything else out. No jojoba, no olive oil, no beeswax, and no essential oils in the unscented.

That last part matters more than it sounds. Essential oils smell wonderful, but they are also the most common reason a natural balm bothers reactive skin. Keeping the unscented to three ingredients is why we reach for it around our own kids. If sensitive skin is your concern, our guide to the best tallow balm for sensitive skin goes deeper.

"I've tried 35 different tallow balms. This is actually my favorite tallow balm I have ever used." — LJ

Which one should you choose?

If you want a scented, botanical tallow balm and the essential-oil experience is part of the appeal, Hearth and Homestead is a fair pick. If you want the emu-oil benefit without the plant oils and fragrance, plus first colostrum on top, that is what we built. You can see every option in our colostrum skincare collection, and the daily driver is the Colostrum Tallow Balm. For the emu-oil science itself, read emu oil vs tallow for skin.

Frequently asked questions

Does Hearth and Homestead use emu oil?

Yes, in some of its scented variants. The Blue Outback balm, for example, pairs grass-fed tallow with jojoba oil and Australian emu oil plus essential oils. Its unscented herb-infused balm uses olive oil rather than emu oil. Wild Gold Tallow uses USA-certified emu oil in every jar, including the unscented.

Does Hearth and Homestead use colostrum?

No. Hearth and Homestead does not list colostrum in its tallow balms. Wild Gold Tallow adds rare first colostrum, the milking taken within about six hours of birth, alongside grass-fed tallow and USA emu oil.

What is the main difference between Hearth and Homestead and Wild Gold Tallow?

Both are grass-fed tallow brands and both use emu oil in at least some products. Hearth and Homestead blends emu oil with jojoba and essential oils in scented balms and has no colostrum. Wild Gold Tallow is a three-ingredient balm of grass-fed tallow, first colostrum, and USA emu oil, with no essential oils in the unscented.

Which is better for sensitive skin?

A shorter ingredient list with no added fragrance is usually the gentler choice. Wild Gold Tallow's unscented balm is three ingredients with no essential oils, while several Hearth and Homestead balms are scented with essential oil blends. Patch test either one first if your skin is reactive.

The bottom line on Hearth and Homestead vs Wild Gold Tallow

This is a rare case where both brands landed on emu oil, which most of the category ignores. The split is about everything around it. Hearth and Homestead surrounds the emu oil with jojoba, botanicals, and scent. We surround it with as little as possible and add first colostrum. Pick the philosophy that fits your skin. If minimalist is your lane, ours is in the colostrum skincare collection, and you may also want our Sky and Sol vs Wild Gold Tallow comparison.

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.