Lip Balm

MINT
Organic Shea Butter, Fractionated Coconut Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Local Beeswax, Peppermint & Spearmint Essential Oil, Vitamin E (Not Vegan)

CITRUS
Ingredients: Organic Shea Butter, Fractionated Coconut Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Local Beeswax, Orange, Organic Lemon, Pink Grapefruit & Tangerine Essential Oil, Vitamin E (Not Vegan)

IS THE TUBE COMPOSTABLE?

Yes!

I'VE HEARD THAT CITRUS ESSENTIAL OILS CAN BE "PHOTO-TOXIC." CAN I WEAR MY CITRUS LIP BALM OUTSIDE DURING THE DAY?

Essential oil safety is a significant concern for Dr. Metzler and all of us here at the Glenn Avenue Soap Company. When formulating new products, we do a lot of research to ensure that our use of essential oils is safe and effective. We rely strongly on guidance found in Essential Oil Safety, by Robert Tisserand and Rodney Young, 2nd edition. This is considered the Bible of essential oil safety information and is often seen as the industry standard. The information below is from this reference source.

Phototoxicity is a condition in which the skin become very sensitive to sunlight or other forms of light. It can be caused by taking certain drugs, or rubbing certain essential oils or other topical agents into the skin. Phototoxicity causes sunburn, blisters, and other skin problems

The essential oils used in our Citrus Lip Balm includes equal parts sweet orange, organic lemon, pink grapefruit and tangerine essential oils, at a formula concentration of just 0.77% each. Per Tisserand:

Sweet Orange
Cold Pressed. Sweet orange oil is non-phototoxic with no burgapten detected. (Bergapten is one of the furanocoumarin compounds commonly found in citrus that produces a phototoxic effect) Dermal use limit 8%.

Organic Lemon
Cold Pressed. Low risk of phototoxicity. Max dermal use level 2%. If applied to skin at over maximum use level skin must not be exposed to sunlight or sunbed rays for 12 hours.

Pink Grapefruit
Cold Pressed. Low risk of photo toxicity. Max dermal use level 4%. If applied to the skin at over maximum use level skin must not be exposed to sunlight or sunbed rays for 12 hours.

Tangerine
Cold pressed. It is non-phototoxic. Extremely low bergapten content, European recommendations suggest should not be used at more than 30% concentration.

So you can see that the types and concentrations of essential oils used in our Citrus Lip Balm recipe are well below levels where there would be safety concerns around phototoxicity. You can safely use it day and night!

The citrus essential oil we are often more concerned with regarding phototoxicity is cold pressed Bergamot essential oil (which is NOT used in this product). It has a max dermal use level of 0.4% to avoid phototoxicity. When we do use Bergamot essential oil in a leave-on formulation, we use a special version called BF (or FCF, meaning furanocoumarin free) Bergamot that is steam distilled to remove the phototoxic constituents. BF Bergamot has a max dermal use level of 16.6%.