After almost 20 years in magnificence (which feels each unbelievable and daunting to put in writing) I’ve seen numerous lip merchandise come and go–virtually at all times a skincare assortment’s ‘afterthought’. I’ve labored with among the greatest manufacturers within the business, examined 1000’s of merchandise, and written about much more. However immediately, I need to share one thing deeply private – the story behind why I created what could be the greatest lip balm you’ve ever seen, and the way my very own wrestle with eczema-prone lips led to Phatstix. It’s a journey that took me from pissed off client to kitchen chemist to model founder, and taught me extra about lip balms than I ever thought attainable.
The Lip Balm Drawer of Disappointment
Should you opened my bedside drawer a couple of years in the past, you’d have discovered what I lovingly known as my “lip balm graveyard.” La Mer, Augustinus Bader, Dior, Burt’s Bees – you identify it, I’d tried it. Every had one thing I liked, however none fairly hit the mark. La Mer was gorgeously nourishing however disappeared quicker than a chocolate digestive in a cup of tea. Burt’s Bees stayed put however by no means fairly delivered that deep-down moisturisation I craved. The posh manufacturers supplied stunning packaging and advertising and marketing, however typically fell quick on precise efficiency.
The actual kicker? The associated fee per gram was eye-watering. Even the extra inexpensive choices like Burt’s Bees work out at about £1.12 per gram (as of late 2024). While you’re going via tubes like water due to eczema-prone lips, that provides up quick. I discovered myself shopping for a number of tubes directly, stashing them in every single place – coat pockets, desk drawers, bedside tables – and nonetheless in some way at all times needing extra.
However right here’s what actually acquired me considering: why are lip balms so tiny? We don’t anticipate our face moisturisers to return in 4.5g tubes, so why can we settle for this for our lips? Particularly when many people apply lip balm a number of occasions all through the day. It appeared like an issue that wanted fixing, not only for me however for everybody who’s ever reached for his or her lip balm solely to seek out it empty… once more.
From Kitchen Experiments to Skilled Components
Phatstix began as pure selfishness, actually. One winter, after one more tiny, nearly-empty tube, I believed, “Why not attempt making one thing myself?” I’d dabbled in soap-making earlier than, so how arduous might a lip balm be? (Spoiler alert: a lot tougher than I anticipated.)
My kitchen grew to become a makeshift lab. I researched substances late into the night time, ordered uncooked supplies from suppliers, and began experimenting. The primary try was… nicely, let’s simply say it was extra candle than lip balm. The second wasn’t a lot better – it melted in case you checked out it unsuitable. However every failure taught me one thing new in regards to the delicate stability of oils, butters, and waxes.
Fifteen formulations later (sure, fifteen!), I realized precisely how arduous it may very well be. Some have been too agency, others too mushy, and don’t get me began on the crystallization points that would seem weeks later. The crystallization was significantly irritating – you’d assume you had an ideal batch, solely to seek out it grainy and unusable three weeks later. However every model taught me one thing new about what makes a really efficient lip balm.
I began giving Phatstix samples to family and friends, not considering a lot of it. A 12 months later, when my mum requested for one more one as a result of she was simply ending her first tube, one thing clicked. These weren’t simply courtesy compliments – individuals have been truly utilizing and loving these items. That, mixed with some private well being challenges on the time, made me notice this may very well be greater than only a kitchen experiment.
The breakthrough got here once I partnered with Here2Grow, a husband-and-wife formulation crew in York. They took my kitchen experiments and turned them into gold – however remarkably, utilizing just about the identical pure substances I’d been working with. Their experience helped remedy the soundness points that had been plaguing my formulations, and collectively, we achieved one thing I hadn’t thought attainable: a 12-month steady method with no single synthetic preservative or petrochemical.
Why Make Such a Massive Lip Balm?
At 30g, Phatstix is about seven occasions bigger than your customary lip balm. Sure, you learn that proper – seven occasions larger. Once I first confirmed the prototype to magnificence business associates, their reactions ranged from “Are you mad?” to “Why has no person performed this earlier than?” However this wasn’t nearly making an announcement; it was about fixing actual issues:
- Environmental affect: As an alternative of throwing away as much as 12 small plastic tubes per 12 months, you employ only one bigger one. In our business’s push for sustainability, we regularly overlook the easy resolution of simply utilizing much less packaging total.
- Worth: At £22, it really works out 31% higher worth per gram than customary choices. This wasn’t an accident – I used to be decided to show that high quality skincare doesn’t have to return with luxurious markup costs.
- Practicality: It’s tougher to lose (belief me, I’ve tried!), and also you’re not always trying to find it on the backside of your bag. Plus, the bigger measurement means you possibly can apply it extra generously with out fear.
- Longevity: One tube lasts 12 months, which means fewer substitute purchases and fewer waste. This additionally allowed us to give attention to creating a really premium method, as the price may very well be unfold over a bigger amount.
- Satisfaction: There’s one thing deeply satisfying about having a product that you already know gained’t run out after a couple of weeks. It adjustments your relationship with the product – you may be extra beneficiant in utility, understanding there’s loads extra.
The Sincere Bits About Substances
Each ingredient in Phatstix earned its place via rigorous testing. While you’ve spent so long as I’ve within the magnificence business, you be taught that much less is usually extra, however every ingredient wants to tug its weight. Right here’s what made the reduce and why:
Base Substances
- Beeswax: For its unbelievable protecting qualities. This isn’t simply any wax – it’s a cloth that’s been used for millennia in skincare. It creates a breathable barrier that protects whereas permitting pores and skin to perform naturally. I’m actively trying to find a British beeswax provider who can present steamed wax (to take away impurities) – if you already know one, please get in contact!
- Shea Butter: This ingredient means extra to me than simply its moisturising properties. Throughout my time at The Physique Store, the place I began my profession as an area retailer’s charity and campaigns supervisor, I realized in regards to the Ghanaian girls’s cooperatives who produce it. These cooperatives have given girls voices of their communities and financial independence. Utilizing the identical supply for Phatstix appears like coming full circle.
Nourishing Oils
- Raspberry Seed Oil: That is our secret weapon. Whereas it doesn’t odor of raspberries (although you would possibly catch a touch in case you attempt arduous sufficient), it’s filled with Vitamin A and has proven promising leads to pores and skin regeneration research. It’s not a retinol, however analysis suggests it will possibly assist with cell turnover when used constantly.
- A Fastidiously Balanced Oil Mix: Sunflower, jojoba, almond, and grapeseed oils every serve particular functions. The sunflower oil, as an illustration, gives pure preservation properties, permitting us to skip synthetic preservatives solely.
Further Butters
- Cocoa Butter: Provides richness and lasting safety
- Mango Butter: Offers light-weight however efficient moisturisation
What’s equally vital is what we not noted. No synthetic preservatives, no fragrances, no flavours, no petrochemicals. Even widespread pure preservatives like Tocopherol (Vitamin E) weren’t wanted – we achieved stability via cautious formulation as a substitute.
The choice to skip perfume and flavour in Phatstix was significantly influenced by recommendation from Jane Cunningham (British Magnificence Blogger), who has been a useful supporter all through this journey. While you’re primarily consuming small quantities of a product all through the day, why add pointless substances?
The Packaging Journey (And Why It Drove Me Barely Mad)
I’ll be sincere – discovering the precise packaging was a journey that almost broke me. I spent months trying to find a British producer who might produce a 30g twist tube. What I found was both prohibitively costly (we’re speaking tens of 1000’s of kilos for customized tooling) or required minimal orders that will have stuffed my complete home.
Let me take you thru among the extra fascinating makes an attempt:
The Porcelain Dream
Sure, I significantly thought of making the physique (not the mechanism) out of porcelain. Think about how attractive that will have been! Fortunately, extra wise heads prevailed earlier than I might spend an excessive amount of time down that exact rabbit gap.
The Biodegradable Dilemma
Biodegradable choices appeared promising till we found potential stability points and issues about leaching. These supplies are nonetheless primarily plastics, and if you’re making a product meant to final 12 months, you possibly can’t danger any degradation affecting the method.
The Paper Downside
Paper tubes have been… an expertise. Image utilizing a paper straw that’s been in your drink for hours, however make it a lip balm container. After a couple of weeks of use, they regarded unhappy and unhygienic, with lip and micro organism fragments trapped within the layers. Not precisely the premium expertise I used to be aiming for.
The Aluminum Investigation
This one led me down a moderately sobering path. Whereas researching aluminum manufacturing (which appeared like an eco-friendly choice initially), I found some troubling details about labor practices and environmental affect. It was a stark reminder that “sustainable” supplies aren’t at all times what they appear.
In the long run, I selected recyclable plastic from a good producer. It’s not the proper resolution, but it surely’s sturdy (I’ve actually thrown these round my home throughout testing), recyclable, and sensible. The tubes are made out of ABS and PETG, each broadly recyclable supplies.
I’m nonetheless actively trying to find higher options, significantly from British producers. When you’ve got connections in sustainable packaging or British manufacturing, I’d love to listen to from you. My dream remains to be to carry manufacturing absolutely to the UK and discover an much more sustainable resolution.
Trying Ahead
Phatstix was born throughout a difficult time in my life, and it’s grow to be one thing extremely private to me. Whereas I take the formulation lethal significantly, I don’t take myself too significantly – therefore the identify. (And sure, it needed to be spelled with ‘ph’ as a result of I’m a toddler of the 90s and a few issues simply persist with you.)
Every tube carries a bit of message on the again – nothing pretentious or preachy, only a light reminder of one thing all of us want to listen to generally. As a result of let’s be sincere, whereas we’re fixing chapped lips, we’d as nicely unfold a little bit of pleasure too.
I do know an enormous lip balm gained’t change the world. But when it will possibly make your lips happier, cut back waste, prevent cash in the long term, and possibly make you smile on the barely cheeky message on the again of every tube, then I’ll depend that as a win.
The wonder business can generally take itself too significantly, hiding behind pseudoscience and advertising and marketing fluff. With Phatstix, I needed to chop via all that – to create one thing that merely works, lasts ages, and brings a little bit of enjoyable to your every day routine. As a result of on the finish of the day, isn’t that what all of us need from our magnificence merchandise?
What’s Subsequent?
I’m always engaged on enhancements and improvements. Present initiatives embrace:
- Trying to find British manufacturing options
- Investigating new sustainable packaging choices
- Creating relationships with native ingredient suppliers
- And sure, nonetheless sometimes experimenting with new formulations in my kitchen (outdated habits die arduous)
Have you ever tried Phatstix but? I’d love to listen to your ideas. And if you already know any British producers working with sustainable packaging options, please drop me a line – I’m at all times seeking to enhance and evolve.
