The short answer: lanolin both seals moisture in and holds water against the skin, which almost no other ingredient does at once. That's why it's in our lip balm, our Intensive Tallow Balm and every bar of our tallow soap.
What lanolin is
Lanolin is the wax sheep make to waterproof their wool. It's washed out of the fleece after shearing. Because it's a wax, not an oil, it stays put instead of soaking in or sliding off, and it's closer to the oils your own skin makes than anything pressed from a seed. It has been used on skin for generations.
Why moisture is the point
Dry skin isn't short on oil; it's short on water. Water leaves through the skin all day, faster in cold air, dry heat and after washing. Most ingredients either slow that water down or hold on to it. Lanolin does both: it seals like a second skin, and it can take on more than its own weight in water. Petroleum jelly seals but holds nothing.
In the lip balm
Lips have thin skin and almost no oil glands, so they're the first thing to crack in a dry winter. Our balm layers four sealers: tallow for body, lanolin to hold moisture, beeswax for structure and cocoa butter for firmness.
My first version protected well but didn't cling. The easy fix, more oil, would have made it melt in a Texas July. Instead I kept the total oil the same and swapped some thin jojoba for thick, sticky castor oil. Same heat stability, far more cling and shine. A light touch of peppermint keeps it fresh without stinging.
In the Intensive Tallow Balm
Built for knuckles, heels, elbows and hands that are washed all day. Every wash strips the skin's own oils, and a water-based lotion is gone the next time you rinse. This balm is dense on purpose: lanolin, tallow, shea and calendula oil, with no water, no preservative and no scent, because the skin that needs it is usually already irritated. It's best before bed.
In every bar of soap
Every bar of our tallow soap has a touch of lanolin. Soap rinses off, so it plays a small part here, but washing is what strips skin in the first place. A little lanolin gives a creamier lather and hands that don't feel tight afterward. Much of lanolin doesn't turn into soap, which is why it's listed by name on the label. Our kitchen soap puck has none.
If you react to wool
Lanolin comes from wool. If you react to wool or lanolin, skip these. Our deodorant, balm stick, lotion bar, whipped tallow, sugar scrub, bath soak and kitchen puck are made without it.
Made with lanolin:
- Tallow & Lanolin Lip Balm
- Intensive Tallow Balm
- Heritage Tallow & Lanolin Soap, in every scent, including Stout & Oak
Carolyn Rosser, founder