Animal-based moisturizers (like tallow balm) are becoming one of the most popular ways to care for your skin.
Consumers are recognizing the highly restorative properties available to us in nature—and using them because they work.
As a collective, we’re turning back to our ancestors’ methods of diet and skincare, and saying, “You were right. Teach me more.”
The good news is, ancestral skincare methods haven’t been so lost to time that they can’t be reclaimed.
Thanks to primal societies in Australia, we still have access to one powerful skincare ingredient.
It’s called emu oil.
What Is Emu Oil? Understanding Animal-Based Skincare
Before you ask, the answer is yes.
Emu oil does come from an emu bird.
In primal Australian societies, emu oil was used for everything from skincare to cooking.
With limited resources, this practice eliminated waste and honored the animal’s sacrifice. It also led to the discovery of emu oil for skincare.
Emu oil is a powerful source of…
- Linoleic acid
- Oleic acid
- Antioxidants
- Natural vitamin A (a retinol alternative)
- Natural vitamin E
- Palmitic acid
Emu oil is also extremely easy for your skin to absorb, thanks to its small particles. Some experts recommend pairing emu oil with other nutrients to promote better absorption.
Emu Oil Benefits and Uses
Emu oil is one of those ingredients that’s good for just about everything. If you have an unexpected breakout, rash, or cut, emu oil is a quick and safe remedy to try. It’s also extremely beneficial to the overall health of skin—making it a perfect addition to your intentional skincare routine.
Stretch Marks
Your skin can use the fatty acids found in emu oil as a resource to improve stretch marks. Its ability to penetrate deep into the skin means you can do more with emu oil than most other moisturizers. To reduce stretch marks, we recommend pairing emu oil with a gentle exfoliation routine.
Acne and Scarring
If you struggle with chronic acne and scarring, you may need a multi-step holistic plan to reduce it. We often recommend changing up your diet and removing hormone disruptors from your environment. Still, emu oil is a wonderful three-in-one product that can work toward smoother skin, less acne, and better moisture—all at once.
Graceful Aging
When we age, we often lose a lot of the nutrients that keep our skin plump and elastic. Emu oil can help restore some of those missing nutrients. It’s rich in antioxidants, is a great source of natural vitamin A, and can help boost collagen production.
Sun Damage
It’s still debated whether or not emu oil is a natural sunscreen (it may contain a low SPF). Either way, it’s soothing and moisturizing to sun-damaged and sunburned skin—offering natural minerals, antioxidants, and fatty acids to bring the skin back to balance.
Eczema
High-quality emu oil offers hydration and vitamins for eczema breakouts. Since it's natural, most emu oil is safe to use on kids and shouldn’t stick to clothing or cause further irritation. Its small particles help emu oil stand out from other eczema remedies, allowing it to seep deeper into the skin.
Cell Restoration
Full of powerful antioxidants, emu oil is known for its ability to help regenerate skin cells. With collagen-boosting properties and natural vitamins and minerals, emu oil creates the ideal environment to support plump, elastic, and glowing skin.
Emu Oil and Tallo
Speaking of animal-based skincare, tallow has quickly caught on as one of the most nourishing and moisturizing ingredients you can put on your face. We’ve been praising the benefits of tallow for a long time, and we consider emu oil another fantastic addition to our animal-based skincare line.
Emu oil, when mixed with tallow, offers a gentle application—with quick absorption that leaves less room for breakouts.
Emu Oil for Face Application
We’re pretty obsessed with emu oil as a skincare product. As self-proclaimed minimalists, we believe finding regenerative ingredients that have multiple benefits is always a win.
Here are just some of the reasons you should make emu oil a regular part of your skincare routine:
- It’s a natural moisturizer
- It contains antioxidants to help restore vibrancy
- Its fatty acid profile is similar to our own skin’s
- It can help reduce acne, redness, and scarring
- It’s extremely absorbent and may act as a carrier for other vitamins and minerals
Adding Emu Oil to Your Skincare Routine
As we mentioned, there are many benefits of using emu oil for skin. We encourage you to think of emu oil as a nutrient-packed moisturizer. The best time to apply it is in the morning before makeup or as a moisturizer during your bedtime routine.
In some cases (for outdoor sports, dry climates, and midday skincare pick-me-ups), you may want to reapply emu oil throughout the day. Just make sure you apply it to a clean face and give the product a few minutes to soak in.
What to Look for in an Emu Oil
One benefit of emu oil is that it hasn’t been too disrupted by conventional skincare companies. Emu oil is difficult to source (it comes from Australia) and can be expensive. Since chemical-based moisturizers are still more commonly used than animal-based skincare, most companies don’t see a market for emu oil.
This is actually a great thing because it ensures much of the emu oil on the market is high quality. But just in case you want to do your own research (which we always recommend), here’s what to look for in high-quality emu oil:
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Whole, Unfractured Ingredients
Natural ingredients are typically self-protective. This means they include elements that balance each other out. For example, vitamin A as a whole food has naturally built-in protection against the sun. If only part of that vitamin A is extracted, the sun protection may be lost in the process.
By keeping emu oil in its natural form, we’re able to lock rich oleic acid and antioxidants into the formula—so those benefits go straight to your skin.
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No Added Fragrance
Checking the ingredients list for “fragrance” or “parfum” is a good way to tell immediately if a product is clean or not. These terms are protected under trademark laws, and they allow companies to include thousands of chemical ingredients without naming them.
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Make Sure “Emu Oil” Is One of the First Ingredients
The order of an ingredients list can tell you a lot about the product. Ingredients that make up most of the product will be listed first, while ingredients that make up a smaller portion are listed last.
You want to see emu oil as one of the top ingredients (preferably one of the first five listed). This shows that you’re actually getting the emu oil you pay for and it isn’t being cut with other less expensive oils, like olive oil.
On-the-Go Emu Oil for Face and Skin Care
Ancestral skincare habits are ideal for someone who cares about natural ingredients, eco-friendly practices, and minimalism. Both tallow and emu oil contain fatty acid profiles that are extremely similar to our own skin, which makes these ingredients extra gentle and soothing (arguably more so than conventional moisturizers).
We believe in honoring our bodies and respecting the resources nature has provided for us. At Toups and Co, our products will always be ethically rendered and responsibly made. We use parts of the animal that would otherwise go to waste, and we never add extra chemicals or additives.
Animal-based products eliminate the need for multi-step skincare routines—by covering multiple skin concerns with just one or two simple ingredients. Want to try emu oil for yourself? We created an on-the-go blend of emu oil and tallow to offer hydration anywhere.