From Butcher Class to Skincare

I didn’t discover skincare in a spa or a lab. It started in the back of a refrigerated trailer at the local vo-tech.

I was there to learn butchering—hoping to process a deer. Two brothers ran the class, and they kicked things off by sharpening knives. Sparks flying, steel flashing, speed that looked effortless. It was intimidating and, honestly, pretty badass.

At the end of class, the instructor—who owned a local processing business—mentioned people came to his shop to buy tallow for soap. I’d never heard of that. My friend leaned in and said she’d been using a tallow balm from Amazon for her cuticles and loved it. That tiny comment lit the match.

So I tried. My first batch of rendered tallow? A disaster. I poured hot tallow into a plastic bowl sitting in my kitchen sink, and it burned a hole straight through. The whole batch disappeared down the drain in seconds. But instead of quitting, I doubled down.

I started small, making tallow balms with jojoba and rosehip oil. Then I began infusing the tallow with herbs—and discovered that plants had answers for almost everything: boosting collagen, improving elasticity, delivering antioxidants, speeding up cell turnover, lightening dark spots, and easing muscle spasms. That was the real turning point: I realized there is an herb for every need.

Still, people wanted more. They said, “What do I do with a balm?” “Where do I put it?” “I wish it was fragranced.” That’s when I realized: products can’t just be effective—they have to feel good, smell beautiful, and serve a clear purpose in someone’s life.

So I took the next step. I layered in beautiful fragrances—scents that made you want to use the product daily.

Tallow balms grew into butters. Infused, fragranced, and now bigger, richer, more indulgent. Then came creams—where I began weaving in clinically backed active ingredients like niacinamide (vitamin B3), hyaluronic acid, and panthenol (Pro-Vitamin B5). Suddenly, these weren’t just nice balms. They were formulas that truly transformed skin.

That’s how Frena was born. What started as small experiments for me, then became care for my family, is now made for you. A line rooted in nutrient-rich tallow, guided by herbs, lifted by fragrance, and powered by proven actives. This is self-care that feels like self-love.