When a fat is good enough to nourish the body from the inside, it shouldn’t surprise us that it can nourish the skin too.
Lard Closely Mimics Our Skin’s Natural Oils
One of the most remarkable things about lard is how closely it resembles the natural lipid composition of human skin.
Our skin barrier is made up of fatty acids and lipids that protect, hydrate, and repair. Properly rendered lard contains a similar balance of fats — especially oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat that plays a major role in maintaining skin softness and elasticity.
Because of this similarity:
- Lard absorbs easily instead of sitting on the surface
- It supports the skin barrier rather than disrupting it
- It helps lock in moisture without clogging pores
- It’s gentle enough for sensitive and dry skin
This is why lard was traditionally used for salves, soaps, and balms long before modern skincare existed.
Lard Isn’t Just Better in the Kitchen — It’s Incredible for Skin
One of the biggest reasons I value lard so highly is what it does outside the kitchen.
Lard is remarkably similar to the natural oils in our own skin. When rendered properly from well-raised pigs, it becomes deeply nourishing, gentle, and supportive — not stripping, not synthetic, and not filled with fillers.
That’s exactly why I use lard to make my handmade soap and face cream.
- Piggy Soap is crafted with rendered lard to gently cleanse without drying the skin the way commercial soaps do. It leaves skin clean, soft, and balanced — the way soap used to.
- The Balm This nourishing face balm is handcrafted in small batches using simple, time-honored ingredients chosen for their gentle, skin-loving properties. Designed to deeply moisturize and protect, it melts into the skin to help lock in hydration and support a soft, healthy-looking complexion.
This is the same fat our ancestors trusted for cooking, preservation, and healing — and it turns out, they were right again.
When you use lard this way, you begin to understand:
this isn’t just fat — it’s a resource.
A Fat the Body Recognizes
Unlike petroleum-based products or highly processed plant oils, lard is something the body recognizes. When rendered cleanly and sourced from healthy animals, it works with the skin instead of against it.
This is especially important in a world where many skincare products rely on:
- Synthetic fragrances
- Harsh detergents
- Preservatives and fillers
- Lab-altered oils
Lard doesn’t need to be corrected or enhanced — it’s already compatible.
From Tradition to Today
This natural compatibility is the foundation of why I use lard to create Piggy Soap and The Balm face cream. They’re built on the same principle our ancestors followed: use ingredients that nourish, protect, and respect the body.
When we return to fats that mirror our own biology, skin care becomes simpler — and more effective.
Why Lard Is Better Than Tallow (and Why Our Ancestors Knew It) in the Kitchen
For generations, fat wasn’t feared — it was respected. Our great-grandmothers didn’t debate seed oils vs. butter on the internet. They cooked with what they rendered themselves, trusted what nourished their families, and used every part of the animal with intention.
Two traditional fats often compared today are lard and tallow. Both are far superior to modern industrial oils — but they are not interchangeable. And when it comes to everyday cooking and baking, lard has distinct advantages that modern kitchens are rediscovering.
1. Lard Is More Versatile in the Kitchen
Lard is rendered pork fat, and its texture and flavor make it incredibly adaptable.
- Light, flaky baked goods
- Tender pie crusts
- Soft biscuits and tortillas
- Frying without heaviness
- Sautéing vegetables without overpowering flavor
Unlike tallow, lard has a neutral, mild taste when properly rendered. This makes it ideal for both savory and baked dishes — something tallow struggles with due to its stronger beef flavor.
Our ancestors knew this: tallow was often reserved for candles, soap, or very specific cooking tasks, while lard lived by the stove.
2. Lard Has a Better Fatty Acid Profile for Daily Use
Pastured lard contains a higher percentage of monounsaturated fat, similar to olive oil, making it softer at room temperature and easier to digest for many people.
Tallow is higher in saturated fat and remains quite hard, which can feel heavy in baked goods and less forgiving in cooking.
When pigs are raised properly — outdoors, on pasture, and supplemented naturally — lard becomes a nutrient-dense, stable fat that supports real nourishment. This is EXTREMELY important to us here at the Accidental Pig Farmers where we raise pigs out on pasture in the sunshine rootin’ and tootin’ and only fed USDA local organic feed. This is an absolute MUST when sourcing your lard.
3. Lard Creates Superior Baking Results
There is a reason old-fashioned cookbooks swear by lard.
Lard coats flour differently than butter or tallow, resulting in:
- Flakier crusts
- Softer textures
- Better rise in biscuits and pastries
Tallow simply doesn’t perform the same way in baking. It’s too firm and too dense, leading to heavier results.
If you want food that tastes like it came from a farmhouse kitchen instead of a factory line, lard matters.
Learn how to Render Lard with my video.
4. Lard Reflects True Whole-Animal Stewardship
Using lard is about more than cooking — it’s about honoring the animal.
When we render lard from pigs from our pasture raised, organic fed pigs we…
- Reduce waste
- Avoid industrial seed oils
- Support regenerative farming
- Reclaim traditional skills
This is food independence in action.
It’s not about perfection. It’s about returning to wisdom that worked long before modern food systems complicated things.
This is what I talk about in my video No Waste Homesteading | Pigs, Lard, Meat, and Soap
A Return to Real Food
Relearning how to use traditional fats is part of trimming the excess and coming back to the basics: simple ingredients, purposeful work, and food that sustains both body and home.
This is the kind of wisdom worth passing down.
If you want to learn how to cook, preserve, and build meals from what you grow and raise — this is exactly why I wrote From Seed to Plate.
Food independence starts with one skill at a time — and sometimes, one jar of lard on the counter.
Ready to reclaim traditional kitchen skills?
Join me inside my Heritage Legacy Club on Patreon for seasonal classes, old-world food skills, and in-person workshops — or grab your copy of Seed to Plate and start building a kitchen rooted in tradition.
