The approach
Ingredients
With fewer ingredients, each one has to earn its place. Chosen for where it comes from, how it is made, and what it does for the skin.
01Hydration Gel
Aloe vera
Made from the inner fillet of the leaf, the soft water-rich tissue, pressed undiluted rather than rebuilt from powder or thinned with water. It forms the gel's water phase: a light base that spreads easily over damp skin and supplies the moisture glycerin helps retain.
- INCI Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
- Source Inner-fillet leaf, undiluted
- Function Water-rich base
Vegetable glycerin
A small molecule that pulls in and holds water, and one skin already makes. Distilled from the fruit of the karanja tree, a non-food crop, to 99.5% purity, for a traceable, palm-free source. In the formula it keeps water in the outer layers instead of letting it evaporate off the surface.
- INCI Glycerin
- Source Karanja fruit, refined
- Function Humectant
Xanthan gum
A polysaccharide grown by fermenting plant sugars, then cleaned and dried to a powder. A small amount turns the aloe and glycerin mix from a thin liquid into a gel that pumps and spreads evenly.
- INCI Xanthan Gum
- Source Plant-sugar fermentation
- Function Gel former, viscosity
Preservative system
The gel contains water, and anything with water can grow bacteria, yeast, and mold, so preservation is a requirement. Citric acid sets the acidic pH that lets sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate work. All three have decades of use in water-based products and are reviewed safe at cosmetic levels.
- INCI Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate
- Source Food-grade acids and salts
- Function pH control, preservation
02Barrier Balm
Meadowfoam seed oil
Cold-pressed from the seed of a Pacific Northwest wildflower. Its longer fatty acid chains and low levels of unstable fats help it stay fresh and stable without added antioxidants. It gives the balm most of its body and a smooth, light glide.
- INCI Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil
- Source Cold-pressed seed oil
- Function Primary emollient
Squalane
The stable, saturated form of squalene, a lipid skin's own surface makes. Olive-derived and refined to a clear, odorless liquid with a fast, dry finish. It lightens the meadowfoam and beeswax base so the balm spreads thin without a heavy, waxy residue.
- INCI Squalane
- Source Olive-derived, refined
- Function Lightweight emollient
Beeswax
Taken from the cappings, the fresh wax sealed over honey cells and the cleanest wax in the hive. US-sourced and triple-filtered, not bleached or deodorized, so its natural color and faint honey scent stay. It gives the balm its structure and leaves a thin layer that slows water leaving the skin.
- INCI Cera Alba (Beeswax)
- Source Hive cappings, triple-filtered
- Function Structure, seal