Prairie Farmapothecary - Tallow Balm

Product Notes:

Most of us city slickers are pretty hazy about the nature of tallow, but basically it's animal fat which has been rendered (purified). It's usually produced from the thick, largely inedible layers of dense fat known as "suet" on the loins of certain animals (primarily cattle or lamb) or around their kidneys or other organs, and tends to be distinguished from lard (which is sourced from pork fat, although both can be used for baking or deep frying or for making candles).

The fatty composition of beef tallow is actually pretty similar to what's normally in our own skin's cell membranes - both consist of 50% saturated fat - and has the same three fatty acids (palmitoleic, stearic and oleic) which make olive oil so good for moisturizing and protecting the skin. And when the tallow is derived from grass-fed beef, like this, it's also replete with skin-nourishing vitamins A, D, E, and K, which also have antioxidant properties. These fatty acids can not only help soothe inflammatory conditions like acne, dermatitis, eczema, and rosacea, but also provide a natural protective barrier against the elements (just as the sebum from our own sebaceous glands does), and the vitamins help protect against UV and other oxidative damage.

Prairie Farmapothecary is a new sub-brand of Pure Anada Cosmetics, based in Morden, Manitoba, which is about two hours south-west of us here in Winnipeg, by car. They source their grass-fed beef tallow from small, independent and regenerative farms and beef processors in their local area. And because pure beef tallow can be a little difficult to apply and a bit, yes, meaty in odour, they have blended it with several plant-based oils (including either Jojoba or extra-virgin olive oil and lavender and other essential oils) to make them more spreadable and to give them a more calming and refreshing scent.

With a rich and smooth texture, the Body Tallow Balm is quite concentrated: only a small amount is needed per use. The Face Tallow Balm, which is whipped into a cream, is suitable for all skin types, including for gracefully aging skin with wrinkles or age spots, or even for acne- and blemish-prone skin (since beef tallow is considered non-comedogenic: it comes in at 2 on a scale of 0 to 5, so has only a moderately low likelihood of clogging pores. Finally, because the skin in our lips has very little fat content and really suffers in dry and wintry conditions, the tallow-infused Honeydream Lip Mask has also been bolstered with several other types of protective plant oils and animal waxes (including calendula and lanolin) to nourish and plump them up and to help prevent chapping, flaking, and cracking.