From Our Farm to Your Skin: The Story of Southern Oaks
Before I welcome you to our new website, I want to welcome you to the place behind it: our family’s farm on Wadmalaw Island, South Carolina.
My husband, Chris, and I are first-generation farmers raising four daughters alongside the animals and daily responsibilities that make up life at Southern Oaks Ranch + Dairy. Farming has taught us to pay attention to what we raise, how we care for it, and what we choose to make from it. That care is at the heart of Southern Oaks Skincare.
I want you to understand the ingredients we use, why they are there, and what they bring to a formula. I believe something can be beautiful and thoughtfully made while staying connected to the land.
That belief is what we are building here.
Our Roots in The Tallow House
Many of you first came to know us as The Tallow House. Perhaps we met at a farmers market, you brought home your first jar of whipped tallow, or a friend introduced you to our products.
However you found us, you have helped this business grow to what we are today.
Tallow remains an important part of our work. We use dry-rendered tallow, and we care about the process behind the ingredient as much as the final product in the jar. It represents something I value deeply: making thoughtful use of agricultural ingredients and recognizing the work that goes into producing them.
As our collections have grown, so has our vision. Southern Oaks gives that vision a home, bringing our work with tallow and ingredients from the hive together under one name. The Tallow House remains part of our story. Alongside it, The Apiary House gives our bee-inspired collection its own place within Southern Oaks. Both belong to our Agricultural Skincare House, where farming and formulation meet.
What “Agricultural Skincare” Means to Us
Agricultural skincare begins with an interest in where ingredients come from.
It means taking the farm seriously as part of the product’s story. It means being thoughtful about the ingredients we raise, the ingredients we source, and the people whose work makes them available. It also means recognizing that a finished jar represents many decisions long before it reaches your shelf.
Our guiding words “Farm to Face. Raw & Refined.” express that connection. We want the finished experience to feel beautiful while staying true to its agricultural roots.
As we grow, I want you to have a clearer view of those roots. This journal will be a place to share life on the farm, introduce ingredients, explain our approach, and take you behind the scenes of what we are creating.
A New Chapter in Charleston
Our new website is one part of this next chapter. We are also excitedly preparing to welcome you to our storefront at 569 King Street, Suite 101, in Charleston.
My hope is that our King Street store will bring you closer to Southern Oaks and to the agricultural community around us. Alongside our skincare collections, you will find thoughtfully selected products from local farmers and producers whose work we deeply trust. Through these partnerships, we want to introduce you to the people behind what you bring home and make it easier to support the farms that help sustain our community.
We envision our Agricultural Skincare House as a welcoming place to explore, ask questions, and discover how agriculture touches our everyday lives, from what we put on our skin to the goods we choose for our homes. We look forward to sharing these partnerships and welcoming you as opening day approaches.
Most importantly, we want this to be His house, a place where God is honored and every person who walks through our doors feels welcomed and cared for. Our care for you reaches beyond your skin. We care about your heart, your soul, and the things you may be carrying when you come in.
If you need prayer, we would be honored to pray with you. If you need someone to listen, we hope you will feel comfortable asking. My prayer is that Southern Oaks will be a place where you find encouragement, experience kindness, and leave feeling cared for as a whole person. We hope you will experience true Southern hospitality here, with a meaningful connection to the local farms, families, and people who make this community home.
For now, thank you for being here. To everyone who has shopped with us at a market, recommended a product, or encouraged our family along the way: your support has helped make this chapter possible.
Welcome to Southern Oaks. I am so honored to be able to share it with you.
Blessings,
Rachael Herndon
Founder, Southern Oaks Skincare