Name: Whipped Tallow Balm
Brand: Hearth & Homestead

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.

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Olea Europaea Fruit Oil

Masking, Perfuming, Skin Conditioning

This ingredient is also known as olive oil. It has been used in skincare for centuries and science largely backs up its reputation as a nourishing emollient.

The main components of olive oil are oleic acid (55-83%), linoleic acid (3.5-20%), and palmitic acid (7-20%). Oleic acid promotes skin regeneration and helps regulate inflammatory responses.

Squalene is also naturally present in olive oil and exhibits moisturizing and antioxidant properties.

The polyphenols in olive oil also show anti-aging promise; one clinical study found a measurable improvement in skin appearance after 30 days of topical serum use.

Just be aware that applying olive oil directly to skin can weaken the barrier and cause redness. One study with volunteers found even people without sensitive skin experienced a significant reduction in stratum corneum integrity and induced mild erythema.

It's best to use this ingredient as part of a carefully crafted formula (instead of putting it on skin directly from the bottle).

Because it has a 2-3 on the comedogenic scale, it is a moderate risk for acne-prone skin. However, the overall formulation of a product matters more than a few ingredients with comedogenic ratings.

This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe because of the oleic and palmitic acid content. These fall within the C11-24 fatty acid range that the Malassezia yeast can metabolize to grow.

Overall, olive oil is a well-studied and nourishing skincare ingredient.

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Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract

Masking, Perfuming, Skin Conditioning

Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract comes from the marigold flower and has been used on skin for centuries for its calming effect.

In the lab, its active compounds appear to calm inflammation and support the early "healing" phase of minor wounds.

This is why Europe's medicines regulator has approved calendula extracts as a traditional remedy for minor skin inflammation and healing small wounds.

The stronger human evidence is around would/ulcer care rather than everyday cosmetic claims; a review that pulled together 14 studies found that calendula helped calm the early, inflamed stage of a wound and helped new skin tissue form faster.

Two studies also showed it shrank leg ulcers (the kind caused by poor circulation). Results were mixed for burns and for the skin irritation people get from radiation treatment, so it's not a sure thing there.

In cosmetics, it's mostly a skin conditioning and soothing agent.

The Cosmetic Ingredient Review panel concluded that calendula-derived ingredients are safe as used and that the ingredients are not irritating, sensitizing, or photosensitizing in clinical tests (though they may be mild eye irritants).

Typical use levels are quite low; industry data reported it used at under 0.5% (one supplier noted a 10-25% extract blend used at 1-10% in the finished product). Historical use goes up to 10%.

The only thing to keep in mind is if you have daisy/ragweed allergies. Calendula is in the same family and one patch-test study found 2% of dermatitis patients reacted to marigold. Be sure to patch test if you have sensitive or allergy-prone skin.

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Rose Extract

Skin Conditioning

Rose extract comes from various species of the Rosa genus. It has skin conditioning and antioxidant properties due to its polyphenol, flavonoid, and phenolic acid content.

Rosa damascena, Rosa centifolia, and Rosa gallica.

Just keep in mind that rose extracts contain known fragrance allergens like citronellol, geraniol, linalool, and limonene.

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