Tallow Restoring Cream

Rendered beef tallow, which is largely triglycerides of oleic, palmitic and stearic acid, with small amounts of the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. What it does on skin is mechanical and easy to describe. It sits on the surface as a sealing layer and slows the rate at which water evaporates out of the outer layer of skin. That is the same job petrolatum, lanolin and shea butter do, and tallow does it well.

The evidence deserves plain language. There are no controlled human trials on tallow as a facial moisturiser. Its behaviour as an occlusive is basic lipid chemistry and nobody disputes it. The claims made for it elsewhere go a long way past that. You will read that tallow is biologically similar to human sebum. Sebum is roughly half triglycerides and free fatty acids, about a quarter wax esters and around a tenth squalene, and tallow contains no squalene and no wax esters at all. Take it as a good occlusive fat with a long history of use, and expect nothing beyond that.

The formula also carries a supporting anti-ageing blend. We would rather be plain about how much that is worth. No controlled trial has been run on this cream, and a blend of that kind sitting in an occlusive balm should be read as a cosmetic addition, nothing more. What it can honestly do is what good hydration does, which is make fine dryness lines look softer for as long as the hydration lasts. If you want an active with real evidence behind it for skin ageing, that is retinol, and it sits in the Retinol Night Cream.

Topical minoxidil is carried in alcohol and propylene glycol, and tretinoin, in the Signature Spray, speeds up skin turnover. The forehead, temples and hairline take the worst of it, and for most men the Face Cleanser and the Face Hydration Cream are the whole answer. This balm is for the smaller group whose skin has gone past dry into tight and visibly flaking, and for winter. If your skin is oily or breaks out, use the Zinc Oil Control Cream instead. If your barrier is properly disturbed rather than simply dry, the Ceramide Barrier Cream is the more considered choice, since ceramides are one of the lipid classes your own barrier is built from and ceramide formulations at least have trial evidence behind them. Tallow is the blunter instrument, since it seals the surface without rebuilding anything underneath.

One caution matters more for this product than for anything else in the range. The label for topical minoxidil warns that products which alter the outer layer of skin, petrolatum among them, can increase how much minoxidil is absorbed when they are applied at the same time. A heavy occlusive does exactly that. Keep this on your face, below the hairline, and keep it off any area you treat with the Minoxidil Topical Solution.

A pea-sized amount, once a night, on clean damp skin, and only while your skin is actually dry.

1. Wash with the Face Cleanser and pat dry, leaving the skin slightly damp. An occlusive holds in the water that is already there, so it works far better over damp skin than over bone-dry skin.
2. Apply any water-based step first, a serum or the Face Hydration Cream. This balm goes on last, because very little passes through it once it is down.
3. Scoop a pea-sized amount for the whole face and warm it between your fingertips for five to ten seconds, until it turns from a solid to an oil.
4. Press it over the cheeks, jaw and forehead. Stay below the hairline, and leave out the nose and anywhere that turns oily or congested.
5. Leave it on overnight and wash it off in the morning. It is too heavy to wear during the day, and it will pill under sunscreen.

The common mistake is keeping it in the routine all year. Use it nightly through a dry spell or a cold month, which is usually two to eight weeks, then drop back to the lighter cream once your skin settles. A 50 g jar lasts about three months at that rate. Take it out of the jar with clean dry fingers, since water introduced into an anhydrous balm is what spoils it.

The effect is immediate and it is cosmetic. Skin feels less tight the same evening, and visible flaking usually settles within three to five nights of nightly use. Fine lines that are really dryness lines look softer while the skin is well hydrated, and they come back when it dries out again. Nothing here reaches past the outer layer of skin, so there is no slow accumulating result to wait months for, and none of it does anything for your hair.

For external use only. Avoid the eye area and rinse with water if it gets in. Patch test on the inner forearm for two days before putting it on your face, because rich occlusive fats are among the more common causes of blocked pores and small bumps in people who are prone to them.

Do not use it on oily or blemish-prone skin, on broken or irritated skin, or on skin that has been microneedled in the last twenty-four hours. Do not apply it over an area treated with topical minoxidil, for the reason given above. It is rendered from beef, so it is unsuitable if you avoid animal-derived ingredients for dietary, religious or ethical reasons, and if you have a known allergy to beef or other mammalian meat you should patch test carefully or leave this one alone. Stop using it if you develop irritation, a rash or persistent spots.

Keep the jar closed, out of direct sunlight and away from heat. Keep out of reach of children.