Why Food-Grade Skincare Is the Future of Healthy Skin

In a world where ingredient labels are often unreadable and “natural” doesn’t always mean safe, food-grade skincare is more than a trend—it’s a return to what’s real. At Brooklyn Skin Food, we believe that if it’s not good enough to eat, it shouldn’t go on your skin.

Your Skin Eats Too

Your skin is your largest organ—and it’s incredibly absorbent. Studies have shown that up to 60–90% of what you apply topically can be absorbed into your bloodstream.¹ This means the quality of your skincare ingredients matters just as much as the food you eat. That’s why we only use food-grade, nutrient-dense ingredients like grass-fed tallow, coconut oil, and arrowroot in our formulations—no fillers, no seed oils, no compromises.

Why Tallow? The Ancestral Skincare Powerhouse

Tallow, rendered from the fat of grass-fed cattle, is remarkably compatible with human skin. It shares a similar fatty acid profile and is packed with fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K—essential for skin barrier health, elasticity, and cellular repair.

Proven Benefits of Tallow:

• Supports skin barrier function and hydration: Tallow is rich in stearic acid and palmitic acid, which help maintain the structure of the skin barrier and prevent transepidermal water loss.²

• Naturally anti-inflammatory: Tallow contains conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and palmitoleic acid, both of which have antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties.³

• High in antioxidants: Fat-soluble vitamins like A and E in tallow help neutralize oxidative stress that can age skin.⁴

🧪 Research Sources:

• ² Fatty acids and skin health – PubMed

• ³ The effect of fatty acids on skin inflammation – PubMed

• ⁴ Topical retinoids and vitamin E – PubMed

Coconut Oil: Stable, Antimicrobial, and Deeply Moisturizing

Another core ingredient we love is virgin coconut oil—a saturated fat that’s stable (won’t oxidize easily) and rich in lauric acid. Lauric acid has been shown to have antibacterial and antifungal properties, making it ideal for sensitive skin and soothing conditions like eczema or dermatitis.⁵

🧪 Coconut oil's antimicrobial activity – PubMed

Unlike seed oils that oxidize quickly and can actually cause more harm to your skin barrier, coconut oil remains shelf-stable, nourishing, and safe—especially when paired with tallow.

Why We Don’t Use Seed Oils

Many “natural” skincare brands still rely on cheap seed oils like sunflower, safflower, and soybean oil. While inexpensive, these oils are high in unstable polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs), which oxidize easily and can create free radicals when exposed to heat or light. That oxidation can lead to inflammation, premature aging, and even worsen skin conditions over time.

🧪 Lipid oxidation and skin aging – PubMed

We don’t cut corners. No seed oils, no gimmicks—just whole, stable fats your skin can recognize and use.

Final Thoughts: Food-Grade Skincare Is More Than a Trend

What you put on your skin matters. Food-grade skincare isn’t just cleaner—it’s better for your skin’s biology. Our formulations are designed to nourish your skin from the outside in, with the same care you give your nutrition.

Brooklyn Skin Food is built on the belief that your skin deserves real nourishment. We’re proud to craft products you could literally eat (but like, don’t). Clean, effective, uncompromising skincare—made for families, made for healing, made for real life.