Bag Balm

Now that the air is frigid and we have to heat the house to keep warm, the air gets dryer and dryer.  And so does my skin.  I find that the coconut oil I use for moisturizer in the summer does nothing for me in these cold months.  I switch to thicker stuff with cocoa butter or vitamin E in it, and that does the trick for my everyday skin.  But sometimes I need something else for wind burned, chapped skin.  So I break out the bag balm.

I realize most people know about this great stuff already, but as I was fishing my green tin full of relief out of the back of the cupboard in the bathroom, I decided it needed a little attention in this here blog.

I always remember the distinctive green metal tin sitting on the shelf at home.  The first time I ever used it was maybe around high school for burns or something.  My sister and I were always inventing beauty products from things around the house.  That was also around the time we started making our own sugar scrubs for our hands and feet.  I didn't think about bag balm again until I lived on my own and saw it somewhere and bought some.  The tin that I have now is only the second one I've owned in my lifetime.

One of the reasons bag balm doesn't go bad, or rancid is because it contains lanolin.  Lanolin is a byproduct that comes from washing wool.  It is produced by sheep to protect their skin and then is transferred onto the wool.  When the wool is carefully washed after sheering, the lanolin that is washed off can then be used in products to protect our skin.

Bag balm also contains petroleum oil, and 8-Hydroxyquinoline Sulfate, which is an antibacterial and protective property, and another reason it keeps from spoiling.

I think if something has been used consistently since 1899, we should not ignore it.  If you read the container that bag balm comes in, it will say all sorts of things about cows and their udders.  Bag balm is used on dairy cows to keep their parts from being chapped and to help heal abrasions.  I use it for the same reason, but I don't have to stand out in a cold barn waiting to be milked.

Every time I have chapped lips, I put bag balm on them right before bed.  When I wake up, the chapped lips are pretty much gone.  Really sore, dry hands or feet?  I apply bag balm to them and put socks on over the whole mess and go to bed.  By morning I have a baby's butt on my feet.  Lol.

I have used bag balm on my chickens to keep their combs from getting frost bite.  I've used it on the cats and dogs for minor abrasions and rashes.  Blisters, burns, scrapes, and bites, bag balm goes on and a band-aid goes on over that.

There aren't many places you can buy bag balm.  Some drug stores have it.  Most pet supply places have it, especially if they cater to livestock animals.  It's a little more expensive online.  A 10 ounce tin is about $6 or $7 in the stores, I think, but it'll last you 10 years.  Well worth the investment.