Peer-Reviewed Insight

What your skin absorbs, every single day.

The average person applies a remarkable number of synthetic compounds to their largest organ before breakfast. Below is a plain-language summary of what the published literature on PubMed reports — and why we chose five food-grade ingredients instead.

The skin is a route of exposure, not a barrier to everything

Dermal absorption is an established exposure pathway for many personal-care chemicals. Reviews of percutaneous penetration show that lipophilic, low-molecular-weight compounds in lotions and creams can cross the stratum corneum and reach systemic circulation — bypassing the first-pass metabolism that food-borne compounds undergo in the liver.

Percutaneous absorption of cosmetic ingredients — reviewed in the peer-reviewed dermatotoxicology literature indexed on PubMed.

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Endocrine-disrupting chemicals are commonly found in personal-care products

Parabens, phthalates and certain UV filters are widely documented as endocrine-active. Biomonitoring studies repeatedly detect their metabolites in the urine of the general population, and intervention studies show measurable drops in those biomarkers within days when participants switch to products formulated without them.

Biomonitoring and personal-care-product intervention studies of parabens and phthalates, PubMed-indexed.

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Fragrance and preservatives are leading causes of contact dermatitis

Patch-test surveillance from dermatology networks consistently ranks fragrance mixes, methylisothiazolinone and formaldehyde-releasing preservatives among the most frequent allergens. For skin that is already compromised by eczema or psoriasis, a shorter ingredient list meaningfully reduces the number of possible triggers.

Contact allergy surveillance data on fragrance and preservative sensitisation, PubMed-indexed.

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A damaged barrier absorbs more

In eczema and psoriasis the skin barrier is impaired, and research on compromised skin shows increased permeability to applied substances. The very people most likely to apply topical products frequently are also the most exposed to whatever those products contain.

Studies of barrier function and enhanced penetration in atopic and psoriatic skin, PubMed-indexed.

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Cumulative daily exposure adds up

Exposure-assessment work notes that adults routinely use multiple leave-on and rinse-off products daily, producing aggregate exposure to dozens of distinct chemicals. Individual ingredients may fall under regulatory limits while the combined, repeated, lifelong load remains poorly characterised.

Aggregate and cumulative exposure assessment for cosmetic ingredients, PubMed-indexed.

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Why food-grade matters to us

Our balm contains grapeseed oil, coconut oil, xanthan gum, beeswax and distilled water — ingredients that are safe enough to eat and simple enough to verify. There is no synthetic preservative system, which is precisely why each jar is made fresh at the time of order and carries a genuine shelf life rather than an indefinite one.

This page is educational and summarises general findings in the published literature. It is not a medical claim about our product and not a substitute for advice from a qualified healthcare professional.

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