There are rumors going around that beef tallow for skin clogs your pores and we wanted to put these rumors to rest.
Looking at tallow, it’s super thick and creamy, so it’s natural to assume that it would clog pores.
But… just because something ‘looks’ like it clogs pores, doesn’t mean it does.
This is where the comedogenic scale comes in.
The comedogenic scale was first introduced in 1979 by a dermatologist named Albert M. Klingman. He wanted to find out which skin care ingredients caused acne, so he did some tests on the inside of a rabbit’s ear.
He would rub the substance on the ear and then note if any acne bumps showed up.
He eventually tested the ingredients on prisoners, to see if he would get the same results on human skin, and from there he developed the comedogenic scale.
A rating system of 1-5 that would reveal how likely each ingredient was to clog pores.
A rating of 2 and below meant the oil or butter was ‘non-comedogenic’ meaning, it didn’t clog pores or cause acne. 3 and above meant that it was ‘comedogenic’ and ran the risk of clogging pores.
Here’s the interesting part… he found that it didn’t really matter what the oil or butter looked like or how thick it was. What really decided the comedogenic rating was the balance of oleic acid and linoleic acid within the oil/butter.
So, if an oil/butter was super high in oleic acid and low in linoleic acid, it would be more likely to clog pores. If it had equal amounts of both oleic and linoleic acid, it would be graded lower on the scale and less likely to clog pores.
Linoleic acid basically offsets the pore clogging effects of oleic acid which is deeply moisturizing and really penetrates the skin (and pores).
This is why some skin butters like coconut oil and palm oil are ‘comedogenic’, and others like shea butter and mango butter are non-comedogenic even though they look the same and have a similar thickness.
Tallow rates a 2 on the comedogenic scale and has equal ratios of the moisturizing fatty acids (like oleic acid) and the anti-inflammatory fatty acids, like stearic and linoleic making it unlikely to clog pores and cause acne.
However, just because beef tallow is considered non-comedogenic, doesn’t mean it’s ok for everyone to use. There is still a small risk that it will clog the pores of certain people who are prone to acne, have oily skin and larger pores.
If you have normal skin and average sized pores, you will most likely have no problem using a tallow balm on your face.
Just like how you don’t have a problem using most commercially available face creams that contain thick moisturizing ingredients like shea butter.
Conventional skin care brands like La Roche Posay use shea butter in their face creams which has a moderate (2) comedogenic rating, just like tallow and most people are fine with it (while also adding in a bunch of bad stuff).
But of course, if you’re someone with larger pores and oily skin, you may want to be more cautious using tallow on your skin, or… use it on your body where your pores are smaller instead of your face.
We have found though, that even people with oily skin and large pores will do well on beef tallow for skin because of the antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties of the tallow itself.
We think that to make our skin less oily, we should put on an oil-free moisturizer or constantly wash our face but that’s a big rumor too! Applying oil or butter to oily skin actually trains the skin to produce less oil overtime.
And, a lot of the time when someone claims that tallow causes them to break out, it’s because they are using an unfiltered tallow balm they either made themselves or bought on Etsy.
When you put raw, unfiltered tallow on your face, of course it’s going to cause a breakout, it’s unclean and full of contaminants. Not to mention, the toxins and pesticides from the grain that was fed to those cows (assuming you’re using grain-fed tallow and not grass fed & finished).
When you use a pure, clean product that comes from a verified manufacturer and not a random shop on Etsy, you won’t have to worry about breakouts or skin eruptions.
So, if you’re going to use beef tallow for skin, make sure to choose a brand that is actually clean and preferable grass fed & finished.
The good news is, our Evil Gods Whipped Tallow Honey Balm is made with 100% pure, ultra-filtered grass fed & finished beef tallow, manuka honey (for even more antibacterial power), organic olive oil and pot marigold flower extract. Your skin will love it. Click here to grab a jar now.
