The Best Balms with HiddenHarmonyWorld

As an oil serum obsessive, naturally, I am fascinated by balms. Other than a few, trusty skin savers such as Egyptian Magic and my favourite Badger balms, I have yet to explore this universe of luxurious healing salves and I need help navigating my choices, so ofcourse, I enlist and defer to the ‘Balm Queen’ herself, my beautiful friend Binita who you might know as @HiddenHarmonyWorld on Instagram. Binita is awesome. Whenever we chat, it’s a happy snarkfest that could easily last for hours. She has the most impeccable taste and makes her own exquisite “HHW Balms” which require an involved process and include a meticulous selection of ingredients. These are for herself and not for sale but I’ve been the very lucky recipient of a few and would pay good money for more. Needless to say, I trust her opinion on all things balms over anyone. Enjoy this informative, honest and eye-opening guest blog post from Binita on her favourites and why!

 

Balms….a category of skincare product so underrated and misunderstood by the masses. Their composition and versatility need more exposure and education before the conclusive nods come along. Since oils become the “it” thing in the market, they quickly evolved into balms. I’ve tried, loved, disliked so many, that now I’m in a position to share my thoughts on specific aspects such as their ingredient profile, method of formulation, packaging, consistency, performance, marketing claims, and pricing.

Any traditional and respectful balm would have a waterless (including emulsifiers) formulation, strictly within the realms of lush oils, decadent butters and skin protecting waxes. The method of extraction for each ingredient also plays a significant role in how the final product would perform as it may impact the inherent beneficial properties (based on temperature of extraction and solvents used for extraction) of the botanical. Certain butters such as Shea Butter or Cocoa butter and oils such as Macadamia or Camellia can congest some delicate skins and pores. This is because each butter and oil has a structure of fatty acid composition (such as Linoleic, Oleic, Lauric, Myristic, etc). This determines the molecular structure of the oil or butter, which would drive the absorbency and how it impacts on skin. As a general rule, acne and congestion prone skins to look out for oils in high Linoleic acid (e.g. Hemp seed, Kukui, Black Cumin) while drier mature skins might need denser more conditioning Oleic acid rich oils (e.g.Camellia, Hazelnut, Marula). Based on my skin type and my personal preference, I like to avoid Shea and Cocoa butter in a balm (exception body balms). Also these butters are relatively inexpensive compared to other amazonian exotic butters (such as Murumuru, Illipe, Cupuacu, Ucuuba, etc), so that gives you an indication of cost of making a balm (versus what you’re paying for it).

 

Each artisan has their own way of developing their formulations, in-house proprietary infusions with botanicals, strict temperature controls keeping in mind the ingredients tolerance for heat or cold. Typically stored in UV protected miron glass jars, make the ideal choice. The versatility factor completely knocks out of the park, it can be used as a cleansing balm (wouldn’t emulsify), mixed in clay or mud masks (to avoid dryness or tightness), thick layer for moisture mask or as a balm to seal the deal.

Over the years, I’ve closely noticed the marketing for these balms which are so misleading and deceptive, but that in itself deserves a separate post. All I would say is, understand what you’re paying the top dollar for. As a consumer, it is your right to understand every aspect of the product without ……blindly accepting the claims. Personally, I would recommend skipping claims and read the ingredient listing, the proof is in the pudding.

With this intention, I’m going to share with you my top three balms with notable mentions. This list, for the most part, has been constant over last few years journey, however, this evolves with an introduction of new balms in the market.

 

Mahalo The Rare Indigo Balm

The soft texture and melt upon touch consistency is what makes it so unique and delectable. It’s hard to get past the gorgeous unique aroma of this balm. If you’ve used any Mahalo product, you’d know the aroma with each product is very unique, Maryna the creator and genius behind this brand has a very keen sense of smell. As soon as I open the jar I find myself transcended in another place. When I’m doing my skincare routine, I tend to take my sweet time to take long pauses to ensure I breathe it in. Mahalo also does proprietary infusions where the flowers and herbs are soaked in oils for weeks under the Hawaiian sun. This process allows the oils to infuse/absorb the properties of the flower or herb used. For this balm, she has used infused the oils with Astragalus, Chamomile, Comfrey, Gromwell, Hibiscus, and Indigo. What I also deeply respect about this balm is its exclusion of Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter and Beeswax making it a wonderful option for oily, combination and congestion-prone skins. It has one of my personal fave butter, the Murumuru butter. Rich in Vitamin A and with a unique composition of fatty acids making it excellent for skin’s elasticity without congesting the pores. My skin absolutely adores this balm, given I’ve been through three jars of this balm. Skin is left nourished, supple, bouncy and helps calms inflammations. The price tag is steep at $110, but I’d recommend keeping an eye out for ‘Perfectly Imperfect Program’ by Mahalo, where you have the opportunity to purchase products at discounted prices for the reasons of having a slightly imperfect external appearance. If you’re not packaging fussy, this is a great way to get fully effective, fresh formulated product. A notable mention to another balm within the Mahalo family is Mahalo balm (does contain Cocoa Butter & Beeswax). In-depth review of the Mahalo The Rare Indigo Balm.

 

HHW Calendula & Turmeric Balm

One of my own with everything the way I’ve ever needed from a balm. With a base composition of Calendula (soothing and healing on skin) infused in luscious oils such as Kalahari Melon Seed oil, Hemp Seed oil, Neem Oil, Tamanu oil, Camellia oil, Jojoba oil, and Prickly Pear Seed oil. Lashings of Murumuru, Mango and Kokum butter folded in with copious amounts of Turmeric for its strong antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, redness-reducing skin brightening properties. Other essential oils include Blue Yarrow, Carrot Seed oil, and Geranium. For me, this balm has been incredibly versatile not only for its purpose but also for skin conditions (breakout, dryness, sensitivity) solely due to Turmeric. The spicy earthiness of Turmeric blended with rosy Geranium is immensely grounding to the soul.

 

Forest Essentials Tejasvi Emulsion/Balm

Forest Essentials is a gorgeous Indian brand (with Estee Lauder holding part of shares) largely unknown to the world. Also it is notorious for not fully disclosing its complete ingredient listing (on website or product packaging). So parking my beef aside with it’s disclosure policy, let me tell you about the Tejasvi Emulsion/Balm. This is the first ever balm I tried on my skin and instantly fell in love. I needed to have an open mind to ingredients, texture, consistency, feel on skin and smell. This brand formulates products with traditional Ayurvedic principles and ingredients. This balm is concocted with a base of pure Cow’s milk Ghee. It has been used for centuries on skin and cooking. It claims to provide lifting and brightening properties to the skin. With regular massage, the skin acquires noticeably softer, brighter, resilient and plumped quality skin. The recommended way to use this is slightly different to all balms we have used, massage the balm into skin, continue massaging for 10-15mins every night. They recommend to wipe off the excess balm on skin. As you do this last step, the reddish tinge of the balm is wiped clean however the nutritious ingredients are absorbed in the skin. I kid you not, the next morning the skin is firmer, plumper and softer than cotton. Keeping in line with Ayurvedic principles, the ingredients smell and dense texture of this balm is not for the light-hearted. The key ingredients it claims are Sweet Almond Oil, Coconut Oil, Clarified Butter/Cow’s Milk Ghee, Kokum Butter, Haritaki Extract, Amla (Indian Gooseberry) Fruit Extract, Peepal (Sacred Fig) Leaf Extract, Beeswax, Banyan (Indian Fig) Leaf Extract, Kasturi Manjal (Wild Turmeric) Leaf Extract, Saffron Flower Extract, Vitamin E.

 

The notable mentions:

Earthwise Beauty Tigress Balm

 

This is nothing like any other balm mentioned here. A recent addition in the array of balms, and one to carve its own niche. With lashings of Kokum and Ucuuba butter, the ingredient listing, texture and performance stands out. The scent is not pretty floral or sweet, the best way I can describe is animalic mossy nutmeg forest. Definitely worth a try.
In-depth review of the Earthwise Beauty Tigress Balm.

 

 

 

Darphin Purifying Balm

 

 

This one is the answer to spots. I’ve used as a spot treatment or all over. If emerging spots were Hunger Games this balm is the Mockingjay at kicking its arse. In a tiny pot, at a price tag which deserves a second thought, for me this balm has stood the test of time and commitment.

 

 

Leah Lani Bless Balm

 

This balm is utterly blissful. A gorgeous light floral velvety balm that melts in skin seamlessly. The balm is enriched with lush oils, butters and skin repairing Orchid, Blue Tansy and Neroli extracts. To some the inclusion of Shea Butter may ring bells of a breakout. Personally I haven’t experienced any breakout. Truly delectable balm at a very reasonable price.
In-depth review of the Leah Lani Bless Balm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

H is for Love BARA balm

 

A savior to a skin in need. One sniff from the pot and you know you want to crawl in the jar and protect the skin from the world. Recently reformulated to exclude Shea butter and replaced with Beeswax. In my experience, protects, nourishes and moisturizes surface dryness extremely well.
In-depth review of H is for Love Bara balm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not saying that these are the be all and end all of balms, in our ever-growing and expanding market and choices, we need to be conscious of what our skin needs and how the balm ingredient profile and formulation would address it. It is a journey of discovery, of trial and error and in some instances, finding the one balm that does it all.

More on Oils and Balms @ HHW:
Decoding Oils Edition 1
Decoding Oils Edition 2
Luxury Oils & Balms

Love,
HHW

Regards,
Binita