Are Topical Oils For The Skin A PUFA?

[4peatssake]

I just wanted to chime in and let you know that coconut oil isn't the only non-PUFA oil which you can use. Tallow (beef fat) has traditionally been used for skin care and it works very well. It sounds gross, but if you think about it, were animals, not plants. The oils which our skin produces naturally are animal fats. Our skin cells require a large amount of saturated fat for cellular integrity. I know coconut oil is also saturated and I do use a tiny bit of it on my hair, but it didn't do much for my seriously dry skin. Tallow completely cures it. The only time I get dry again is if I take a shower and forget to re-apply it. I'm still young (under 30), but due to my eye shape and tendency for dry skin, I was already experiencing drooping eyelids. With a homemade tallow balm and nothing else, they have completely corrected. My skin is soft, smooth, and even. I don't have to use foundation anymore. I use it head to toe and also on my girls. It is pretty greasy at first but it soaks in quickly, or if you're in a rush or just don't like the feel, massage it in (after a shower is best), wait a minute, then wipe off the excess with a towel.

This may be a hard sell for your customers though. Most people are thoroughly grossed out by the idea of using animal fat thanks to all the vegans pushing companies away from animal based products. (Many lipsticks still contain tallow though so you could point out that they have probably already used it) Even my husband who is pretty relaxed about most things gets a little icked out every time I make it. He does admit that it makes me softer than anything else I've used and so he tolerates it I would keep both tallow and coconut oil on hand for if you have vegan clients.

You can buy it at http://vintagetradition.com/ or if you want you can try making it yourself. It's easy and cheap. I can make about a 2 month supply for 3 people for less than 4 dollars. They have instructions on there but I can give you mine (slightly different) if you like. Just let me know.

to the forum Godiva!

I would be very interested in your instructions and I'm sure some others here may be as well.

Thank you!

 

[Stunning4keke]

When looking at spices and herbs and things like that, some have good ratios of minerals, some are slightly off...but overall the main things in the diet completely trump this because of the sheer amount. I've never emailed Ray myself so I wouldn't know the best way to get a response quickly, but I assume he receives a lot of emails and has limited time...so he probably scans for the ones he has good answers for and are relatively short to answer first. Maybe start with a simple email with just 3 questions, try to get an answer, then depending on what he says you could later ask more detailed questions. As for the above ingredients, they all look fine to me (its basically herbs in grape alcohol with a little cellulose it looks like, and vit E as a helper preservative). I'd ask..."Are herbal extracts generally safe to use on skin (in fragrance and lotion)?" "How safe is alcohol as a carrier medium when used on the skin?" "Should I worry about PUFA's in my essential oils or lotions, or is this dependent on the specific ingredients used?" Hope you can eventually find a good answer to this keke, sorry I can't help more in this regard

pboy, you have been a tremendous help. i am going to use some of your phrases for Uncle Peat and also, the thing is i've sent him numerous emails and i do always try to word them very straight forward and he always gets back to me the very next day. this was the 2nd time he didn't get back to me with a question that had a lot of other ingredients. so maybe he doesn't want to say anything about certain products.
by the way, i just got those Uvex glasses that block out the UV rays and help with sleep. i'm not liking them as they are too big and i can't use them for the computer. so you have some of those glasses? thanks, keke

 

[Stunning4keke]

I just wanted to chime in and let you know that coconut oil isn't the only non-PUFA oil which you can use. Tallow (beef fat) has traditionally been used for skin care and it works very well. It sounds gross, but if you think about it, were animals, not plants. The oils which our skin produces naturally are animal fats. Our skin cells require a large amount of saturated fat for cellular integrity. I know coconut oil is also saturated and I do use a tiny bit of it on my hair, but it didn't do much for my seriously dry skin. Tallow completely cures it. The only time I get dry again is if I take a shower and forget to re-apply it. I'm still young (under 30), but due to my eye shape and tendency for dry skin, I was already experiencing drooping eyelids. With a homemade tallow balm and nothing else, they have completely corrected. My skin is soft, smooth, and even. I don't have to use foundation anymore. I use it head to toe and also on my girls. It is pretty greasy at first but it soaks in quickly, or if you're in a rush or just don't like the feel, massage it in (after a shower is best), wait a minute, then wipe off the excess with a towel.

This may be a hard sell for your customers though. Most people are thoroughly grossed out by the idea of using animal fat thanks to all the vegans pushing companies away from animal based products. (Many lipsticks still contain tallow though so you could point out that they have probably already used it) Even my husband who is pretty relaxed about most things gets a little icked out every time I make it. He does admit that it makes me softer than anything else I've used and so he tolerates it I would keep both tallow and coconut oil on hand for if you have vegan clients.

You can buy it at http://vintagetradition.com/ or if you want you can try making it yourself. It's easy and cheap. I can make about a 2 month supply for 3 people for less than 4 dollars. They have instructions on there but I can give you mine (slightly different) if you like. Just let me know.

thanks so much Godiva! i would love the recipe for it. i went to the link and already sent them in email. i would like to place an order. so they have a phone number i can call? i didn't see it. does Tallow help severely damaged and hyperpigmented skin? can you use it in and on your hair? i'm not crazy about Young Living Essential Oils as i've used them for a long time in my business and i now use essential oils by Gary Young's ex wife which are a little more pure but i'm not totally against them either. they are a bit strong. but i suppose they would be good in the Tallow.

thanks so much for telling me about this! so far i did find a good coconut oil that has some jasmine flowers in it and one has rose petals which is lovely. i think i will try out the Thorne Lotion which is considered vegan and gluten free but Ark still hasn't gotten back to me about the sunflower seed oil ingredient and i've asked her 3 times. she is on this forum. i really don't like that.

and i think i will try that Benedetta Neroli which has these ingredients: (for myself)

Hydrosols Aqua: **neroli citrus aurantium, *rose rosa damascena. *Aloe vera aloe barbadensis. ***Shea butter butyrospermum parkii. Plant oils: *jojoba simmondsia chinensis, *coconut cocos nucifera, ***kukui aleurite moluccana. CO2 extracts: *seabuckthorn hippophae rhamnoides, *carrot daucus carota, *rosemary rosmarinus officinalis. ***Vitamin E tocopherol [non-GMO]. ***Neroli citrus aurantium wax. Proprietary blend * **essential oils. **Grape vitis vinifera alcohol. Vegetable cellulose.

but i definitely will try the Tallow for sure! thank you so much! keke

 

[Stunning4keke]

all right pboy, i used your exact wording for Peat so we'll see if he gets back to me. i will post it here. thanks everyone!

 

[Stunning4keke]

as far as this Green Tea lotion with these ingredients: RP got back to my email with this to say:

"Borage and corn oil are very minor ingredients, so I don't think it's harmful; jojoba and caprylic-capric are the main oils"

Green Tea Lotion:

Agua (Distilled Water), Jojoba Beads, Milk Caprilic/Capric Triglycerides , Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Extract, Paraguay Tea Extract, Ivy (Hedera Helix) Extract, Violet Leaf Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Sesame (Sesamum Indicum) Oil, Hawaiian Seaplant Extract, Borage (Borago Officinallis) Seed Oil, Macademun (Ternifolia) Nut Oil, Aleurites Moluccana (Kukui) Seed Oil, Retinyl Palmitate, Zea Mays (Corn) Oil, D-apha-tocopherol (Vitamin E), Vitamin E Lanoleate.

 

[Beebop]

Hey Godiva, I'd like to see your recipe too! Thanks

 

[HDD]

Keke, the rolling laughing guy is under "view more smilies". Thanks you for this thread. Hope you get your answers soon. I have sent a few emails to RP that he did not answer and a few that he has.

Godiva, me three on the recipe! Thank you!

 

[Stunning4keke]

Godiva, i just ordered some of that Tallow but still would like the recipe as well. thanks so much and i will report back here how the Tallow works for me.

 

[Stunning4keke]

RP got back to me again about this skin care "copper" product--as now i am trying to look for a good skin care product that has some copper in it. copper is really good for the skin but here are the ingredients and what he wrote:

"It isn't something a person would want to use freely and chronically, but a little would be safe except for possible allergy"

"Water, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, PEG-8, Cyclomethicone, Butylene Glycol, Saccharomyces Copper Ferment Extract, Polysorbate-20, Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-3, Polyacrylamide, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Laureth-7, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Copper PCA, Carnosine, Retinyl Palmitate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Panthenol, Sodium PCA, Allantoin, Sodium Hyaluronate, Cyclopentasiloxane, Acrylates/Dimethicone Copolymer, Dimethicone, Carbomer, Triethanolamine, Propylene Glycol, Diazolidinyl Urea, Methylparaben, Propylparaben.

 

[Godiva]

Hi! Thanks for the welcome!

Here's the recipe (or rather guidelines and tips. I'm a improvisational cook :) ):

Acquire some suet (beef, deer, or sheep all work), preferably grass-fed. I find it at my local co-op in the freezer section. A butcher is also a great place to check. They would almost certainly have chunks of suet lying about. I get about 2 lbs for a small batch. You can also buy rendered tallow online and if that's what you choose, skip all the steps up to the last one of melting it and adding oils.

Cut away any bits that aren't white. Leaving any red/meaty looking bits makes for very stinky tallow. Chop up the rest into small chunks. 1 inch pieces are fine, but I usually just toss it in the food processor. This makes it much finer and it melts out faster.

Toss it in a pot and set it over very low heat. This is the least fun step as it will perfume your house in an odor which is entirely unforgettable. If you can do this outside, great. If not, open a window and have as few other household members around as possible. It's not horridly stinky, but it is noticeable and...different. Resist the temptation to raise the heat to get it over with faster. This will only make the smell worse and risk burning it. Wanna know what's worse than melting tallow? Burnt tallow. (Ask me how I know. :-P The smell really isn't that bad. The problem is that I have impatience issues.) Once you get the hang of this process, I highly recommend making larger batches so you have to do it less often. It will take awhile to melt out. Plan on doing this on a day when you'll be home for a couple of hours.

Once most of the tallow is melted out you will be left with chunks floating about. Use a strainer lined with cheesecloth or muslin (or a paper towel if need be) and strain your tallow into a clean container. Discard the chunky bits. You should have around 2 cups worth of tallow if you used the 2 lbs of suet. You can use it like this but the smell is a bit too strong for my tastes. Move on to the next step if you want as little odor as possible.

In a clean pot, mix about 3 tablespoons of baking soda into a few cups of water. The amounts will vary depending on how much tallow you are deodorizing. Use common sense and you'll be fine. Make sure the baking soda is thoroughly dissolved or it will foam up over the top. A deep pot also helps prevent this. Pour your tallow into the water and bring it to a boil. Turn down the heat and let it simmer for about 30 min. After a few minutes you will notice the smell has greatly diminished. This will make you happy as I'm sure you were worrying about slathering this on your skin up to this point. When it is done simmering, take it off the heat and put it somewhere to cool where it will be undisturbed. As it cools, the tallow will float to the top and solidify. Once you have this hard white layer, separate it from the water and discard the water. Make sure it gets thoroughly dry on the bottom where it was sitting on the water.

If you have followed the deodorizing step, you will need to re-melt your tallow. Gently heat it in a pot til it is, again, liquid. I suppose you could also use a microwave, but I haven't had one in years and so I have no experience with this. Once it is liquid, pour it into your jar of choice (I like mason jars. Cheap and easy.), making sure that there is room to add a bit of oil and stir. You will want a liquid-at-room-temp oil because tallow is rock hard at room temp and you'll want to soften it. I use olive oil. You will only need about 2-3 tablespoons so you can use whatever you feel comfortable with. More oil makes for a softer balm, but don't go crazy. Add whatever essential oils you want to cover any lingering smell. I like rose for the smell and skin care properties. Adding some oils that have natural preservative properties would also be good for extra insurance. Mix it thoroughly and let it cool. I like to cool it in the fridge undisturbed as it helps prevent it from clumping. Sometimes little bits of the tallow separate out and form tiny clumps. These aren't harmful in any way, but it does ruin the texture a bit. Alternatively, you can stir it almost constantly til it cools enough to be thickened. I choose the lazy option.

It will last longer in the fridge, but I store it in my bathroom without any problem. I use it up within 2 months or so. If you plan on keeping it longer than that, store it in the fridge, freezer, or consider adding preservatives.

I'm still working on perfecting my recipe more by eliminating the olive oil all together and making a lotion out of it by emulsifying it with water, but that requires preservatives so I haven't tried it yet. When I'm making it though and it's still liquid, I mix a bit with water in my hands and it emulsifies easily and it spreads on nicely and doesn't feel quite as heavy as the oil softened version. Maybe someone more skilled in crafting potions would like to try this

 

[Godiva]

Keke, you can use it in your hair, but I find it too heavy for mine. I have very fine hair. Someone with thicker/coarser hair might be ok. Even still, I would definitely avoid the roots. I prefer coconut oil for my hair which works very well.

As for skin, the only experience I have with it is personal and with my girls (who are too young for skin problems, but it does give them deliciously soft skin :) ) Like I said before, it completely fixed my drooping eyelids. I have severe genetic dark circles which are damn near impossible to cover because they recede and create a dark shadow on top of the darkness of the circles themselves :P. The tallow has plumped up the skin around my eyes enough that the circles look much lighter. At least I can cover them with concealer now which is a huge improvement for me. I also have some pitted acne scaring and that has smoothed out some as well. I've been using it for about 4 months and I'm hoping that will continue to improve. It is an excellent skin healer. I've read several reports of it healing psoriasis and excema. I'm not certain about the hyperpigmentation, but if you know of any other ingredients which help with hyperpigmentation and such, I would say the tallow would be an ideal base. I've tried hundreds of products and nothing makes my skin feel or look even close to what tallow does. It literally feels toned and strong as well as moisturized.

 

[Godiva]

Sorry! I was going to edit my recipe post, but I guess it times out. I forgot to mention another part of the deodorizing step. After letting the tallow cool and solidify on the water, when you pop it out of the water (run a knife around the edge and push lightly on one side, the other should pop enough to slip the knife in and lift it up.) there will be a slimy layer underneath. Rise this off in cold water, then dry it thoroughly. You will have a hard white disk at this point.

 

[Stunning4keke]

wow Godiva! that truly is a lot of work. i think i will just buy it from that link you provided. although i will copy these cooking instructions in case i get the gumption to cook it myself. i am having enough with all the bone broth soups i've been making. i suppose i can add some Tallow. i will have to see. thanks so much for telling us about it and taking the time to write out the recipe! i am looking forward to trying it and i will report back here how i do with it.

thanks, keke

 

[Beebop]

Godiva - have you tried cocoa butter? Is the tallow as hard or harder than cocoa butter? I had a block of cocoa butter, which is much harder than coconut oil when solid, and I would just rub it over my body like a bar of soap (obviously it melts on the body!) This could be an option if you don't want to add olive oil and don't know how to emulsify the tallow.

I think I'll give the tallow a go at some point, and report back!

 

[Godiva]

It does seem a bit daunting, but it really is easy. Most of it is hands off time. If you don't want to render the tallow yourself, you can buy it pre-rendered online and just melt it to control the ingredients in your balm. Or buying it works too

Edit to add: It is about the hardness of cocoa butter, but it's waxy so it grips the skin too much undiluted.

 

[HDD]

Picked up some fat at local grocer. Free!! Hope to give it a go this week. My skin is so dry so I am hoping this will help.

 

[charlie]

I have rendered tallow in a crock pot on low. It worked pretty well.

 

[Jenn]

Be careful with animal fat. Most of the toxins end up in the fat, so source can be important. The fat composition (saturated, PUFA, mono ratio) of lard is going be dependent on what the animal has been fed. The fat composition of tallow is going to be dependent on food and the season the animal was killed. Summer ruminant fat is similar to linseed oil.

 

[HDD]

Be careful with animal fat. Most of the toxins end up in the fat, so source can be important. The fat composition (saturated, PUFA, mono ratio) of lard is going be dependent on what the animal has been fed. The fat composition of tallow is going to be dependent on food and the season the animal was killed. Summer ruminant fat is similar to linseed oil.

Grassed beef tallow would also be bad in summer?

Thanks for pointing this out, I was going to make it today with the fat from the grocery store.

 

[Jenn]

Depends. What is the temperature of the area the fat comes from? We are running 80's here for almost a month, the milk color has changed. In cooler regions, that change may not have happened yet. Grassfed may have less toxins, but if it's already warm where you are, it's going to be MUCH higher in unsaturated fat. It will probably be yellow in color (beta carotene) and soft.