In today’s world, there are endless options when it comes to skincare products. It can be overwhelming and honestly just really hard to sort through them all. So let’s wade through some of the nuance and simplify things a little bit. This post is all about getting back to the fundamentals and understanding your skincare products and routines on a biological level.
Why your skin understands tallow
Picture this: you dump a cup of water into a cup of oil. You already know what is going to happen: the oil is going to sit right on top of the water, keeping the two ingredients totally separate.
Now picture this: you dump a cup of orange juice into a cup of water. The two blend seamlessly together, creating a diluted cup of o.j.
The same thing happens every morning when we apply moisturizers to our face. Depending on the chemical makeup of your product, it is either going to sit right on top of your skin, totally separate and unintegrated, OR it is going to blend right in.
Now, let’s get rid of the fluff and get right into the nitty gritty.
All fats and oils have a unique fatty acid profile. Tallow’s fatty acid profile almost perfectly matches that of natural human skin sebum (like water and orange juice). When tallow is applied to the skin, your skin’s natural sebum recognizes that tallow.
Conventional moisturizers with synthetic ingredients tend to sit right on top of your skin because their chemical makeup is so different than our skin’s.
What is biocompatibility and how does it apply to tallow?
Now that we’ve mentioned the near identical fatty acid profile of tallow and human skin sebum, we may as well get into the specifics of it. These are the main components that are found in both human skin sebum and tallow that give it that biocompatibility (think: like calls to like).
- Palmitic Acid: this is a saturated fat and a major component of the natural skin barrier. Palmitic acid creates a protective barrier that helps to retain your skin’s natural moisture.
- Stearic Acid: an important long-chain fatty acid that is partly responsible for the texture of our skin, working to soften and smooth it out. It also works as a cleaner to help remove excess oils from the skin, creating a self-cleaning system.
- Oleic Acid: a mono-unsaturated fatty acid that aids in the fight to resist transepidermal water loss. It also helps to keep the skin nice and supple.
The key here is the balance of the different fatty acids that are found in both tallow and human sebum. For example, oleic acid on it’s own can be quite inflammatory, but when kept in check with stearic acid, it can perform its job without the downside. That is another reason we love tallow in skincare: the fatty acids are already in a bioavailable form that the skin can digest properly, rather than separate compounds acting in isolation.
In this case, size really does matter
When it comes to skincare and specifically hydration, size matters. Molecules come in many different sizes. Why this matters for your skin, is because only molecules of a certain size or smaller are able to actually penetrate the skin barrier and work their magic in the skin. The rest that are too big simply sit on top.
Tallow molecules are small enough to make their way into the layers of the skin and provide that deep, long-lasting moisture and hydration.
Many ingredients that are used in conventional moisturizers, such as silicones and mineral oils, are often too large and therefore sit on top the skin without nourishing the skin on a cellular level.
Absorption and evaporation
Before you keep reading, read out article on the truth about fillers in skincare products. The short: conventional moisturizers and serums are often made up of 70% water, not active ingredients.
If there’s one thing we know about water, it’s that it likes to evaporate. That applies for even when it’s on your skin. What’s even worse is that water evaporates off of your skin, it can take your skin’s natural moisture with it, creating a drying effect and ultimately a dependence on more moisturizer to keep it feel hydrated. This process is called transepidermal water loss.
These conventional products are getting your skin addicted by creating a new problem or exasperating one that was already there.
Tallow on the other hand, is rich in saturated fats that create a seal on your skin and prevents that transepidermal water loss, locking moisture into your skin rather than helping it evaporate into thin air.
What to look for when shopping for tallow skincare
There are many tallow skincare options on the market today. When shopping, look for descriptors like grass fed tallow, the region it's sourced from, how it's processed and prioritize shopping from smaller companies who source from local farms.
Does tallow contain cholesterol?
Yes, grass-fed tallow is loaded with bioavailable cholesterol, which is a naturally-occurring component of human skin sebum. Cholesterol is not found in plant-based moisturizers, but is crucial for skin moisture and suppleness.
Is tallow more effective than plant oils?
That depends on what you are looking for. If what you want is deep hydration that penetrates beneath the surface, lasts all day, and blends into your skin without feeling greasy, then yes, tallow is more effective than plant oils.
Why is grass-fed tallow better than conventional tallow molecularly?
When it comes to tallow, the diet of the cows truly does make a difference. Cows that are raised eating grass their whole lives as opposed to corn and grain have high levels of Vitamins A, D, E, and K, making their tallow a nutrient powerhouse for the skin.