I liked our original balm formula, but I didn’t love it.
What I wanted was something closer to the spreadability of Vaseline, without the petroleum, of course. Something that was easy to put on as a thin layer, or a thick layer, and not so solid that it needed the heat of a person’s skin to make it spreadable.
It absolutely couldn’t be irritating, as it’s meant to go on super rough, dry, cracked skin. It should only provide relief and protection.
I played around with various levels of Shea and Cocoa Butters, different liquid oils like Almond and Castor, increased and decreased the amount of Beeswax and Lanolin, and tried different essential oils. What I ended up with is nearly perfect and I do love it. We’ve been using it all winter and I have to keep make more the longer the cold goes on. The new formula has Shea Butter, Castor Oil, Coconut Oil, Lanolin, and Beeswax. It’s simple but sometimes that’s best. There’s no tiny amounts of anything. They combine in the perfect amounts to soothe and protect the driest of dry skin, and I added Lavender essential oil for a little extra soothing and natural scent.
Shea Butter is a fickle ingredient, though, and it does give me a little grief in products like a balm. If it’s melted and not cooled off fast enough, it goes grainy. There’s nothing wrong with the product, it works exact like it did before it went grainy, but it might put some people off.
I’m taking the risk and offering the new balm because it’s really a fantastic skin care tool, grainy or not. It’s great for cracked feet and knuckles, for calloused elbows, dry knees, irritated cuticles….. the list goes on.
If you find your skin is really unhappy from this latest cold snap (damn you, polar vortex), add a tin or 2 to your shopping cart (hey – I almost forgot! ONLINE ORDERING is open again!) and before you know it, enjoy healthy, happy skin once more. Check out our 100% pet safe paw balm, using the same base formula. Our vapor balm also has an upgraded formula.
Speaking of Shea Butter, the latest 3 soaps made – Enchanted Forest, Pink Sugar, and Vanilla Hazelnut Coffee – I included some alongside the normal Cocoa Butter and made some really special soaps. Our soaps normally don’t over dry the skin, but the Shea Butter just adds to that and leaves your skin even softer. That’s not to say our original soap formula is less, with the extra cocoa butter, it really is the best soap!
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