The Petroleum-free Alternative to Glossier Balm Dotcom

When you shop beauty long enough or obsess over marketing (especially marketing in the beauty industry), you know a few ways brands 'trick' you. One of which is highlighting marketing-worthy ingredients and hiding those less appealing albeit high concentration ones in the harder-to-find full ingredient list. It wasn't until we are doing research for this post that we realized that the main ingredient in

Glossier Balm Dotcom

($12) is petrolatum (apparently the North American name for petroleum), which is totally fine as an effective occlusive ingredient to avoid moisture loss. As the health effect of petroleum jelly is still up in the air for debate, if you are looking for a petroleum-free on the safe side, and to get your money's worth, we found an alternative for you.

The ingredients Glossier highlighted in the balm dotcom are castor seed oil, beeswax, lanolin, fruit & plant extracts. The alternative we found is a product with 100% lanolin, a natural emollient found in sheep's wools, an ingredient that is so safe that it can be used on the mouths of newborn babies. It is

The Original 101 Ointment Multipurpose Superbalm

 ($12) from Lanolips, which also comes in many scents like watermelon, mint, pear, cocoa butter… Each one's ingredients are simply lanolin, vitamin e, and a scented oil for each flavor.

Lanolin is a kind of emollient that resemble those naturally found in the skin, it mimics human skin lipids. This means it not only hydrates but also improves the rate of barrier repair. If you have chapped lips or dry areas on your body, you need lanolin in your life. Exhibit A below.

was created in 2009 before Glossier, it has since been a staple in many makeup artists' kits; even making us speculate that this is the brand and product that inspired Glossier Balm Dotcom. Exhibit B below.