Are tallow products safe to use on babies and children?

We get this question a lot, and the simple answer is that tallow soaps and balms are completely safe for children and babies. In fact, the vitamins and nutrients in tallow products can be highly beneficial for babies and children for keeping their skin soft, smooth, and protected. It can also help soothe symptoms of skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, dry skin, and dermatitis, to name a few. 

Are there any concerns when choosing a soap or balm for my child?

The one concern we come across when discussing whether or not tallow soaps and balms are safe for children (or anyone with sensitive skin) is when it comes to the essential oils in our soaps and their scent. We only use essential oils in our soaps and not fragrance oils to minimize the risk of any skin irritations. The essential oils we use in our soaps and balms are 100% natural oils made from plant extract. Synthetic ingredients used in fragrance oils are more likely to cause skin irritation than essential oils. Typically, unless you are allergic to the plant itself, essential oils are safe to use on the skin and can actually help the skin. Depending on the type of essential oil, the health benefits may differ along with the scent and shelf life. Many essential oils are used for their anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antimicrobial, and pain relief properties. However, each essential oil has specific health benefits and should be chosen based on each person's health and skincare needs.

Essential oils, when used properly, are safe for babies and children. If you know that the child has extremely sensitive skin, we recommend sticking to tallow soaps and balms that don't contain any fragrance. This is the best way to ensure they don’t have any sort of reaction to the product. In general, when dealing with sensitive skin, it is better to use unscented products to reduce the risk of irritation.

Why is tallow good for children's and babies' skin?

Much like adults, tallow is great for children's and babies' skin because of the vitamins and nutrients it provides. Tallow contains vitamins A, D, E, K, and B12, which contribute to skin health and appearance. Given that the fat saturation of tallow is close to human fat, the vitamins within it can be absorbed into the body easier, and it locks in moisture and nutrients without clogging pores. Even in babies and children, this can be beneficial. If your child has dry skin or other skin conditions, this may help calm any symptoms and keep their skin moisturized for longer. 

What is white labeling? Our latest partnership with Walden Local Meat.

We have been working with Walden Local Meat for quite some time, and we have exclusively purchased our suet from their farms for about a year. Walden Local is an incredible company that focuses on connecting farmers and their quality agricultural products to consumers. They found farmers in the New England and New York area doing everything right to feed and raise animals. They work with these local farmers to get their products packaged and delivered to the community. With nearly ten years of experience in the tallow industry, we really related to their mission and commitment to using and distributing sustainable, local, and nutrient-rich products. In our latest partnership with Walden Local, we are using their tallow to white label soaps and balms for them. Specifically, they will carry Unscented Soap (Healthy Porcupine Pure Tallow Soap) and Unscented Balm. 

What is white labeling? 

White label products are sold by retailers with their own branding and logo, but a third party manufactures them. The labeling will include the retailer's name prominently on the label and not the actual manufacturer, so the end product appears as though it has been produced by the retailer. A perfect example of this is Trader Joe's or Costco. It is no secret that these two grocery chains offer Trader Joe's or Kirkland brand products that other known retailers produce. In fact, according to MoneyWise, the Kirkland Brand coffee is actually made by Starbucks and simply white-labeled to be branded as Kirkland coffee. This is a very common occurrence for big-box retailers. You have likely seen this at your favorite grocery chain. 

What are the benefits of white labeling?

There are many benefits to white labeling and a variety of reasons brands choose to go this route. Having quality products manufactured and labeled can save money on production costs and time. As an established soap brand with the necessary equipment and expertise, it is much easier for us to white label soaps for a brand instead of the brand starting to make soap from scratch. We also maintain quality control standards, so the brand can ensure the products they provide to their customers are of the highest quality. White labeling is also a great tool that allows brands to broaden the range of products they offer and provide more of what their customers need, increasing brand loyalty.

White Labeling vs. Private Labeling

White labeling is the process of selling an existing product through a different channel, usually with a tweak or two in terms of packaging, marketing, and pricing. This can be done so that you can increase your reach, gain exposure to new customers or move from one retailer to another. However, private labeling sells products to one specific brand to allow them sole access to use their branding. In other words, the manufacturer will produce an item specifically for a retailer like Target or Amazon, and the manufacturer is limited to selling that product to that brand exclusively. 

White and private labeling are very common in many industries for goods and services. You can find white labeling and private labeling in clothing, food, electronics, technology, home goods, and more. It allows businesses of any size to diversify their income and product offerings and remain competitive in their industry and with their customers.  

We white label our products for Walden Local and a few other wholesale clients. Whether our soaps are white-labeled or come with your favorite Healthy Porcupine logo, they are still quality, sustainable soaps that we are thrilled to share with the world. #OptOutOfTheChemicalLifestyle

Happy holidays from the Healthy Porcupine

Change and flexibility have become constants in 2020 and 2021. We have learned to adapt and find joy in the everyday. While we usually share soap-related content with you each month, this month, we want to reflect on 2021 and share our plans for the holidays and beyond. 

This past year has had a little bit of everything for us. We experienced loss with the passing of our two oldest cats, Boo (17) and Anya (15), and some setbacks like when Jen slipped on ice and ended up in bed for a month with a back injury. Still, we also have had some incredible personal and professional growth. 

We adopted a new kitten, Wyatt, in May. This will be his first Christmas, so we hope everything will go well with the tree (so far…eh, it could be worse?). Here is a photo of Elliot and Wyatt. They have become fast friends since Wyatt arrived. We adopted both of them from the Upper Valley Humane Society in Enfield, NH (Elliot was adopted in 2013.)

This year, from the business side of things, we transitioned from vending at markets and other events to focusing entirely on our online and wholesale orders. While we miss seeing our customers in person and catching up with them, it gives us the necessary time to make soap and fulfill orders, allowing us to grow and serve more customers all over the country.

Thanksgiving was busy for us this year with our exciting Small Business Saturday sale and family visits. We want to take it a bit easier with a staycation for Christmas. We plan to catch up on a couple of our favorite Christmas movies like Christmas Vacation, Trading Places, and Scrooged and we’re also hoping to check out a few local breweries in New Hampshire. At home, we are currently loving our Lavender and Spearmint Tallow Soap. It has given us the bright, calming boost we needed this holiday season.

We will also be trying something new in the kitchen this Christmas. We’ll be making homemade pear and gorgonzola ravioli. We’ve made homemade pasta several times before, and it’s a lot of fun and delicious! You can check out the recipe here: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/255519/homemade-pear-and-gorgonzola-ravioli/

We are incredibly grateful and thankful for our customers and their support because we could not be doing this without all of you. We have some exciting things in store for the coming year, some of which are new soap varieties in the works. Stay tuned for our 2022 updates, and if you haven’t already, follow us on social for the latest news. 

We hope you all have a happy and healthy holiday season with the ones you love! 

Are tallow soaps and balms a sustainable option?

Sustainability is a crucial topic these days. With the effects of climate change ever-present, we want to make sure the products we use and create are made with sustainability in mind. When considering how to opt-out of the chemical lifestyle, we knew we wanted to make soaps that were good for our bodies and better for the environment. That is why we chose tallow for our soaps and stopped using palm oil products. Palm oil is the most common tallow soap alternative because it is cheap; however, it is typically not harvested sustainably or ethically. Unfair labor practices, animal cruelty, and rapid deforestation are common in the palm oil industry, making it far less sustainable long term.

On the other hand, tallow soap utilizes an animal by-product that would typically go to waste. Pasture-based tallow is made by rendering suet. Beef suet is the fat found around the loins and kidneys of cows. To render the tallow, the suet is chopped up, melted over low heat, the liquid fat is strained to separate solid pieces, and the liquid fat is allowed to cool, resulting in rendered tallow. The suet used to make tallow is typically considered waste in the farming industry. After the meat that most people eat is harvested, the suet is leftover with other non-traditional parts.

Rendering tallow from suet when making soaps and balms helps reduce waste by using something otherwise discarded. As for the type of suet we use, we use grass-fed, pasture-raised suet to make our tallow. We want to ensure our soaps are made using humanely sourced ingredients that are high quality. While tallow may seem like an odd choice for soap, the added vitamins and nutrients and the sustainable benefits actually make tallow a better choice for soap than palm oil.

Ultimately, Tallow soaps help alleviate waste from the farming industry by utilizing suet (beef fat) and turning it into a vitamin-rich skincare product. Using suet from grass-finished and pasture-raised cattle can ensure humane treatment of the cattle. In addition to these great ethical and sustainable qualities of tallow soap, we also make sure to use recyclable packaging to limit delivery waste.

We believe that tallow soap is the perfect choice for sustainable soap. It is compatible with our skin and filled with the vitamins and nutrients our skin craves. Try out one of our soaps and balms and see for yourself how beneficial tallow soap is for you and the environment.

Tips for Using Essential Oils Safely

As you can tell from our previous blog posts, we are big fans of all-natural essential oils. We use them in our soaps and balms, and we can use them for so much more.  As long as we are using them safely, the possibilities are endless. It can be tricky to understand just what to do with essential oils and how to do it safely. Just because a product is natural doesn’t mean we can always use it in its natural form or excess. That is why we wanted to share some information on how to use essential oils properly. We want to try and help spread information that can keep our customers safe.

Essential oils are made from various plants, barks, rinds, leaves, herbs, and flowers. The oil is extracted using different methods depending on the type of material, and each oil is different with unique benefits, scents, and potencies. All of the essential oils we use in our products are diluted with sunflower oil and tallow when we put them into the product. Diluting the oil in the product makes the essential oil softer and less likely to irritate the skin. Some essential oils are not made to be directly placed on the skin because their potency is too high, and they may cause irritation. When starting your essential oil journey, here are some important tips to keep in mind.  

Use essential oils for aromatherapy safely. Put the oil in a diffuser, humidifier, in soaps or lotions.

Never put essential oils in your eyes, nose, mouth, or sensitive areas. Unless they can be ingested, it can be extremely dangerous to ingest or absorb some of these oils. Lemongrass, peppermint, and cinnamon bark are examples of oils you shouldn’t consume.

Essential oils that are safe for you may not be safe for your pets.  Always check with your veterinarian before introducing a diffuser to your home and never use essential oils topically on your pets unless your veterinarian says it's okay. 

Always check the quality of the oils you are using. Especially if you are putting them on your skin, we use natural essential oils instead of fragrance oils. Fragrance oils can irritate the skin, and you don’t want to get a rash unnecessarily. You can avoid this by researching the company you are purchasing your oils from and checking quality standards.

Throw out older oils. After three years, oils may be spoiled due to oxygen exposure and can irritate your skin. 

Research all the oils you use. You shouldn’t ingest some skin-safe oils, and you shouldn’t put some ingestible oils on your skin. It is important to know the difference, so you don’t end up sick or with a rash.

Speak to a medical professional about the oils you use. If you’re ever worried about using or ingesting an oil, speak to your doctor and make sure it is safe for you. Each person is different, and you never know how your body will react to things specifically. Just because it works for a friend or family member doesn’t mean it will work for you.

Dilute your oils.  Undiluted oils are too potent to use right out of the bottle. Diluting them helps keep them at a level that is less likely to cause a reaction. You can dilute them with water, vegetable oils, creams, or bath gels, to make them softer for your body. A lower percentage of essential oil is less likely to cause a reaction.

Be mindful of the condition of your skin. Some essential oils may be safe to use on skin conditions, but some are not. Putting the wrong essential oils on damaged skin can worsen irritation.

Be careful with the amount of oil you use. Undiluted oil is powerful, and even diluted oil can cause a reaction if you put on too much at one time.

Most importantly, listen to your body and do your research. Doing the research is the best way to ensure that the oil is of good quality and correctly used. Once you have done your research, you can test it to make sure it works for your body. Essential oils are safe to use and contain vast health benefits; that is why we use them in our soaps. They are more than just scents; they are filled with antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, antiseptics, and other amazing qualities. We encourage you to embrace the world of essential oils but always do it carefully.

What does it mean to opt-out of the chemical lifestyle?

Over eight years ago, we decided it was time to opt-out of the chemical lifestyle. To us, opting out of the chemical lifestyle is a decision to use natural products with straightforward ingredients whenever possible. We use chemicals in our homes, our bodies, and at work. While we know some chemicals are necessary, and it would be difficult to cut them out 100%, limiting our exposure to unnecessary chemicals can benefit our health and the world around us. Specifically, we want to limit our exposure to synthetics—artificial chemical compounds that are usually cheap and easy to make. These synthetic chemicals are typically not environmentally conscious and can be bad for our health/skin. 

When it comes to soap and skin specifically, we began making soap because we realized how damaging these synthetic chemicals could be to our skin. They have little to no health benefits, and they can actually work against us. Opting out of the chemical lifestyle was a way for us to take control of our skin health by making and using products that give us added health benefits. That is why we only use pasture-based beef suet in our soaps and all-natural essential oils in our products. By using pasture-based beef suet, we can ensure our tallow is nutrient-rich without unnecessary chemicals and hormones.

Similarly, using all-natural essential oils help keep our products safe for most skin types with less risk of irritation than synthetic fragrance oils. Making our products healthy for our customers and us is our top priority, but sustainable production is equally important. We make sure we support sustainable farming practices that value and nourish the soil, and we use reusable packing whenever possible to help keep our oceans clean. When it comes to our soaps, opting out of the chemical lifestyle is more than a motto, it's a lifestyle. We want to make sure we embrace it while also making it easy for our customers to opt-out of this lifestyle along with us. 

Opting out of the chemical lifestyle may look different for everyone, but ultimately, it is choosing to use natural ingredients and products. It may not always be possible, but making that choice and working towards it is enough. When you start to consider opting out of the chemical lifestyle, there are several ways to do it and how you begin is also up to you. Here are some great suggestions to get you started: 

• Shopping at local businesses with locally sourced ingredients.

• Utilize reusable packaging through package-free wholesale stores or alternative uses.

• Research ingredients and learn what natural, sustainable products work best for you.

• Using companion gardening to deal with pests and diseases instead of pesticides. This hugely aides the bee community.

We want to emphasize that we are not perfect; no one is. But, we should always strive to be better a little bit at a time. Keep educating ourselves, and apply one thing at a time. We hope this blog makes opting out of the chemical lifestyle a little easier for you. 

What are the benefits of handmade soap?

People buy handmade soaps for a variety of reasons. Maybe it’s to support local businesses, to live healthier, to use better ingredients, or to have transparency in the ingredients they use, but no matter what the reason is, we believe it is the right choice.

Benefit No. 1: Handmade soaps use are often natural and free of chemicals  

We believe that a soap is only as good as its ingredients. Why not use a soap that helps your skin and smells nice, instead of one or the other? That is why we chose to opt-out of the chemical lifestyle about eight years ago. By handmaking soaps that are formulated with fewer chemicals and more simple ingredients, you get higher quality bars of soap. Our all-natural tallow-based soaps are made with grass-finished beef tallow that has a similar fat composition to human skin. This means the body absorbs the nutrients from the tallow, like vitamins A, D, E, K, and B12, much easier than traditional soaps.

 Mass-produced soaps are often filled with chemicals and ingredients that people can’t even pronounce like synthetic detergents and preservatives that offer little to no benefit to the skin. These added chemicals are used for smell, preservation, or aesthetics and can cause skin reactions and irritations.

Going with a small brand usually means you can easily obtain and understand the ingredients. Our handmade natural soaps are made in small batches with grass-finished tallow, extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, and natural essential oils that are gentle and soothing for the skin. We want you to trust and rely on our soaps as much as we do.

Benefit No. 2: Natural soaps are typically more moisturizing

Natural soaps are typically free of harsh and unnecessary chemicals. In our case, we only use all-natural tallow that comes from grass-finished beef. Given the similar fat saturation levels of the tallow to human skin, it is easily absorbed by the skin. Tallow’s organic compatibility with our skin allows it to works as natural sebum as well, locking in moisture and nutrients without clogging your pores.

Typical mass-produced soaps may try to include the same vitamins, but they struggle to match the quality of handmade soaps. By using easily mass-produced ingredients and chemicals, the mass-produced soaps don’t have the same properties to facilitate healthy skin. Tallow soaps, on the other hand, give the skin the nutrients it needs to soothe itself and the natural oil to keep the moisture and nutrients in.

 Benefit No. 3: Natural soap can keep your skin looking and feeling healthier

Tallow acts as a natural moisturizer and its nutrient-rich composition can help soothe skin from a variety of skin irritations. Working by itself, natural tallow soap can help soothe dry cracked skin, eczema, psoriasis, and other skin conditions. However, for people who enjoy a scent in their soap, essential oils are a great way to add scent and additional skin soothing benefits. Each essential oil plays its part and provides different types of relief. If you check out our social media posts or our website, you can see how each essential oil has different properties to improve your skin and your overall wellness.

Benefit No. 4: It is better for the environment and local economies

We are proud to be owners of a small business and we try and support other small, local businesses as well. One of the benefits of buying handmade soap is supporting local economies. It is also a great way to support your community. Small businesses actually have been found to support local communities the most. Making it a more circular shopping model.

 Supporting local businesses is also a good way to help the environment and reduce your carbon footprint. Small businesses have the freedom to choose more sustainable packaging and can use it while still being cost-effective. Due to the size of larger mass-produced soap, they often don’t choose sustainable packaging because profit is the purpose. Overall, small businesses have a smaller carbon footprint than larger companies, and supporting them means you are shrinking your carbon footprint too! 

Handmade soaps are really the way to go. They allow you to learn about the products you are using and how they really benefit you. They provide transparency between the business and the consumer. They keep your skin feeling soft, looking better, and feeling healthier. They also support local businesses and help the environment. While these soaps may cost a bit more, the cost is worth it for all of these incredible benefits. The most important thing is that your skin is healthy and you find a product that works well for you.

We offer a variety of tallow-based soaps and balms that are all handmade with care and skin-sensitive ingredients. We want you to opt-out of the chemical lifestyle and take control of your skin today!

Happy Holidays from The Healthy Porcupine to you

This year has been quite the experience to say the least. We hope you have all managed to stay safe and healthy throughout. We are grateful to have managed to stay safe ourselves. 2020 brought a number of changes to our personal and professional lives. On a personal level, we have had to change how we interact with friends, family, and hobbies. As avid Dungeons & Dragons players, we used to meet our friends three out of four weekends a month to play. For safety measures, we have had to shift this to a fully online game once a month, which as you most likely know isn’t the same. Not to mention our switch to at-home workouts or rather the lack thereof LOL. We have worked to maintain some degree of normalcy, but who really can these days (and that is 100% okay!) Professionally, we had to adjust to having all of our major events canceled, having to completely alter how we set up and did business at the New Boston Farmers Market, and transition to having to rely completely on online sales and wholesale. While we have experienced abundant changes, we know that many small businesses have had a terrible time this year and that many have not made it. That is why we wanted to share our story with you all and say how extremely thankful we are for our customers who have allowed us to continue selling our all-natural tallow soap.

 With that being said, our holiday plans will be very simple this year. We will be hanging out at home with our cats, playing our favorite games, and Darlene will be making duck for dinner. We are getting our duck from Greentwist Acres, a local farm located in New Boston, New Hampshire. Our honey is also locally sourced from DJ’s Pure Natural Honey located in Manchester, NH. We want to continue to support local businesses while we stay home and enjoy the holidays. Of course, we will be washing up with our Rosemary Mint Tallow Soap, so we can be clean and fresh for dinner. If you want to check out Darlene’s duck recipe you can find it here. Feel free to share your holiday plans with us in the comments or send us your favorite holiday recipes (we are still looking for side dish recipes.) We know the holidays aren’t the same this year, but they can still be good if you can find a way to connect with your family, virtually or otherwise, or just do something that makes you happy. If you’re still looking for holiday soaps for your home or last minute holiday gifts, check out our store and order now! If you need a last minute gift we have virtual gift cards that you share with family in person or online! Get into the holiday season with the smell of some of our all-natural tallow soaps.

 P.S. Santa said our Pine Tar 20% Soap reminds him of the soap back in his workshop. 😉

Why support your local soap business?

The process of making soap is unique to each brand. With ingredients being sourced from a variety of places and techniques utilizing each ingredient differently, knowing exactly how the soap is made can make all the difference. This is where small businesses, like The Healthy Porcupine, come in to provide consumers with trusted products that are free of chemicals, dyes, and unnecessary additives.

Creating a conscious product is not the easiest task for a brand, big or small. It requires time, knowledge, and money. Taking the time to research the best ingredients available and figuring out how to use them in your soap. Obtaining the knowledge to put your research to the test and make quality soap from quality ingredients. Spending the money necessary to make sure your soap is natural, healthy, and beneficial while also being accessible to your consumer. With that being said, the choice to formulate a conscious soap is just as good of a decision for the brand as it is for the consumer. Brands feel confident in the positive effects of their products (like our all-natural tallow soap), and in turn create happy, loyal customers!

At The Healthy Porcupine, we use locally sourced ingredients and a transparent production process that creates value for our brand and trust between us and our customers. As a small business, we can select the finest ingredients that will help our customers’ skin while also giving them the tools they need to choose a soap that is right for them. Big soap brands can provide the education and the high-quality ingredients, but the quality is often lost in production through the use of harsh chemicals and additives or mass production techniques.

With a small all-natural soap brand you have the transparency and authenticity that you don’t get from large corporations. Our all-natural conscious soap products come with a face you know, recognize, and trust. As a small business, we lookout for our consumers with our honest recommendations and demonstrated value for high-quality products. We hope you all keep supporting small businesses just like we do!