Red Velvet Oil – When Waste becomes Luxury

Some ingredients find their way into a formulation because they’re trending. Red velvet oil found its way into Fatglow because nobody else was using it. That’s still largely true. Red velvet oil — extracted from tomato seeds — remains one of the most underused botanicals in skincare. Which is extraordinary, because what it does for skin is anything but ordinary.

Tomatoes are one of the world’s most processed foods. Every year, millions of tonnes of tomatoes are processed for sauces, juices and pastes — and the seeds, which make up a small percentage of each fruit, are largely discarded as waste. Red velvet oil is extracted from those seeds using cold pressing — a method that preserves the delicate bioactive compounds that heat would destroy. Food waste costs the global economy an estimated $1 trillion annually – and turning even a fraction of that waste into something useful is exactly the kind of thinking the beauty industry needs more of. This is circular beauty in its truest form – where agricultural waste becomes something genuinely extraordinary — and it’s exactly the kind of ingredient decision that sits at the heart of Fatglow.

Grass-fed tallow itself is upcycled — a byproduct of the meat industry that would otherwise be discarded. Red velvet oil follows the same philosophy. Nothing wasted. Everything purposeful. Two circular beauty ingredients at the heart of one brand. And what this particular seed contains is remarkable.

The red colour comes from lycopene — one of nature’s most powerful antioxidants, and twice as potent as beta-carotene. The same compound that gives tomatoes their colour protects skin from environmental stress, free radical damage and the visible signs of ageing. Red velvet oil is one of the richest plant sources of lycopene available. Lycopene also provides mild natural protection against UV damage — integrating into cell membranes and stabilising them against oxidative stress. For skin that faces the world every day that considered protection matters.

Beyond lycopene, red velvet oil contains phytosterols — compounds that actively support barrier restoration and help reduce dryness and irritation. Combined with linoleic acid for deep hydration and vitamin E for further antioxidant protection, it’s an impressively complete oil for something that began as a byproduct. It also absorbs beautifully — lightweight, non-greasy, leaving skin soft rather than coated. For a seed oil, it performs like something far more precious.

The food waste crisis is real and growing. Every ingredient that can be rescued from that waste stream and turned into something valuable is a considered choice that counts. Red velvet oil is one of those ingredients — grown without additional land or water, processed as a byproduct, cold pressed to preserve everything it contains. That’s not just good skincare. That’s circular beauty with purpose.

At Fatglow, the decision to use it wasn’t complicated. It was zero waste, it was new, it was beautiful, and it did something genuinely good for skin. Those four things were enough. Choosing red velvet oil isn’t just a win for your complexion, it’s a vote for sustainable tallow skincare New Zealand. Experience the difference that small-batch, ethical beauty can make for your skin and the planet.

Red velvet oil appears in my Rose Tallow Glow Cream, Blue Tansy Glow Cream and across my entire tallow lip balm range — four naturally coloured, naturally scented lip balms launching very soon. And something new is coming. A Red Velvet Botanical Serum – built around red velvet oil as the hero ingredient, alongside grass-fed tallow, infused jojoba, rosehip and pomegranate. Circular beauty in a bottle. Launching soon – join the waitlist by emailing fatglow@xtra.co.nz

Where tallow becomes botanical luxury.