Meet Amanda Davis, Founder & Owner Rogue & Tallow Skincare
Real Women of Charleston Series
Q: Tell us a little about your profession & why you do what you do:
A: I make Wagyu tallow skincare. Rogue and Tallow is built here in Charleston, and the tallow comes directly from my family’s cattle ranch on the southern Oregon coast, where we were among the first in the country to raise full-blooded Wagyu cattle. It started with my nephew. He has severe eczema, and I realized my family already had the thing that could help him sitting right there on the ranch. What I didn’t expect was how different pure Wagyu fat would be to work with. It’s much higher in oleic acid than standard beef, so it melts into your skin instead of sitting on top of it. You get the richness without the heavy, waxy feel most people expect from tallow. Somewhere in the process it stopped being a project for him and became something I can’t live without either. The ranch is the real reason though, I spent my summers there growing up, working that property, and there is no part of who I am that wasn’t shaped by it. Keeping a place like that takes everyone finding their own way to contribute, and this is mine. I’m hoping it plays a small part in holding onto it for my children and grandchildren, because I want them to have those summers too.
Q: When not at work, where can we mostly find you?
A: With my two kids and my family. I’m lucky enough to have my parents here most of the year, and a wonderful MIL that visits often, so we do a lot together. Strolling downtown, cooking family meals, hanging out at the house, or out at Folly Beach. It’s not complicated and I don’t want it to be.
Q: Where is your favorite place to dine in Charleston?
A: As a tallow “expert” with a family that raises full-blooded Wagyu cattle, I’ll say there is no better place in town for a quality steak than Hall’s. That said, you can routinely find us at Rita’s on Folly, where we’re very much considered regulars!
Q: If you could lounge anywhere in the world, where would it be?
A: My ranch is the southern Oregon coast. No matter where I am at in life, I have a sense of calm and peace the second I’m there. It’s truly home to me, and it doesn’t hurt it’s absolutely beautiful.
Q: What does comfort mean to you?
A: Not having to perform. Comfort is the version of me that shows up when nobody’s coming over and nothing needs managing. Between two young children, a full-time job, and a business I’m building, most of my day is spend being the person other people need. Comfort is the part where I get to stop doing that for a minute and still feel like myself.
Q: What might you say to someone who needs a little pick-me-up?
A: You’re not behind. You’re just in the middle of it, and the middle always feels like failure. Give yourself credit for what you’re already carrying instead of measuring against where you thought you’d be. And go home and do one small thing for yourself today. It won’t fix anything, but it reminds you that you’re a person and not just a to-do list.
Q: What makes you feel most empowered?
A: Knowing how something actually works. When I started this, I didn’t know the first thing about saponification or fatty acid profiles or FDA labeling rules, and now I do, because I sat down and learned it. Competence is a better confidence source than a compliment. Nobody can take it back from you.
Q: How do you recharge?
A: Time alone. As a mom of two young kids juggling a new business and full time job, that’s the whole answer. Sometimes it’s an extra long hot shower. Sometimes it’s an afternoon out with no plans, exploring my favorite city. I love that every time you go out in Charleston you find a new store, coffee shop, restaurant, park, or piece of history to spend time with.
Q:What’s your secret weapon?
A: Stubbornness disguised as patience. I will reformulate the same product a hundred times and make it look like a calm, deliberate process, when really I just refuse to let it beat me.
Q: What makes you feel most empowered?
A: Knowing how something actually works. When I started this, I didn’t know the first thing about saponification or fatty acid profiles or FDA labeling rules, and now I do, because I sat down and learned it. Competence is a better confidence source than a compliment. Nobody can take it back from you.
Q: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
A: Appreciate what you have. Every chapter of life brings new challenges, and it’s easy to spend the whole time expecting to be somewhere else by now. It matters more to stop and take stock of what’s already yours and be thankful for it.
