Name: Whipped Beef Tallow
Brand: Body Restore

What's inside

Ingredients Explained

Tallow

Skin Conditioning

Tallow is the fat of a cow and has occlusive properties, like petrolatum. It is rich in fatty acids like oleic, palmitic, stearic, and linoleic.

Fatty acids are moisturizing ingredients that can help hydrate your skin - they are not the same as exfoliating acids such as AHAs or BHA.

While there are reports that tallow can disrupt your skin barrier, we cannot find sufficient proof of this.

Since tallow is an occlusive, it cannot be used alone as a moisturizer. Occlusives sit on top of skin and lock in the hydration that’s already there (from other ingredients). So using tallow alone will cause skin to dry out.

Due to the high fatty acid content, this ingredient may cause breakouts.

Learn more about Tallow

Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil

Emollient, Skin Conditioning

Jojoba oil is one of the most well-studied plant-derived ingredients in cosmetics. It is an emollient with a special structure.

Because it is made up of 97-98% wax esters, it closely mirrors the linear monoesters found in human sebum. This makes it skin compatible, non-greasy, and lightweight.

Unlike other plant oils, jojoba wax doesn't easily penetrate skin. It mostly works in the uppermost layers as an emollient. This just means it forms a light barrier on the skin to help retain moisture.

Formulations with jojoba esters up to 90% reduced transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and increased barrier recovery by 81% (outperforming bisabolol at 47%).

Besides barrier support, the science also suggests jojoba to have anti-inflammatory effects and potential applications for skin infections, aging, and wound healing.

Fun fact: Indigenous cultures have used jojoba as a moisturizer and to help treat burns for centuries.

Fungal acne: The Malassezia yeast is known to metabolize fatty acids in the C11-24 range and jojoba's dominant fatty acid components fall into this range. This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.

Learn more about Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil

Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter

Emollient, Masking, Skin Conditioning

Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter comes from the Theobroma cacoa, or Cacao tree. Cacao trees are native to tropical landscapes.

Like other plant butters, Cacao seed butter is an emollient. Emollients help soothe and soften your skin. By creating a barrier to trap moisture in, emollients help keep your skin hydrated.

Cacao seed butter contains antioxidants known as polyphenols. Antioxidants help fight free-radical molecules by stabilizing them. Unstable free-radicals may cause damage to your skin cells. Antioxidants may help with anti-aging.

Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter can be bad for acne prone skin.

Learn more about Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter

Tocopheryl Acetate

Antioxidant, Skin Conditioning

Tocopheryl Acetate is a stable, shelf-friendly form of vitamin E.

Formulators love it because plain vitamin E oxidizes quickly once it hits air. This acetate version stays stable and resists going off, helping to extend a product's shelf life.

It's actually inactive on its own and works like a slow-release "storage" form; the enzymes in your skin called esterases gradually convert it into active vitamin E over time.

One in vivo study showed 5% of the acetate in the living layer of the epidermis converted to vitamin E after 5 days of application. This study also found the skin gained protection against UV damage even though the conversion was slow and small.

Once converted, vitamin E acts as a skin's main fat-soluble antioxidant that fights free radicals to protect skin from damage.

Topical vitamin E generally boosts the skin's photoprotection, and it reduced UV-damage in animal models.

This ingredient has some brightening potential but it's more of a prevention ingredient than spot-fader. Cell studies show it can slow down melanin production but it's worth noting that it's not the most powerful brightener out there.

Overall, it has a pretty solid safety profile and has been found to be non-irritating and non-comedogenic. Allergic reactions may happen but stay rare due to how widely the ingredient gets used.

The concentration will vary depending on the formula; industry data shows 0.1% in baby lotions, 3% in lipsticks, and 5% in foot powders. You can also find this ingredient at 100% in a pure vitamin E oil.

Most leave-on skincare keeps it at the lower end, often between 0.5-1%.

Learn more about Tocopheryl Acetate

Avena Sativa Kernel Flour

Abrasive, Absorbent

Oatmeal flour is created by grinding down the kernels of oats. Oatmeal helps sooth, hydrate, and protect the skin.

Oatmeal kernel flour has abrasive, or exfoliating, properties.

Learn all about the skin benefits of colloidal oatmeal here.

Learn more about Avena Sativa Kernel Flour

Leptospermum Scoparium Mel

This is not an INCI ingredient. Read more about the benefits of honey here.

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