Lanolin is a by product of the wool industry

Wool is carefully shorn (cut using electric clippers) from the live sheep by sheepshearers. Sheepshearers are specialized farm workers who learn this skill over many years of shearing practice. They shear (cut) the wool off the sheep; then the wool is washed before the wool oil (lanolin) is extracted (scoured) from the wool. The wool is harvested from sheep just like milk is harvested from cows, and honey is harvested from bees. Therefore there is NO animal cruelty associated with shearing the sheep.

There are extensive records of safe use of lanolin in skincare applications. Lanolin is an excellent emollient - it helps soften and soothe skin.

LANOLIN In summary

• LANOLIN one of nature's own oils .... a humidifying protector.
• LANOLIN exists as a natural oil on the skin and in the fibre of sheep's wool.
• LANOLIN acts as a waterproof raincoat to the animal.
• LANOLIN is referred to as 'wool fat or wool grease' by farmers.
• LANOLIN resembles the sebaceous secretions of our own skin.
• LANOLIN is separated from the shorn sheep's wool after each spring clipping.
• LANOLIN is a wonderful emollient*.

Pure natural LANOLIN is too thick and too greasy for the skin.

Merino Skincare uses various fractions of LANOLIN in scientifically balanced proportions .

LANOLIN General background

An understanding of Lanolin's unique qualities is helpful.

LANOLIN is the precious oily secretion from the skin of the sheep that becomes trapped in the sheep's wool. When the sheep is shorn each year (the sheep's hair cut) the wool is washed, processed & the Lanolin Oil extracted & refined.

The Lanolin is the Sheep's natural nourisher & protector against the extremes of its environment.

These oils of Lanolin are extremely similar to those natural oils we secrete from within our own skin(we're both animals).

Thus Lanolin is the only animal (human compatible) oil obtainable without having to kill or dissect the animal.

While most moisturising cremes & lotions use as their base oils, either vegetable or mineral oils, they don't have Lanolin's compatibility to those oils of our skin. We use some mineral & vegetable oils as supplements.

But Lanolin in our opinion forms the greatest replacement of our endlessly leached skin oils (washing, pollution, air-conditioning etc). Leached due to our environmental harshness & modern way of life.

LANOLIN in more detail & its history.

• The use of LANOLIN in cosmetics and skin care has a history longer than almost any other ingredient. A century of scientific investigation has evolved qualities, traditionally unparalleled in their stringency and surety.
• The performance of this quite remarkable substance and it's many derivatives has been endlessly demonstrated down through the ages.
• Nature is abundant with materials which are beneficial to humans & their well-being .
• LANOLIN is such a material. Predating Science, it was never 'invented' & has never been bettered for versatility. It is the ultimate emollient*.
• It is a unique, multifunctional substance, designed by nature, fashioned by man .
• The Stratum Corneum is the outer layer of the Epidermis and is a lipid (oil) rich system, being bathed in an oily coating of Sebum, which is secreted by the Sebaceous glands of the skin.
• The Sebum plays a vital role in moderating the moisture balance of the Stratum Corneum and thereby it's condition. The moisture within these cells is considered to be in an emulsified form, maintained through the action of naturally surface active Lipids of the Sebum.
• The presence of cellular moisture within this layer is responsible for the plumpness, smoothness, elasticity and translucency of healthy, young skin. Aging, sunlight and the vagaries of life in general result in a reduction in the ability of the Stratum Corneum to retain its ideal moisturise content, so the skin gets drier, rougher & looses it's youthful elasticity . Certainly this is a natural & inevitable process, but the incorporation of moisturising materials in skin care systems can be effective.
• *Emollient defined as an oil, having the ability to enhance the moisture content of the Stratum Corneum & thereby imparting a smooth softening effect. LANOLIN certainly has this effect. Ask a user.

No allergy
Professor A. M. Kligman, world famous American Dermatologist has clinical studies proving that 99% of dermatitis patients were not allergic to lanolin.

">Professor Kligman wrote -In a healthy population encountering lanolin in the normal way, the incidence of lanolin allergy is vanishingly small.

St. Johns Institute of Dermatology, London reviewed 24,930 patients for fifteen (15) years (1982-1996), who has Eczema and there was no reaction to lanolin products.

Remember the quote from Professor Kligman:

-Lanolin is a marvelous material. We should begin to emphasize the benefits; not the risks. The risks are miniscule-.

Reference
ORR, S. R. Dr, Lanolin Demythologized, Personal Care, January 2001.