The Story of my first botanical formulations.

A Mother’s Journey Into Old World Herbal Alchemy

I never intended to create a line of skincare products.

I simply wanted to soothe my child’s skin, and help others in my community.

Ten years ago, I was standing in a bathroom at night looking at inflamed, uncomfortable patches on my little one and wondering how something so small could feel so overwhelming. I had tried everything that was commonly suggested. Creams. Oils. Gentle formulas. Natural products. Nothing gave me the steady, reliable results I was searching for.

My mother taught me how to use simple herbs and ingredients from a tender age. You could say she was the OG crunchy mama. Peppermint for tummy aches. Lemon Balm for Immunity. Chamomile for sleep and eye health. Rosemary for studying. Oregano for illness. Calendula for infection. Lavender for calming. Basil for blessing and protection. The simple stuff. Later in my life I went on to study herbs. I had a fascination for old world folkloric remedies. Sometimes it's called "witchcraft" ... *wink I started collecting a gardenful of botanicals. I learned their actions. I learned how to dry them properly. I learned how to infuse them slowly. Tincture them. When and how to pick for maximum potency. I learned the alchemical values of them. The astronomical associations with them and how they related to the body. I learned what actually extracts plant compounds effectively and what simply smells nice on a label.

That curiosity became a decade of hands-on herbal experience, and every formula I create today carries that knowledge inside it.

Apothecary and Alchemy

The Early Days With Plant Oils

In the beginning, I infused herbs into plant based menstruums like coconut oil and olive oil. Those were considered gold standard in natural skincare circles. They worked beautifully at first. The herbs released their scent. The oils took on colour. The balms felt nourishing.

Then something kept happening.

They turned.

Oxidation crept in. Off notes appeared. Shelf life shortened. Texture shifted. The products demanded heavy antioxidants or rapid turnover.

That forced me to ask deeper questions.

What did herbalists do before modern cosmetic chemistry existed? What was used when shelf stability mattered because refrigeration was rare and ingredients were precious?

I kept finding the same answer.

Fat.

Animal fat.

Rendered carefully. Stored properly. Used as the base for infusions, salves, and ointments for centuries.

Not industrial seed oils.

Not delicate polyunsaturated oils that oxidise easily.

Real fat.

Biologically appropriate fat.

Herbs hanging up to dry

That Moment Everything Changed

The first time I infused my garden herbs into tallow, I still remember the feeling.

I was genuinely excited.

The infusion moved differently. The aroma was deeper. The colour extraction surprised me. The finished balm felt calmer on skin, more cushioning, more complete.

It made sense.

Human skin is rich in lipids. Saturated and monounsaturated fats form much of its protective barrier. Tallow shares a remarkably similar fatty acid profile, which means it integrates beautifully into topical formulas without feeling foreign or fleeting.

I rediscovered where ancestral formulation met with modern precision.

That was the moment I rewrote my entire approach.

Infusions of herbs

Why This Matters in Skincare

My products are built on a base of grass-fed tallow that has been infused with herbs using techniques refined over a decade of practice. That infusion is not rushed. It is not perfumed over the top. It is created slowly so the lipid soluble constituents of the plants actually transfer into the fat.

That is the alchemy.

Fat becomes a carrier. Herbs become functional. Skin receives something it recognises.

The result is skincare that behaves like nourishment for the skin.

People tell me they forget they are wearing it. They notice their skin feels supported through the day.

That is always my metric.

How does skin feel hours later.

A Mother’s Lens Never Leaves My Work

Everything I formulate still passes through the same filter I used a decade ago in that bathroom.

Would I put this on my own child.

Would I trust this on inflamed, reactive skin.

Would I use this day after day.

If the answer is not a calm, confident yes, it does not make it into a jar.

That is why my formulas stay restrained. No overloaded ingredient decks. No decorative or cheap fillers. No complexity for marketing’s sake.

Only what earns its place.

Grass-fed tallow.

Non adulterated Herb infused fats.

Pure Organic Therapeutic grade essential oils and attars.

Supporting oils (jojoba) chosen for stability and skin affinity.

That is it.

Putting tallow on the skin

Old Knowledge, Modern Application

I often say that I am not reinventing skincare.

I am remembering it.

Herbalists understood fat. Apothecaries relied on it. Midwives stored their salves in it. It preserved. It delivered. It soothed.

I have simply taken that wisdom and applied it to something modern families use everyday.

Every jar carries ten years of herbal learning, countless test batches, garden harvests, wildcrafting, slow infusions, and a mother’s stubborn refusal to settle for formulas that merely look good or sound good on a label.

I make these products because I once needed them.

And because I know how powerful the right base can be.

When fat meets botanicals.

When tradition meets precision.

When skin finally feels understood.

That is what lives inside the foundations of Carnivore Origins Tallow Skincare. Lots of fat love, Meeka xo