About

Saturated Skincare.

Organic. Natural. Sustainable.

Hi, I'm Hannah, the owner and creator of Lavish Balm products!

If you're here, it's because tallow based skincare has piqued your interest, or is already a must have in your skincare routine. If you've just discovered us, I'm here to tell you all about saturated skincare and why it should be gracing the front row of your bathroom cupboard!

The first question at the top of your mind is no doubt "what on earth is tallow?!"

I won't beat around the bush with this one. Tallow is purely and simply Beef fat. Yep, you read that right, its the rendered, purified fat from Suet, the rich fat found around the internal organs of Beef Cattle! Vegans, exit now, I'm sorry to say this product is not for you! Or stick around and keep reading, perhaps I can convince you to change your perspective!

Now that we've got that cold, hard fact out of the way, you're probably looking at your screen with a mortified look on you face, wondering who in their right mind would willingly smear said beef fat onto their face and body in the name of skincare?! Before you shut your browser in a hurried panic and rush down to your local Mecca or Priceline to restock on those bottles and pots of familiar "stick with what you know" lotions, can I let you in on a little secret?

You know those heavenly rich sounding, exotic nut and seed oils that promise to renew your skin to your former glory days of your pre-pubescent youth? The planet friendly, plant derived, cold pressed nut, "it takes a million seeds to make a teaspoon" kind? Yeah, the ones in 90% of commercial skincare.

They are damaging your skin.

There, I said it.

Here's why.

They're incredibly unstable! When exposed to heat, light, and chemical inputs, nut and seed oils become toxic to the human body.

Overheated and oxidized, these seed oils produce trans-fats and lipid peroxides as byproducts. The high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in these oils are the culprits. Lipid peroxides lead to damage in DNA, proteins, and membrane lipids throughout the body.

The accumulation of the trans-fats and lipid peroxides leads to aging and potentially the development of chronic diseases. Similar to trans-fats and lipid peroxides, exposure of PUFA laden oils to heat increases free radicals that also lead to damaged DNA, proteins, and lipids in the body as well as oxidative stress.

Ever tasted a funky peanut? One that tastes like you dug it out of the gap between the cushions of your great aunts couch? That off-taste is because the oils in that nut have oxidised due to exposure to light and heat! It's turned rancid. Yuck!

Now you might be thinking "well I don't really eat much seed/nut oil in my day to day diet, I don't eat deep fried food or any nut butters, and I certainly don't couch dive for old peanuts, so what's the big deal if I use some in my skincare?"

Here's a scenario: You wake up on a glorious summer day, ready to spend the morning relaxing by the waters edge at the local beach. Fresh out of the shower, you dry off and reach for that fancy bottle of almond based facial oil that assures you you'll have supple, hydrated skin for the day ahead. You're on the beach now, sitting on the sand, eyes closed, leaning back as you enjoy the bright, warm sunlight kissing your skin.

Sounds heavenly right! Congrats, you've just created a chemical reaction! But not the good kind. You've just taken a PUFA laden, heat sensitive oil into its least desirable environment. You may as well have picked up a polar bear and dropped it off in the Sahara Desert!

The heat and light on your morning out have oxidised the oil you applied, and those lipid peroxide byproducts are now working double time on damaging the proteins and lipids on your face, gearing up to cause ageing and pigmentation.

Scenario aside, this is a common mistake most people make with their skincare, and I was one of them. Between the PUFA I was ingesting through canola oils, sunflower oils etc, and the PUFA my skin was absorbing through products on a daily basis, I was in the deep end.

Lipofuscin (dark pigmentation patches) were starting to appear on my face, along with more fine lines and wrinkles. I also noticed other skin issues like flare ups of dermatitis, and also hormonal imbalances that were coming back to plague me.

So I started digging deeper into things, and found myself immersed in the world of health and nutrition science.

Enlightened by studies and discussions from a number of incredibly intelligent nutrition coaches and doctors, like Kate Deering, Ray Peat, J Feldman, Dr. Broda Barnes, Weston A. Price, I soon realised that a big way in which I could improve my health and wellbeing was by removing these toxic, inflammatory nut and seed oils from my life.

Removing them from my diet was easy. So many great saturated fats with little to no PUFA content were readily available as delicious alternatives. Butter, Ghee, Lard, Duck fat, Coconut Oil, so many great options. But when it came to skincare, I was stuck.

Everywhere I looked, every product I picked up, there was some component of high PUFA oils in the formulation. Now I knew that it wasn't going to quite work to go to the fridge and start smearing the butter block over my body in the name of moisturising; I doubt I'd have made it through to midday without smelling like sour milk!

So my curious mind once again started researching, this time delving into the world of saturated, low PUFA skincare. It was at this point I discovered and promptly fell in love with my new HERO ingredient: TALLOW. Rich, luxurious, grass-fed beef tallow.

After discovering its myriad of health benefits and skin healing qualities, I started searching for a West Australian creator of tallow based skincare. Unable to find quite what I was looking for, and realising there was a gap in the market , my tallow trials began.

Over the last two years I have spent a great deal of time researching, formulating and testing my own Tallow based skincare, and have fallen even more in love with it. I'm so excited to have settled on a formulated range of products that I have created to share with you!

After all, why keep all the benefits to myself when I can help others switch out toxic products for INCREDIBLE ones!

Here are just some of the reasons why I chose Tallow as my hero ingredient:

Tallow is rich in minerals and fat soluble vitamins A,D,E,K & B12.

High in Linoleic acid (CLA) which has powerful anti-inflammatory properties.

Uniquely bio-compatible with our skin's natural sebum, allowing healing benefits on a cellular level.

Contains Palmitic Acid that improves the barrier function of the skin, and Stearic Acid which improves elasticity and suppleness.

Tallow's Fatty Acid Complex helps promote skin cell regeneration.

Is a sustainably sourced ingredient, one that would otherwise be wasted.

Is suited to our skin in the fact it is a lipid from a mammal with a similar basal body temperature of our own.

I could go on, the benefits are endless!

As well as Tallow, you'll find a variety of wonderful, saturated, low PUFA ingredients in Lavish products, such as Pure Olive Squalane, Organic Australian Golden Jojoba Oil, Fractionated Coconut Oil and Vitamin E.

In summarising here what tallow is, why PUFA heavy products are best avoided, and why tallow is a fantastic skincare choice, I realise I've kept the information simplified.

For those like me who enjoy delving deeper into the sciency stuff, and wish to learn more about the dangers of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids, the molecular structure of lipids on both ends of the spectrum, and further studies into the effects and benefits, I have listed some links here below to some trusted, informative studies and relevant documentation.

I challenge you to rethink your skincare routine!

Hannah

Lavish Balm

References and Resources:

Jay Feldman Wellness | Fats: We’ve Got It All Wrong

Unsaturated fatty acids: Nutritionally essential, or toxic? (raypeat.com)

How to Heal Your Metabolism with Kate Deering - YouTube

(Note: Time stamp at 40min for PUFA discussion)

The Truth About Polyunsaturated Fats · Thyroid Specialist PhD (biochemnordic.com)

PUFA's: The Worst Thing For Your Health You Eat Everyday (alexfergus.com)

Kate Skinner Nutrition (nutritionbynature.com.au)

(referencing Dr. Broda Barnes)