I’ve spent years trying to find that one lotion or moisturizer that I could fall in love with. As a woman in my thirties, I’m always looking for something that I can use on my face and body that is moisturizing for my dry skin patches, isn’t too oily for my T-zone, will give my skin a nice glow, helps treat the occasional blemish or acne, has some anti-aging properties since wrinkles are becoming a concern, and is sustainable and affordable option.
After years of searching, I really hadn’t fallen in love with any lotions or beauty products. With a list of must haves like that I knew it would be hard. And then it happened. I found my miracle product; I discovered lard, and I finally feel like I’m excited about my skincare regimen.
I’m finally feeling like my skin is HEALTHY
and I’m happy about what I’m using to moisturize both my face, lips, and body. You might be thinking, did she really just say she uses lard?? Yes, lard. I rub lard on my body. I rub lard on my lips. I rub lard on my face.
When you’re looking for that perfect skincare product, I’m sure lard never crossed your mind. I know it didn’t for me until recently. I mean honestly, the thought of rubbing pig fat on my body and face didn’t sound that appealing until I did a little research. Now I can’t imagine using anything else.
This summer my husband and I met our friends at Wildom Farm. Their farm is located in McHenry, Maryland, which is about 15 minutes from our farm. Wildom opened my eyes to the possibility of using lard in skin care products, in my search to find a better balance of wellness and sustainability. Wildom raises pigs, chickens and turkeys in forest and pasture while using regenerative farming techniques. This is the way farming should be, focusing on producing healthy and happy animals that are living in the sunshine and eating the forage to create healthy forests and land. Wildom reached out to me about the possibility of using lard for skincare products, and after some research, I learned just how special lard really is. In my opinion, it might just be a perfect skincare option for me and after reading about the benefits it might be a great option for you as well.
So what makes lard such a great option? There are truly countless benefits.
First let’s talk about cost. The great thing about lard is that you get all of the benefits of expensive creams and beauty care products without the crazy price tag. Expensive creams have always been a turn off for me. I want something that works, but I don’t want to pay an outrageous price. As a mother I’m usually spending more on my children than myself. I’m sure all of you parents can relate. Lard is a great solution. Compared to the cost of many other products it’s inexpensive. And with lard, a little goes a long way, so I’m using less and getting more out of it. I’m actually saving money on my skincare regimen since switching to lard.
Another huge benefit for me is sustainability. Using lard in my daily skincare regimen has really brought me back to appreciating what resources I have locally. Instead of creating more waste, we are choosing to use the lard from a local pig farm and repurposing it for wellness and beauty products. As long as pigs are continuing to be harvested, we will continue to have this product readily available in a local setting. Using what we already have readily available and repurposing is truly empowering. I’m feeling like I’m not only doing my skin a favor, but I’m doing my part to help the Earth.
Avoiding
chemicals
is also a huge must for me. I’ve really tried cutting back on the use of chemicals in my daily life, especially since having children. Have you ever bought a beauty product and looked at the ingredient list? I usually feel pretty overwhelmed when I do. I’ve started using only safe and chemicals free options for health and beauty, and lard is an amazing solution for that. I can create my own skin care product with only a handful of ingredients. And I can easily pronounce everything I’m putting on my skin. No questioning or looking up what an ingredient is. I have extremely sensitive skin with sensitivity to numerous chemicals or common beauty ingredients, so I’m always cautiously reading labels. It’s really bringing me peace of mind having to avoid the question of what I’m putting on my skin.
Now for the really fun stuff... what lard is really doing for my skin. This is where my mind was blown. There are so many benefits. Lard can reduce fine lines and wrinkles, tone and firm skin, even out complexion and skin color, reduce redness, fight inflammation, help treat rosacea, reduce dryness (which makes it great for use in winter!), helps treat eczema, helps reduce appearance of scars, smooths skin texture, softens skin, improves acne, and reduces the size of pores. (2,3,4, 5)
All of that from lard?! Yep. I hope you can understand now why I was so intrigued.
But how and why does lard work so well for skincare? When it comes to cellular makeup, pig lard is incredibly close to human skin. Lard has a similar pH to that of human skin, and it is made up of both saturated and monounsaturated fats. When it comes to skincare, the experts know that oil dissolves oil. Since lard is so similar to our own skin oils, it’s really perfect to be used as a skincare product for humans in many forms- lotions, creams, lip balms, cleansers. (1)
Pigs are also extremely efficient at processing sunlight and storing it as Vitamin D
in their fat (2). When we rub lard on our skin, we’re soaking up all of that Vitamin D, which helps to minimize dark spots and lines, reduce acne, promote collagen production and reduce inflammation which is a common factor in conditions such as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis (3). Lard is also rich in omega-3
fatty acids, Vitamin E
and Vitamin A
(1,5). It’s packed full of vitamins to give us that healthy glowing skin that we all crave.
But there is one important thing to remember before you go rubbing pig fat all over your body and face. Not all lard is created equally. Vitamin D-rich lard comes from pastured hogs that have been exposed to sunlight (2). That’s why we use lard from Wildom. These pigs are kept in the forest and on pasture enjoying that beautiful sunshine and soaking up all of that vitamin D to help give us beautiful, soft and most importantly HEALTHY skin.
So now you might understand why lard checks all of my boxes for a perfect skincare product. I’m officially hooked. I never thought I would be saying that I rub pork fat on my face daily, but here I am, and my skin has never felt this healthy.
Here at Yorkie Acres Farm we offer a lard lotion called Farmer’s hands. I’m currently using this lotion on my body and also my face daily. But keep those eyes peeled for a future face cream using lard as well, since I’m officially hooked!
We also offer our Piggy Pout lip balm, because your lips deserve some of that piggy magic too!
I also recommend checking out our friends at Wildom. If you’re local, they sell pork, chicken, eggs, and even offer farm visits. It’s definitely worth the trip! They’re doing some pretty incredible things. We love knowing that we’re helping them to put their lard to good use to help create a healthy and sustainable skincare regimen for people.
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