Vanman is the pick if you want a tallow and honey balm that names its suet, prints all eight essential oils, and comes in a 6 oz jumbo. Go to Neptune for manuka named on the page, a 60-day guarantee, and pack pricing that falls to $7.50 an ounce in sixes. Both are five-ingredient balms with beeswax and no water, and both grew out of a family kitchen story. The fork is what's in the essential oil blend, how the honey is described, and what size you want.
I read both product pages, plus Neptune's homepage and landing page and Vanman's no-essential-oil page, on September 6, 2026. Every number below is from that date. Both brands run bundles and promotions that change often, so read it as a snapshot.
The third jar, named here and once more after the table, is Recovery Balm ($74). It's not a honey balm. It's the jar in our line built for the job both of these pages describe most often, hard-worn spots and marks, and I'll say plainly what it costs and who it suits.
What's in each one?
Neptune's Grass Fed Tallow & Honey Balm prints a plain five-item list as of September 6, 2026: grass fed beef tallow, olive oil, honey, beeswax, essential oil blend. The blend isn't itemized. The product copy above the list says Manuka Honey UMF 10+, while the list itself says honey. Their landing page counts four ingredients and their sister manuka page says two, so the count depends on which Neptune page you land on. Suet isn't stated anywhere I read; grass-fed and grass-finished is.
Vanman's Tallow & Honey Face Balm prints five on the label: 100% grass-fed suet beef tallow, organic raw honey, beeswax, essential oils, organic olive oil. A second list on the same page names the oils: rose, sandalwood, copaiba balsam, frankincense serrata, frankincense carteri, rosalina, neroli and palmarosa. Suet is stated in the first line. The no-essential-oil page adds grass-fed and grass-finished, sourced from small family farms.
Neither carries water, so neither needs a preservative system. Neither prints an added antioxidant such as vitamin E, which means the fat's own freshness carries the shelf life. That's a choice plenty of good makers have made for years; it just puts more weight on how and when the batch was rendered.
Essential oil blends: named or not, and why it matters
This is the biggest practical difference between the two. Vanman names eight oils, so if you know you react to rose or sandalwood, you can see it before you buy. Neptune names none; the list says essential oil blend and the page doesn't expand it. That matters because essential oils are a genuine source of contact allergy. If your skin is reactive, a named list is worth more than any adjective on the page.
Both offer a way around the scent. Vanman's No Essential Oils version, $29 for 2 oz, is described as "not unscented" and the page says it "Will have a tallow smell", which I respect, because that's true of any undeodorized tallow. Neptune's sister manuka page says "No Smell (Yes really)" and describes the tallow as triple purified and deodorized, though its list still includes an essential oil blend. If you want to know what deodorizing does to the fat, will it smell like beef covers it.
Manuka or raw honey: what's the honey in each?
Neptune leads with manuka and gives a grade, UMF 10+, which is a real measure of the honey's methylglyoxal content: manuka's non-peroxide antibacterial activity comes from its methylglyoxal, which is what the Unique Manuka Factor rating describes, so UMF and MGO track each other. Vanman uses organic raw honey with no origin or grade stated. Either way it's raw honey in an oil balm, and raw honey runs about 17% water, so both brands use beeswax to hold it in suspension. That's the standard fix and it works for a while. The honey can still settle over months. I went a different way, with an oil-soluble manuka extract, and manuka honey in skincare explains the UMF and MGO grades and the choice.
Sizes, price per ounce, and guarantees
Neptune sells one size, 2 oz, at $33.00 as of September 6, 2026, or $16.50 an ounce. The packs are where the math changes: three for $60.00 ($10.00 an ounce) and six for $90.00 ($7.50 an ounce). The two-pack is $68.00 as printed, which is more than two singles, so check the cart before you check out. A landing page shows 15% off on subscription ($28.05). Free shipping starts at $50. The product page says "100% Happiness Guarantee" with no day count; the homepage and site footer say 60-Day, so I've used that.
Vanman sells 2 oz at $29.00 ($14.50 an ounce) and a 6 oz jumbo at $66.00 ($11.00 an ounce) with an $87.00 compare-at price shown. Subscribing takes an extra 10% off, which brings the 2 oz to $13.05 an ounce. Free shipping starts at $40, and orders over $80 add a free sunblock. The guarantee reads "Full refund, no questions" and gives no day window. The jumbo's the size you buy when your teenager finds your face balm.
| Spec, as of September 6, 2026 | Neptune Grass Fed Tallow & Honey Balm | Vanman Tallow & Honey Face Balm, Classic |
|---|---|---|
| List price | $33.00; packs of 3 ($60.00) and 6 ($90.00) | $29.00 (2 oz); $66.00 (6 oz, $87.00 compare-at shown) |
| Size | 2 oz (net weight printed) | 2 oz or 6 oz |
| Price per oz | $16.50 single; $10.00 and $7.50 in packs | $14.50; $11.00 |
| Ingredient count | 5; blend not itemized | 5 on the label; 8 essential oils named |
| Suet stated | No | Yes |
| Water | None | None |
| Whipped | No (a separate whipped pack is sold) | No |
| Unscented option | Not on this page; sister manuka page says "No Smell" | Yes, No Essential Oils version, $29.00; "not unscented" |
| Essential oils | Yes, unnamed blend | Yes, eight named |
| Honey | Manuka Honey UMF 10+ in copy; list says honey | Organic raw honey |
| Guarantee | 60-day (homepage and footer); "100%" on the product page | Full refund, no window stated |
| Where made | "Handmade Fresh Weekly in the USA" (homepage) | "Hand made in small batches"; founder story in San Diego |
Who is Neptune for?
Neptune does the bulk honey balm well in its own terms. Manuka is named with a UMF grade, the 60-day window is the longest in this post, jars are made weekly in small batches, and the six-pack lands at $7.50 an ounce. The homepage shows a 4.9 rating from 4,537+ reviews. There's a free gift on refills and a pause-or-cancel subscription.
It's the pick for someone buying for a household, who wants manuka named and a long try window, and who doesn't need the oils itemized. A sister page says the balm "Works for Wrinkles, dark spots, redness, eczema, dry heels, elbows, hands", a landing page is titled "Tallow and Honey Healing Balm", and another line reads "Natures Botox in a Jar". Those are their claims to make; they aren't ones I make for any balm, ours included. The standard for health-related advertising is competent and reliable scientific evidence, judged on the net impression of the whole ad, and implied claims count the same as stated ones.
Who is Vanman for?
Vanman does the fully labeled scented face balm well. Suet is on the first line, the eight oils are printed, the no-essential-oil version tells you it will smell like tallow, and the 6 oz jumbo is the cheapest per-ounce single jar in this post. The founder is named (Jeremy, who started in a van in San Diego in 2020), and the page shows a 4.9 rating from 4,821 reviews. Free shipping at $40 is the lower of the two, and one jumbo clears it.
It's the pick for someone who wants a rose-and-sandalwood scent with every oil disclosed, or who reacts to specific oils and needs the names. Their page says the balm is "Powerful enough to heal the skin" and that customers use it for rashes, eczema, psoriasis and sunburn. Again, that's their claim, not mine. It's cosmetic care, not a treatment. Your provider's plan comes first.
Where does Craft fit as the third jar?
Recovery Balm ($74 for 2 oz, $37 an ounce) is the jar I'd set beside these two for the job their pages keep coming back to: heels, elbows, hands, and the look of marks. It's the most expensive jar in this post by a wide margin, and it's for a narrower job, so if honey is why you're shopping, it isn't your match. Nine ingredients, every one named: 100% suet tallow from grass-fed and grass-finished Montana cattle, meadowfoam oil, tamanu oil, rosehip CO2 extract, sea buckthorn CO2 extract, arrowroot, helichrysum essential oil, vitamin E and rosemary antioxidant CO2. The golden color is the sea buckthorn, and it contains tree nuts (tamanu). No honey, no beeswax. It's poured dense, sold by weight (56 g), and blended in small batches in the Mountain West. Its one job is the look of scars and stretch marks, settled tattoos, and hard-worn spots, with the 60-Day Skin Test on it. Julianna's verified review describes a scar that looked like regular skin instead of red scar skin after a few weeks. Here's Recovery Balm.
The jar for this job is Recovery Balm ($74). Subscribe to two jars and a third rides free, and every subscription takes 25% off the first delivery.
Questions we hear
Does Neptune's balm contain manuka honey?
The product copy says Manuka Honey UMF 10+ as of September 6, 2026, while the printed ingredient list says honey. If the grade matters to you, that's the question to ask them before buying.
Which essential oils are in Vanman's balm?
Eight, named on the page: rose, sandalwood, copaiba balsam, frankincense serrata, frankincense carteri, rosalina, neroli and palmarosa. The No Essential Oils version leaves them all out and doesn't pretend to be unscented; it keeps the tallow scent.
Is either balm whipped?
No. Neither product page describes its balm as whipped; Neptune sells a separate whipped pack, and Vanman doesn't mention texture beyond hand-made in small batches.
Which is cheaper per ounce?
At a single jar, Vanman: $14.50 an ounce at 2 oz and $11.00 at 6 oz, against Neptune's $16.50, as of September 6, 2026. In packs, Neptune's six-pack at $7.50 an ounce is the lowest figure on either site.
What's the guarantee at each?
Neptune's homepage and footer give 60 days; the product page says 100% with no window. Vanman promises a full refund and gives no window. Craft's 60-Day Skin Test refunds the product price within sixty days if your skin disagrees.
Why point to Recovery Balm here rather than a honey balm?
Because the job both pages describe most is heels, elbows, hands and marks, and that's what Recovery is built for. If honey is the reason you're shopping, Honey Glow ($42) is the match, and the whole line is in the balms collection.
Go deeper
Start with the complete guide to beef tallow for skin. Then read caring for the look of scars and stretch marks, the helichrysum chemistry that anchors Recovery Balm, and what tamanu oil does and why it's a tree nut. For settled ink, tattoo care for settled tattoos explains why moisturized skin reads sharper, and the comparison page sets 12 brands side by side if two isn't the shortlist you wanted. For VanMan beside one of ours, Craft Tallow vs VanMan sets their tallow and honey balm next to Honey Glow.
Sources
- Alvarez-Suarez JM et al. (2014). The Composition and Biological Activity of Honey: A Focus on Manuka Honey. Foods 3:420-432.
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central: Honey (FDC ID 169640). USDA.
- Warshaw EM et al. (2021). Contact Dermatitis to Essential Oils. Current Dermatology Reports.
- Federal Trade Commission (2022). Health Products Compliance Guidance. FTC.
Brian is the founder of Craft Tallow, a small-batch tallow skincare line shipped from Cottonwood Heights, Utah, built on 100% grass-fed suet. Questions? Reply to any email from us; it lands with him.