Tallow for your skin
5 reasons why tallow improves your skin’s radiance and vitality
The last 70 years have distorted public perception of tallow. The advent of petrochemicals has greatly reduced the presence of tallow within the skincare industry. The funny part is, tallow has been used used for millennia for various purposes. From cooking oil to a quick source of healthy, dense energy. People like the Sumerians to the Native Americans have cherished tallow for its naturally long shelf life, to it’s versatility in use cases.
Nowadays, with the recent revolt against toxic seed oils and synthetic cosmetics. Tallow has had a renaissance that has sparked an entire cottage industry. Churning out everything from tallow soap, candles, balms, cooking fat, beard balm, salves and many more.
1. Biologically Perfect for Human Consumption and Topical Application
Tallow has been used for thousands of years, not only as a source of high quality calories for survival. But it doubled as a base for all kinds of uses. Soaps, candles, waxes, ointments, balms, cooking fat, and even a natural food preservative. Tallow was always preferred over most alternatives due to its high smoking point and ability to be reused without damage to the fatty acid chain. It's a fat that our bodies can readily absorb, both through consumption, and through topical application. The structure of tallow is such that it is jam packed with saturated fats our body needs for the vital preservation of the Myelin sheath surround which protects and surrounds the neurons in our brain and spine. It can be said that tallow, like other saturated fats from ruminant animals, is neuro preservative and thus can be considered a cognitive enhancer.
Due to tallow’s animal based origin, it has the unique ability to penetrate deeper into the skin due to the biological similarities with the human dermus. Breaking things down further, tallow contains stratum corneum lipids. These are the ceramides, cholesterol and fatty acids contained in the extracellular skin matrix. These different elements, are what gives tallow its similarity to the natural oils in our skin. Based on its composition, tallow is proven to mimic your skin. Given the molecular structure of our skin and its synergies with tallow, it may be considered an almost bioidentical, natural skincare ingredient with a bounty of beneficial nutrients.
A very interesting trait of tallow is that it behaves as a natural sebum for our skin, and cooperates with our natural oils, giving the skin the ability to regulate moisture levels effortlessly. The glands known as the sebaceous glands are able to trap moisture in, especially during those cold winter months when many people suffer from dry skin. Tallow helps our skin do this, while not clogging our pores. Unlike petrochemical or plant based skincare, your body accepts tallow, it’s not foreign to our skin, and thusly the symbiosis between the product and your body, works effortlessly.
2. Healthy Saturated Fats for the Skin
There is plenty of evidence to support the skin’s need for saturated fatty acids. They help regulating the skin barrier and allow for the skin to more consistently stay hydrated, even in austere conditions such as extreme cold or extreme dryness. Tallow, being in rich in the many of the highest quality saturated fatty acids, such as stearic acid, brings a slew of benefits to our skin.
Saturated fat, keeps dry skin, inflammation and premature aging at bay. The cell membranes of skin, are made up of approximately 50% saturated fat, and by applying them directly to our skin from a clean source such as grass fed tallow, nourishes the membranes. Tallow is very structurally similar to sebum, which is the lubricant our skin naturally produces.
3. Omega-3 & CLA - A Match Made in Heaven
A unique attribute of tallow is that it has a very good ratio of omega-3 to omega-6. Whereas many products are touted as having high levels of omega-3, tell you is that the obscenely high levels of omega-6, or actually completely negating the omega-3 that is contained there. This is because Omega 6 and 3 compete for the same absorption pathways in our bodies. So you may think you're consuming high levels of omega-3, when in reality you are not. Another thing to note is that omega-6 is actually toxic for our bodies. By Eliminating the omega-6 problem, you are allowing your body the opportunity to absorb what it needs to.
Having a high concentration of CLA in beef tallow, aids heavily with skin irritations such as: redness, irritated skin, cracked skin, and very dry skin. It doesn’t matter if you already have oily skin anyway, because the CLA found in tallow helps the skin find it’s balance point, and returns to it’s naturally optimal oil levels. Tallow doesn’t discriminate on skin type. CLA is generally very hard to source in nature, and the unstable sources like seed oils, are highly processed and have alarmingly high levels of deadly polyunsaturated fats (PUFA’s) which cause oxidative damage to the skin. What’s even better, is that grass-fed Cows, like the one’s we use to make our balm, have 500 times higher levels of CLA than grain-fed cows.
4. Nature’s Vitamin Bomb
There are 2 factors to take into account in this one. One, is that beef tallow is packed with vitamins. Two, beef tallow allows your body to actually use these vitamins, as they are fat-soluable, and many processed fats will not allow the body to properly uptake them. So, not only does tallow help you absorb more nutrients from your food, but beef tallow is also rich in vitamins A, D, E, K, and B1. All of which are absolutely vital to the healthy state of body and mind for us humans.
Vitamin E - The Magic Touch
Anti-Aging is one of the buzz words that been thrown around for years, for good reason. Environmental factors that we are now exposed to, especially through processed oils and foods, deteriorate the collagen in our skin, hair and nails. This depletion of collagen leads to wrinkles, fine lines and dark spots on aging skin. Vitamin E is prized for it’s ability to fight this depletion and regenerate the skin’s natural levels. Vitamin E is found in very high levels in grass-fed tallow and as such helps reverse the damage caused by free radical induced skin damage.
5. Acne, Eczema, Dry Skin, Psoriasis & Other Ails
Tallow is naturally anti-inflammatory. It has various properties that contribute to addressing skin concerns. It’s suitable for sensitive skin and even for young children as an effective baby lotion. Niacin, the active form of Vitamin B3, is readily absorbed through topical application, providing numerous anti-inflammatory benefits to combat various skin conditions, including rosacea, psoriasis, dermatitis, eczema and acne. Additionally, niacin acts as a humectant, supporting skin cell growth, wound healing, and collagen production, while also exhibiting antimicrobial qualities.
Tallow creates a barrier, and due to it’s essential fatty acids profile, it restores the skin barrier back to optimal health. These EFAs are skin-friendly, gentle, and compatible with the skin due to their natural occurrence in tallow. Just under half of tallow's fatty acid profile is oleic acid, and its higher concentration of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids preserves the efficacy of this balance of acids, preventing degradation from oxygen and light. Tallow's rich stearic acid content aids in repairing damaged skin barriers and enhancing skin suppleness, setting it apart from it’s counterpart found in the highly processed seed and vegetable oils.
Applied topically, tallow can be beneficial for oily or acne-prone skin, because of the high fatty acid content, the bioavailability of niacin, and the presence of naturally occurring fat-soluble Vitamins A and E. These acids not only support skin barrier function but may also exhibit anti-inflammatory properties, making beef tallow a great candidate for acne scars. Lightening skin pigmentation is another attribute of the high levels of good fatty acids in tallow, particularly in acne-prone skin.
Grass-fed tallow may exhibit a more yellowish hue due to its heightened carotenoid content, and this slight change in colour indicates elevated levels of Vitamin A, which is a precursor to retinol. Vitamin A speeds up skin cell turnover, mitigating acne and irritation of the skin. Furthermore, the niacin found in grass-fed tallow acts as a potent antioxidant, which can improve the tone and texture of one’s skin.