Our ingredients
Tallow
Tallow does two jobs at once. It softens the surface of the skin and it slows moisture escaping, which is why one thick fat covers ground that usually takes two products.
Skin recognises what is in it. The main fatty acids in tallow are palmitic, stearic and oleic, the same ones skin uses in its own outer layer. Vitamins A, D, E and K2 ride along in small amounts.
What you notice is texture. Dryness settles down, tightness lifts, and skin feels supple instead of coated.
Sweet almond oil
Sweet almond oil is what keeps our tallow balm feeling light. It moves into skin fast and leaves a soft finish with no weight behind it.
The oil runs high in oleic acid, with linoleic acid and vitamin E making up much of the rest. Both acids belong to the group skin uses to stay soft and hold water.
Almond oil has a long history of use on dry and sensitive skin, going back to Roman bathhouses.
Extra virgin olive oil
Extra virgin olive oil is one of the richest plant sources of squalene, a lipid your own skin makes. Squalene fills the microscopic gaps on the surface, which leaves skin smooth instead of merely oiled.
Oleic acid makes up the bulk of the oil. It softens the outer layer and slows moisture leaving it, so skin stays comfortable rather than tight.
Cold pressing keeps the rest intact. Polyphenols and vitamin E survive the process, and both are antioxidants.
Prickly pear oil
Prickly pear oil is one of the rarest oils in skincare, and the yield explains why. A single litre takes roughly a tonne of fruit, pressed from seeds small enough to sort by hand.
What you get for that is a very light oil. It absorbs in seconds and leaves a velvety finish rather than a film.
Linoleic acid runs to about two thirds of the profile, with vitamin E and phytosterols alongside. The linoleic content is what keeps it light, and the vitamin E is an antioxidant.
Bakuchiol
Bakuchiol is the plant-derived alternative to retinol. A trial put the two head to head at the same strength, and both improved the look of fine lines and uneven tone by a comparable margin.
The difference was comfort. Bakuchiol left skin alone, while the retinol group reported more stinging and flaking. It also does not photosensitise skin the way retinol does, so our face cream works in the morning as well as at night.
It comes from the seeds of Psoralea corylifolia, the babchi plant, used in Ayurvedic practice for centuries. In the face cream it is the ingredient working on texture and tone.