The ultimate multi-tasker…the gentle eczema healer…the powerhouse SOS overnight treatment for world-weary skin.
All hail the flower and plant-powered beauty and healing balms that make things better.
From HempTouch’s Therapeutic CBD Skin Balm to AMLY’s aromatic, heavenly “Sleep” Tight” night balm, here are ten of this year’s best…
DETAILS
Left to Right (TOP ROW)
1) Dr Hauschka’s Lip Balm, this one’s more than a lip soother – it also treats fine lines. Gentle, glossy and very protective.
Key Ingredients: jojoba, wheatgerm oil, anthylis, calendula, St John’s Wort.
2) Kahina Lip & Face Balm. An investment buy – it’s pricey – but Kahina sources its argan and blue tansy (both in this balm) from Morocco, supporting Berber women’s co-ops.
Key Ingredients: calendula, shea butter, immortelle (which L’Occitane “made famous” in mainstream beauty a few years back.)
3) Botanico Vida Omega Balm with Sacha Inchi. Unctuous, omega-packed and very protective, this doubles as a lip balm and good barrier balm, too, for troubled or dry-prone skin.
Key Ingredients: Argan, castor oil, sacha inchi, avocado. (What’s sacha inchi? Harvested from the seeds of the exotic Plukenetia Volubilis fruit, it’s anti-inflammatory, promotes elasticity and smoothness and is extremely rich in beneficial fatty acids. If you’re after a lip balm, specifically, Botanico Vida do one, too).
4) Herbfarmacy’s Chickweed Balm. There’s a lot of love for Herbfarmacy, whose ingredients are harvested straight from nature as the products are made from plants and herbs at their own Hereford farm – hence the name.
Chickweed can be an eczema/psoriasis saviour when nothing else has worked so this balm is manna from heaven for itchy or irritated skin. Fairly priced at £7.50/20ml for a clean formula produced locally, 100% organic, “straight from nature”.
Key Ingredients: Chickweed, marshmallow root, calendula, shea, lavender, rosemary.
5) Burt’s Bees RES-Q Ointment. Very much a gardener/fisherman/mountaineer kind of balm, I bought this last winter as a quick fix for niggly dry patch on my right hand during freezing weather – it worked fast. It seems to help heal bites, too (in summer). A mini first aid kit style balm in a mini tin.
However this one’s not destined for lips (because of the taste, and its green colour) but their original lip balm has a hint of mint in it and has worked for me. Once a year I get chapped lips and extreme heat triggers mine, like being stuck in almost 8 days of semi-hellish 36c (with no breeze!) recently during the central/northern European heatwave.
Key Ingredients: olive oil, beeswax, comfrey, sunflower, lavender, rosemary (and more).
6) Neal’s Yard Wild Rose Balm. Hello, multi-tasker of all multipurpose balms – so many uses.
NYR should launch a limited edition with a hemp leaf on it as an homage to the cannabis sativa (hemp) in the formula, it’s one of the stars of the show in this iconic blue glass jar.
Key Ingredients: a lot, so here’s the full list:
Rosa rubiginosa (Wild rose) seed oil*, Simmondsia chinensis (Jojoba) seed oil*, Cera alba (Beeswax)*, Butyrospermum parkii (Shea butter)*, Cannabis sativa (Hemp) seed oil*, Borago officinalis (Starflower) seed oil*, Boswellia carterii (Frankincense) oil, Ascorbyl palmitate, Pelargonium graveolens (Geranium) flower oil*, Rosmarinus officinalis (Rosemary) leaf oil*, Cymbopogon martini (Palmarosa) herb oil*, Pogostemon cablin (Patchouli) leaf oil*, Geraniol, Citronellol, Limonene, Linalool, Citral, Farnesol.
*Organically produced ingredient. Natural constituent of essential oils listed.
Made with 99% organic ingredients.
Great for almost everything – hot cloth cleansing, cuticles, heels, dry patches, helps calm skin irritations, hand balm, lip balm, and the ultimate nourishing, replenishing overnight “mask”. This is one of the products I really miss when it runs out (and when it does, I re-use the jar as a tealight holder).
7) HempTouch Therapeutic CBD Balm. Hands down the biggest health story of 2018/2019, the CBD market in the USA is exploding, with the UK following behind: oils, tinctures, balms, CBD drinks, chocolate, gummies, skincare…it seems we can’t get enough of this sacred ancient plant.
Slovenia-based HempTouch (stocked at Planet Organic in the UK) won a 2019 Beauty Shortlist Wellbeing Award for its CBD oil, and added two more awards to its collection on 21st June (2019 Mama & Baby Awards).
Key Ingredients:
Full spectrum CBD, Omega 3,6 & 9 rich hemp seed oil, Marigold, Shea and Mango butter.
8) Inlight’s Calendula and Damask Rose Balm is another 2019 Beauty Shortlist Wellbeing Awards winner. I haven’t stopped using this balm, it really resonates with my skin.
Lovely, gentle rose taste (for lips) and it’s an effective overnight balm, too. Great for mamas – it’ll soothe nappy rash, sore nipples, it’s the most deliciously natural gentle soother.
Key Ingredients: calendula (anti-inflammatory, which is why it pops up so often in balms), damask rose (antioxidant and regenerative), lavender and olive oil.
9) AMLY Botanicals Sleep Tight Balm. Like Kahina, this one comes with a price tag that elevates it into the “splurge/treat” eco luxury bracket. This modern apothecary style night balm delivers an aromatherapy fix thanks to the additions of lavender and rock rose. I’ve been drinking rock rose tea this week, it’s such a sacred, gently grounding, special flowering plant and used in calming anti-flower essence blends like Bach Rescue Remedy.
Key Ingredients: bee propolis, argan, lavender, rock rose, calendula, borage/starflower and evening primrose.
10) For balm fans who’d rather go fragrance-free, Joanna White’s Mallow + White Soothe Balm is one to look at. It actually does have a subtle cucumber scent but the 6-ingredient formula is nourishing and calming.
Key Ingredients: shea, avocado, apricot, watermelon, cucumber and Vitamin E. Great for sensitive or allergy-prone skin that doesn’t necessarily love essential oils.