Syd's Sleek Renderings

Syd's Sleek Renderings is one of the newest businesses in the NRHEG area, and its owner, Sydney Lewer 19, wasn't expecting it to take off like it did.

 

Lewer was continuing her education after high school when she decided the college scene wasn't for her. Her ultimate plan was to go into the meat business like her parents, Dan and Amber Lewer, who own Neighbor's Meats in New Richland, Mankato, and Owatonna, but when she looked around at all the people she worked with there, including her parents, none of them had a degree in meat animal science or equine science.

 

Lewer returned from college during the slow season at Neighbor's Meats, so she looked around for ways to be useful.

 

Lewer had heard a lot about the health benefits of tallow for the skin, and, having struggled with acne for six years, she decided to try rendering some of the suet her parents' business commonly threw out as a side product of meat production. She didn't know what she was getting herself into. The products she created proved the healing benefits of tallow weren't overblown. “It's actually worked wonders; it's amazing!” Lewer said. Others are discovering similar benefits, and Lewer is kept busy keeping her increasing line of products on the shelves.

 

Lewer started her first renderings in December 2024.

 

“It kind of boomed,” said Lewer. “It was just for fun at first.” The first product she tried making was lavender whipped tallow balm, and she accidentally made a lot. “I think I made like 70 tins my first batch.” She thought family and friends might like it, so she gave it away as Christmas gifts. “And then everybody's family and friends wanted to try it,” said Lewer.

 

Lewer explained that whipped tallow balm is similar to an everyday lotion, but it's a little heavier. “I use it as a daily facial moisturizer, but other people use it on elbows, knees, hands, feet, pretty much anywhere.” Lewer said that even baby's benefit from it, because it helps with diaper rash and cradle cap.

 

Lewer senses that the market is moving back toward older remedies that worked better and that lacked the undesirable ingredients of some modern products. “Everybody's stepping away from the bigger brands, and they like how we have something that actually works,” said Lewer.

 

Lewer didn't expect anything out of her venture into tallow products. She thought maybe she'd earn a little at farmers markets. Per Lewer, “It's doing really good for its first year, so I think it could go places.”

 

Of the rendering process, Lewer said, “It's rendered down seven times, so that there's no beef smell, and it's pure white.” Each batch of tallow takes about nine hours to render. “And that's without whipping it or packaging it or anything,” said Lewer. The beef fat is ground down for her right at the meat market. She

 

then puts it into large roasters where it cooks to 150o F. “It's like melted butter basically,” said Lewer. The first render, which Lewer usually does overnight, takes about four hours, and it is in this rendering that any lumps of muscle tissue are rendered out. She then puts it through a strainer and a cheesecloth. At that point, it is pure fat, and this process is repeated seven times.

 

During the final render, Lewer infuses her products with essential oils or herbs. When it cools, she whips it.

 

The whipping process is necessary because rendered tallow is hard like cold butter, Lewer explains. “If you whip it with castor oil, it's a lot softer,” she said, “almost like your typical lotion, but just a little heavier consistency, so you use a lot less of it, which is nice.”

 

For tallow balm, Lewer recommends putting it on damp skin, because there's no water in the balm, unlike a typical lotion, which has a lot of added water.

 

Some people still like the added water for the feel of lotion, so Lewer now makes tallow lotion to accommodate that preference as well. Since water and oil don't mix, Lewer adds emulsifying wax and Geogard, a natural preservative, to keep the mixture from separating and spoiling.

 

Lewer is really careful about what she adds to her skin care line. “If you can't pronounce what's in your skin care, would you really want to put it on your skin?” she asks. “All of mine is essential oils and tallow and castor oil.”

 

Spoiling isn't normally an issue; rendered tallow will keep for one to two years under ideal conditions, and most of the products from Syd's Sleek Renderings will keep their scent for at least six months. “It depends on what essential oils and carrier oils are in it,” said Lewer. “It's not that [an older product] will mold or anything; it just won't smell as pleasant as it did.”

 

Lewer tries to source all her ingredients from the US. If something is hard to find, she takes to social media. “I'm in a lot of Facebook groups, so if I can't find something that's really local, I ask them.” Even if it's from a state that's really far away, Lewer still likes to purchase from “local” businesses.

 

Lewer isn't sure which is her most popular item. “I have so many things now,” she said, but estimates that her most popular items are still the whipped lavender balm and the whipped pomegranate balm.

 

Lewer descries her care line as “pretty much a little of everything.” Besides balms and lotions, she makes soaps, magnesium oils for sore muscles, deodorants, sugar scrubs, lip balms, care items for pets, and a hair care line that includes spray leave-in conditioner, curl cream, tallow hair mask, flaxseed protein hair mask, and a hair wax stick.

 

It came as a surprise to Lewer how popular the citrus scented products have become. “Lemon is so acidic, I thought it would burn,” said Lewer. Such was not the case. “I actually really like that one; it kind of smells like Skittles.

 

“I really like the sunburn relief,” said Lewer, who admits she's one of those people who never remembers to reapply sunscreen. “So I always get super burnt.”

 

Lewer still works 30 hours a week at Neighbor's Meats. She finds time to render tallow by rushing home during breaks. “It's kind of just a lot of nonstop hustle,” Lewer laughs. On weekends, she attends farmers markets and other summer events to sell her products.

 

Lewer is in the process of building her own website for the purpose of selling products online, but right now people contact her through Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok @syds_sleek_renderings. Her products can also be found at in-person locations, including Neighbor's Meats in New Richland, Mankato, and Owatonna; First Impressions in New Richland, Selective Looks in Owatonna, and Midwest Makers  Mercantile and Divine Echoes Esoterica in Mankato.

 

Those who enjoy events and farmers markets have found Syd's Sleek Renderings at Ellendale Days in Ellendale, Wind Down Wednesdays in Albert Lea, the Lansing Corners Bar & Grill in Austin, and various area farmers markets; Lewer alternates between towns, so she can make her products available to more people.

 

In the future, Lewer would like to develop shampoo and conditioner bars and candles. Also, in the interest of not wasting anything, she would like to learn how to use the muscle tissue that is rendered out to make chicken treats for feeding chickens. “It's supposed to be high in vitamins,” said Lewer.

 

For now, Lewer is really excited to create new scents for fall, like apple-cinnamon. “I'm trying to keep it seasonal,” said Lewer. “Hopefully I'll find some good recipes for it.”

 

It started off as a fun experiment, and at first Lewer found it strange to be thought of as “the skin care guru of New Richland,” but there is no question that Lewer wants to continue making products for Syd's Sleek Renderings. “I really like it!” she enthuses.

 

For those who still like to buy suet for making their own skin care products and traditional recipes, not to worry; Neighbor's Meats even renders it for you and sells it by the quart. For those who want great skin care products without all the extra labor, Syd's Sleek Renderings has you covered.