How Tallow Can Strengthen Your Skin Barrier This Fall

As the air cools and the days get shorter, many of us notice changes in our skin. It becomes drier, tighter, and more prone to redness or irritation. The most common culprit is a compromised skin barrier. Tallow has been known to be one of the most effective, natural solutions for nurturing and maintaining a healthy skin barrier. In this blog, we’ll explore the skin barrier, why it matters, and how tallow can play a powerful role in restoring and protecting it.

Understanding the Skin Barrier

Your skin barrier, also known as the lipid or moisture barrier, is the outermost layer of your skin. It’s made up of a complex mixture of skin cells and lipids (fats) that work together to protect your body. Think of it as your skin’s bodyguard—its primary job is to keep the good stuff in (like moisture) and the bad stuff out (like environmental pollutants and irritants).

When your skin barrier functions properly, your skin looks healthy, hydrated, and smooth. When it’s compromised, you may notice dryness, irritation, redness, or even breakouts. This is particularly common during seasonal transitions, like in the fall, when lower humidity and colder temperatures take a toll on the skin.

Why is maintaining your skin barrier important?

Maintaining a healthy skin barrier is crucial because it serves as the foundation for overall skin health. Here’s why:

• Retaining hydration: A healthy skin barrier keeps moisture locked in, preventing dehydration. Dehydrated skin not only feels uncomfortable but can also exacerbate other skin conditions, such as eczema and rosacea.

• Protection against irritants: A strong barrier acts like a shield, protecting your skin from external irritants, allergens, and pollutants. When your barrier is weakened, these aggressors can easily attack your skin, leading to irritation and inflammation.

• Reduced sensitivity: A compromised skin barrier is more susceptible to sensitivity, redness, and irritation. By maintaining this barrier, you’re ensuring your skin is more resilient and less reactive.

How Tallow Supports the Skin Barrier

Tallow is made from rendered animal fat and has made waves for its incredible barrier-supporting properties. Here’s how tallow can help improve and maintain your skin barrier:

• Mimics Skin’s Natural Lipids: Tallow closely resembles the natural lipids in human skin. This means tallow can integrate seamlessly into your skin barrier, providing natural nourishment to your body.

• Rich in Fat-Soluble Vitamins: Tallow contains vitamins A, D, E, and K, which support skin regeneration, protect against oxidative stress, and promote renewal and elasticity for a healthy barrier.

• Deep Moisture Without Clogging: Unlike many synthetic moisturizers that sit on top of the skin, tallow provides deep, long-lasting hydration. It helps seal in moisture, but because it has a similar composition to human sebum, it’s unlikely to clog pores.

• Anti-Inflammatory Benefits: Tallow’s naturally occurring fatty acids have anti-inflammatory properties, which help calm and soothe irritated skin. This makes tallow particularly beneficial for those with sensitive or inflamed skin.

So, how do you incorporate tallow into your routine?

During fall, when skin is prone to dehydration and barrier damage. Here are some simple ways to incorporate tallow balms and soaps into your routine:

Tallow soap: Cleansing with a tallow-based soap is the perfect way to start your skincare routine without stripping your skin. Unlike harsh soaps that can deplete your natural oils, tallow soap gently cleanses while replenishing your skin’s barrier, leaving it clean yet moisturized.

Tallow balm: After cleansing, apply a rich, nourishing layer of tallow balm to help seal in moisture and restore your skin barrier. Use tallow balm on areas like elbows, knees, and hands, which are particularly prone to dryness in colder weather. The balm helps strengthen your skin’s natural defenses, keeping your skin smooth, hydrated, and comfortable as temperatures drop.

Maintaining a healthy skin barrier is essential for glowing, resilient skin—and fall is the perfect time to double down on barrier support. By incorporating tallow soaps and balms into your routine, you’re choosing a natural, effective way to nourish and protect your skin, keeping it hydrated, smooth, and healthy. Whether you’re struggling with seasonal dryness and sensitivity or want to prevent damage before it starts, tallow can be your skin’s best ally in weathering the cold months ahead.

What is lye, and why is it used in soap?

You may have heard that lye is used in soap to create a soft, smooth, and natural bar of soap. However, you might wonder how it works and why we use it in our soaps. In this blog post, we'll answer those questions so you can learn more about the ingredients found in your favorite product. Even if you're unfamiliar with lye, there is a very high chance you've used it in soap at one point or another without realizing it. All natural soap is made with lye. It is the most traditional and natural way to make soap.

What is lye?

Lye is a very-alkaline product that has been used to make soap for decades. It also has uses in other industries, such as food and cleaning. Lye is a general term for two different alkaline compounds known as Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) and Potassium Hydroxide (KOH). They are both metal hydroxides and basic alkaline, so they have a very high pH. The high pH makes this mixture very caustic, which means that if you don't protect your skin when you touch it at this stage, it can cause a chemical burn. These two compounds are highly water-soluble and are sometimes referred to as caustic soda.

Though this may sound odd to put in soap, the chemical reactions that occur later in the soapmaking process, called saponification, neutralize the lye in the soap while activating its cleaning power.

How is lye produced?

The traditional way of making lye was by allowing wood ashes to seep into the water, resulting in a lye solution. This process is also known as "potash," which comes from the method of soaking ashes in a pot. Modern lye, which is normally used for making bar soap, is now made by breaking down a saltwater solution with the chemicals we mentioned above. Salt is an alkaline earth metal, and water is neutral; the reaction between these two creates lyes that vary widely depending on what kind you use: baking soda produces up to 7% NaOH while Epsom salts cause only 10%.

How long has lye been used?

Lye has been used for thousands of years to make many important products like soap, food, and paper. It's also a key ingredient in producing many other things, such as glass cleaner and fertilizer. 

You can't make real soap without lye. All natural soaps have lye as an ingredient in them; synthetic chemicals can now be used instead of lye (like phthalate-free glycerin), but we wouldn't consider that natural soap because it contains no botanical ingredients or essential oils from plants or flowers.

How is lye added to soaps?

The process typically involves mixing lye with oils or butters, which contribute to the soap's scents and other natural properties, such as vitamins and minerals.

After we ground, render, and filter our suet (beef fat), we add lye to our completed tallow product. The reaction between oil and lye leaves no residue in the finished product. At the end of the soapmaking process, there's no lye left in your soap—it forms a bond with oil and becomes soap!

Is soap made with lye safe to use on the skin?

Yes, soaps made with lye are safe to use on the skin once they have been properly cured. During saponification, the reaction between the fats and lye produces a product that is safe for use on the skin after all curing has been completed. During the soapmaking process, all of the lye is used up, making sure that there are no leftover chemicals or harmful substances in your finished product!

Why do we use lye in our soaps?

There are a few reasons we use lye in our soap:

1. It's the most natural way to make soap, allowing us to stick with the most traditional methods possible.

2. Using lye avoids the use of unnecessary synthetic chemicals larger companies may use that can cause skin irritation or allergies.

3. Because lye creates soap with powerful natural cleansing properties, it makes for an amazing bar of handmade soap!

Finally, since handcrafted artisans traditionally use lye throughout history, it makes sense that we would choose this method as well when making our own handmade products."

So, why do we use lye in soap? Well, it's actually a great question! Lye comes from natural sources like clay and limestone. It is 100% pure sodium hydroxide, which can make all sorts of things like detergent, laundry detergent, or deodorant products. The main reason soapmakers use lye in their soaps is that it has many benefits over other ingredients, such as salt or synthetic chemicals found in many non-natural soaps today.

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