Never List

Never, on purpose 18 classes a balm could carry and ours never do

• ×Parabensmethylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben, ethylparaben
  Preservatives, and among the ingredient classes flagged as endocrine disruptors in federal health research.
  Instead No water in the jar, so no preservative system at all.
• ×Phthalatesdiethyl phthalate, dibutyl phthalate; usually hidden inside "fragrance"
  Plasticizers used to make scent last, in the same flagged class.
  Instead Nothing scented with an undisclosed mixture.
• ×Synthetic fragrance"fragrance", "parfum", fragrance oils, synthetic musks
  A trade-secret blend that can hold dozens of compounds, and the most common cause of cosmetic contact allergy in the dermatology literature.
  Instead Essential oils and CO2 extracts named on the label, or nothing at all: Bare Silk Unscented and Honey Glow Unscented carry no scent.
• ×Synthetic dyes and colorantsFD&C and D&C colors, coal-tar dyes, mica and titanium dioxide used for color
  Color that does nothing for skin.
  Instead Any color is the botanical itself: blue tansy and chamomile blue, sea buckthorn gold.
• ×Petroleum basesmineral oil, petrolatum, paraffin wax, propylene glycol, butylene glycol
  Refinery fractions. We build on a fat your skin's own surface lipids resemble.
  Instead 100% suet tallow, meadowfoam, organic jojoba, sugarcane squalane.
• ×Siliconesdimethicone, cyclopentasiloxane (D5), cyclotetrasiloxane (D4), phenyl trimethicone
  Slip that sits on top and rinses away; D4 is restricted in the EU.
  Instead Organic arrowroot for the matte finish, tallow for the glide.
• ×Commodity seed-oil basescanola, corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, safflower as the body of a balm
  Cheap, high in the polyunsaturated fats that oxidize first.
  Instead Suet, which is low in polyunsaturated fat, with meadowfoam, jojoba, squalane and cold-pressed oat oil as the carriers.
• ×BHA and BHTbutylated hydroxyanisole, butylated hydroxytoluene
  Synthetic antioxidants.
  Instead Vitamin E and organic rosemary CO2 keep the oils fresh.
• ×PFAS"forever chemicals": PTFE, anything perfluoro- or polyfluoro-
  They do not break down, in the body or the water.
  Instead Nothing. A balm has no use for them.
• ×Formaldehyde and its releasersDMDM hydantoin, imidazolidinyl urea, diazolidinyl urea, quaternium-15, bronopol
  Preservatives that release formaldehyde, a known human carcinogen.
  Instead No water, so nothing to preserve.
• ×Triclosan and triclocarban
  Antibacterials the FDA removed from consumer hand soaps in 2016.
  Instead Nothing. Skin does not need an antibacterial in a moisturizer.
• ×Hydroquinone
  A prescription-strength lightener, off the US over-the-counter shelf since 2020.
  Instead For the look of dark spots: vitamin C, rosehip and bakuchiol at studied doses, and sunscreen over any of it.
• ×Retinoidsretinol, retinaldehyde, retinyl palmitate
  A choice, not a safety verdict: retinol brings dryness and sun sensitivity.
  Instead Bakuchiol at a true 1% in Velvet, with oil-soluble vitamin C.
• ×Talc
  A mined powder we do not need.
  Instead Organic arrowroot gives every jar its powder-soft finish.
• ×Lanolinwool wax, wool alcohols
  A common contact allergen.
  Instead Suet tallow does the same job without it.
• ×Microplasticspolyethylene, acrylates copolymer, nylon-12, PMMA
  Plastic in a jar that ends up on skin and down the drain.
  Instead Nothing.
• ×EthanolaminesDEA, TEA, MEA
  pH adjusters and emulsifier building blocks with a nitrosamine question.
  Instead No water phase, so no pH to adjust.
• ×Bleached, deodorized or mixed-fat tallowtrim fat, tallow cut with lard or shortening
  What most tallow skincare starts with.
  Instead 100% suet, unbleached, from grass-fed and grass-finished Montana cattle, rendered low and slow.

Never, because there is no water 10 families that exist to manage a water phase

Every Craft jar is one phase, fat and botanicals. Take the water out of a recipe and the whole supporting cast has no reason to be there.

• ×Wateraqua; up to 80% of a lotion
  The ingredient that forces everything below onto a label.
  Instead You bring the water: press the balm into damp skin.
• ×Preservative systemsphenoxyethanol, sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, benzyl alcohol, methylisothiazolinone and methylchloroisothiazolinone (MI/MCI), ethylhexylglycerin
  Needed the moment water is in a jar; MI/MCI is a leading contact allergen.
  Instead Vitamin E and rosemary CO2 guard the oils; nothing else is required.
• ×Emulsifiers and emulsifying waxespolysorbate 20 and 80, PEG-100 stearate, glyceryl stearate SE, cetearyl alcohol with ceteareth-20, sorbitan olivate
  They hold water and oil together. We have no water to hold.
  Instead One phase, all fat and botanicals.
• ×PEGs and other ethoxylated ingredientsPEG-40, PEG-100, laureth and ceteareth compounds, sodium laureth sulfate
  Ethoxylation can leave 1,4-dioxane behind.
  Instead Nothing ethoxylated goes in.
• ×Thickeners and gelling agentscarbomer, acrylates crosspolymer, xanthan gum, hydroxyethylcellulose
  They give a watery formula body.
  Instead Suet tallow is the body. Poured dense, sold by weight.
• ×Water-phase humectantsglycerin, propylene glycol, hyaluronic acid
  Fine ingredients that need a water phase to work in.
  Instead Damp skin supplies the water; the fat holds it there.
• ×Sulfates and other detergentssodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate, cocamidopropyl betaine
  Cleansers foam. A balm has nothing to foam.
  Instead Nothing.
• ×Chelatorsdisodium EDTA, tetrasodium EDTA
  They bind minerals in water so a preservative works.
  Instead No water, no job for them.
• ×Denatured alcoholalcohol denat., SD alcohol 40, isopropyl alcohol
  A quick-dry feel bought with dryness.
  Instead Nothing evaporates off your skin a minute later.
• ×UV filtersoxybenzone, octinoxate, homosalate, avobenzone, octocrylene
  We do not make sunscreen, and no balm of ours screens UV.
  Instead Wear SPF over the balm in the morning.