For the past 6 months I have been using a brand called Farrowskin but they should probably be called the wrinkle eraser because they have been helping me tackle the wrinkles upon my forehead (that came along with motherhood SIGH) and helping me with a youthful complexion. Sounds too good to be true but this unique, clean beauty skincare line IS SO SO SO EFFECTIVE. I got to sit down with the owner, Charles Mayfield, to ask him about his products and I think y’all are going to enjoy this!
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BYOK: Charles – great to have you on the blog! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself because I jump into the skincare questions.
Charles: Co-authored some of the earliest cookbooks in the Paleo space with my ex-wife. It was the paleo community that really pointed my radar toward food access and the power of regenerative farming. Attended one of the earliest fundraisers for Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund at Polyface Farm and that really pushed me over the edge. Have always admired and loved the outdoors. After that trip, I started researching and studying the works of Joel Salatin, Wendell Berry & Allan Savory. Coupled with that, two young children—wanted to be sure and secure quality food and the life lessons that come with farming.
BYOK: Okay – You said it so I am going to ask you about it. What the heck is regenerative farming?
Charles: Oh boy…the term gets thrown around so often now. My quick definition is: Regenerative Farming is Building Soil utilizing natural systems. To expand on that—working with natural systems through proper animal management and husbandry, soil is preserved and built upon, water is saved and the sun’s power is maximized. It’s really the only sustainable farming model.
BYOK: What made you take the leap into skincare?
Charles: Bottom line here—I had a watershed moment in 2019 following a particularly nasty sunburn. Lard resolved the problem and I never pealed (with only two applications). Started testing out creams in my kitchen using the “normal approach” of emulsifying water and fat. Could never get the creams to stay good for longer than a week—they would go rancid quickly. What gives??? So I researched natural preservatives and used a bunch of different essential oils trying to keep it from going bad. This led me to taking my “Paleo” lens of viewing food and shining it on skin care. What a saw and found were scary. The preservatives they allow in our cosmetics and skincare are nasty. There are PLENTY of people in the “healthy food space”…didn’t seem to be a ton of folks in the healthy skincare world…AND nobody was using Lard. Figured I’d give it a shot and hopefully make some awesome products that my children can use…so they aren’t jacking their hormones up with chemicals and preservatives.
BYOK: I don’t know if you watch the show shark tank but they always say the best creations are made by solving problems. That seems like your situation here. Can you tell us more about why we should be using lard on our face?
Charles: Our SmartLard technology (pastured lard) is the most biologically complete fat for human skin. The similarities between pigs and humans are uncanny. So similar that we use pigs to train our surgeons and occasionally use their organs for various use in human surgery (heart valves as an example). Pigs metabolize vitamins and store them under the exact same mechanisms as humans. So, healthy pig—health pig fat—amazing for human skin. The key is raising the pig properly. This is best for the land, the pig and the end consumer…both eating the pig for food and also utilizing the fat for cooking and skincare. Super high in natural Vitamins A, E & D, lipid profile and PH of lard is spot on match to human biology. It soaks in super deep and is perfectly aligned with human biology.
BYOK: What products do y’all currently have available?
Charles: We presently have three products: SkinFood (2.3-ounce container) for use on the body (neck down), FaceFood (1-ounce container) for use on Face (neck up) and our Total Skincare Elixir—a 30 mL bottle containing 1750 mg of CBD we grew in our super awesome pastures. We sell them separately or as a Skincare Duo (FaceFood & SkinFood), Finally, our Total Skincare Bundle is the combination of all three. I will contend that if someone uses our Bundle for 30 days, their skin and skin health will transform.
BYOK: What is on the horizon as far as products?
Charles: Oh goodness—yes, I’ve currently got Lip Gloss, Lip Balm, Bath Bombs, an SPF sunscreen and Soap in the works. This is the little company that could :-). You’re emailing with the guy that makes everything, packages it, ships it and manages the animals our fat comes from. My “milestone” for devoting more time to new products is once we have at least 400 subscribers to our products. **Just a note, I give a 15% discount for anyone that subscribes to Farrow. A subscription model allows us to manufacture the creams in real-time and deliver them fresh to each customer on a monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly basis. Would LOVE to take the next step and bring more products to market. Just need to get to cash-flow sustainability first.
BYOK: Do you have any resources for someone who wants to learn a bit more about regernative farming?
Charles:
Books and resources:
Regenerative Farming
Anything Joel Salatin has written
Allan Savory’s Holistic Land Management
Omnivores Dilemma by Michael Pollen
Food Inc—Movie
Sacred Cow—Book and Movie
Science Behind Lard in Skincare
I’m afraid you’re not going to find much science…perhaps we should ask the recently retired King of Science (Dr. Fauci) HAHA! Here’s the thing…you’re going to be hard pressed to find much supporting animal fats in general—at least from a scientific perspective. Any OLD homesteading book would likely talk about it…but primarily from a cooking perspective. Nobody is using Lard for skincare…certainly not the big skincare companies that have the funds to pay for big studies.
Podcasts to consider
The Meat Mafia—couple of young dudes that are touching all the bases in food, health and agriculture
The Health Rebellion—Robb & Nicki Wolf: General health and wellness
**Most of the Skincare podcasts are totally captured by the industry…they promote a bunch of chemical laden junk. Still trying to find a few that aren’t captured. Would love to go on them.
Want to connect with Farrowskin? Find their website here and instagram here.
