After practically 20 years in magnificence (which feels each unbelievable and daunting to put in writing) I’ve seen numerous lip merchandise come and go–nearly at all times a skincare assortment’s ‘afterthought’. I’ve labored with a few of the greatest manufacturers within the trade, 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 is likely to 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 annoyed shopper to kitchen chemist to model founder, and taught me extra about lip balms than I ever thought potential.
The Lip Balm Drawer of Disappointment
In the event you opened my bedside drawer a number of years in the past, you’d have discovered what I lovingly referred to as my “lip balm graveyard.” La Mer, Augustinus Bader, Dior, Burt’s Bees – you title it, I’d tried it. Every had one thing I cherished, however none fairly hit the mark. La Mer was gorgeously nourishing however disappeared sooner 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 provided stunning packaging and advertising and marketing, however usually fell quick on precise efficiency.
The actual kicker? The fee per gram was eye-watering. Even the extra reasonably priced choices like Burt’s Bees work out at about £1.12 per gram (as of late 2024). Whenever 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 someway at all times needing extra.
However right here’s what actually received me considering: why are lip balms so tiny? We don’t anticipate our face moisturisers to return in 4.5g tubes, so why will 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 search out it empty… once more.
From Kitchen Experiments to Skilled Components
Phatstix began as pure selfishness, actually. One winter, after taking a look at one more tiny, nearly-empty tube, I believed, “Why not strive making one thing myself?” I’d dabbled in soap-making earlier than, so how arduous might a lip balm be? (Spoiler alert: a lot more durable than I anticipated.)
My kitchen grew to become a makeshift lab. I researched substances late into the evening, ordered uncooked supplies from suppliers, and began experimenting. The primary try was… effectively, let’s simply say it was extra candle than lip balm. The second wasn’t a lot better – it melted for those who checked out it incorrect. However every failure taught me one thing new concerning the delicate stability of oils, butters, and waxes.
Fifteen formulations later (sure, fifteen!), I realized precisely how arduous it could possibly be. Some have been too agency, others too delicate, and don’t get me began on the crystallization points that would seem weeks later. The crystallization was notably irritating – you’d suppose you had an ideal batch, solely to search out it grainy and unusable three weeks later. However every model taught me one thing new about what makes a very 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 an additional one as a result of she was simply ending her first tube, one thing clicked. These weren’t simply courtesy compliments – folks have been really utilizing and loving these items. That, mixed with some private well being challenges on the time, made me notice this could possibly be greater than only a kitchen experiment.
The breakthrough got here once I partnered with Here2Grow, a husband-and-wife formulation workforce 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 resolve the soundness points that had been plaguing my formulations, and collectively, we achieved one thing I hadn’t thought potential: a 12-month steady method with no single synthetic preservative or petrochemical.
Why Make Such a Huge Lip Balm?
At 30g, Phatstix is about seven occasions bigger than your commonplace lip balm. Sure, you learn that proper – seven occasions larger. After I first confirmed the prototype to magnificence trade buddies, their reactions ranged from “Are you mad?” to “Why has no one accomplished this earlier than?” However this wasn’t nearly making a press release; it was about fixing actual issues:
- Environmental affect: As a substitute of throwing away as much as 12 small plastic tubes per 12 months, you employ only one bigger one. In our trade’s push for sustainability, we regularly overlook the easy answer of simply utilizing much less packaging total.
- Worth: At £22, it really works out 31% higher worth per gram than commonplace 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 more durable 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 may apply it extra generously with out fear.
- Longevity: One tube lasts 12 months, that means fewer alternative purchases and fewer waste. This additionally allowed us to concentrate on creating a very premium method, as the price could possibly be unfold over a bigger amount.
- Satisfaction: There’s one thing deeply satisfying about having a product that received’t run out after a number of weeks. It adjustments your relationship with the product – you will be extra beneficiant in utility, realizing there’s lots extra.
The Trustworthy Bits About Components
Each ingredient in Phatstix earned its place via rigorous testing. Whenever you’ve spent so long as I’ve within the magnificence trade, you study that much less is commonly extra, however every ingredient wants to drag its weight. Right here’s what made the minimize and why:
Base Components
- 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 operate naturally. I’m actively trying to find a British beeswax provider who can present steamed wax (to take away impurities) – if 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 a neighborhood retailer’s charity and campaigns supervisor, I realized concerning 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 looks like coming full circle.
Nourishing Oils
- Raspberry Seed Oil: That is our secret weapon. Whereas it doesn’t scent of raspberries (although you would possibly catch a touch for those who strive arduous sufficient), it’s full of Vitamin A and has proven promising ends in pores and skin regeneration research. It’s not a retinol, however analysis suggests it might assist with cell turnover when used persistently.
- A Fastidiously Balanced Oil Mix: Sunflower, jojoba, almond, and grapeseed oils every serve particular functions. The sunflower oil, as an example, supplies pure preservation properties, permitting us to skip synthetic preservatives solely.
Further Butters
- Cocoa Butter: Provides richness and lasting safety
- Mango Butter: Supplies light-weight however efficient moisturisation
What’s equally vital is what we unnoticed. 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 notably influenced by recommendation from Jane Cunningham (British Magnificence Blogger), who has been a useful supporter all through this journey. Whenever 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 trustworthy – discovering the best packaging was a journey that just about 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 crammed my complete home.
Let me take you thru a few of the extra attention-grabbing makes an attempt:
The Porcelain Dream
Sure, I critically thought-about making the physique (not the mechanism) out of porcelain. Think about how beautiful 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 considerations about leaching. These supplies are nonetheless primarily plastics, and while you’re making a product meant to final 12 months, you may’t danger any degradation affecting the method.
The Paper Drawback
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 number of weeks of use, they seemed 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 quite 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 answer, nevertheless it’s sturdy (I’ve actually thrown these round my home throughout testing), recyclable, and sensible. The tubes are produced from ABS and PETG, each extensively recyclable supplies.
I’m nonetheless actively trying to find higher alternate options, notably from British producers. You probably have connections in sustainable packaging or British manufacturing, I’d love to listen to from you. My dream remains to be to deliver manufacturing absolutely to the UK and discover an much more sustainable answer.
Wanting Ahead
Phatstix was born throughout a difficult time in my life, and it’s turn out to be one thing extremely private to me. Whereas I take the formulation lethal critically, I don’t take myself too critically – therefore the title. (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 keep on with you.)
Every tube carries slightly message on the again – nothing pretentious or preachy, only a mild reminder of one thing all of us want to listen to generally. As a result of let’s be trustworthy, whereas we’re fixing chapped lips, we’d as effectively unfold a little bit of pleasure too.
I do know an enormous lip balm received’t change the world. But when it might make your lips happier, cut back waste, prevent cash in the long term, and perhaps make you smile on the barely cheeky message on the again of every tube, then I’ll rely that as a win.
The sweetness trade can generally take itself too critically, hiding behind pseudoscience and advertising and marketing fluff. With Phatstix, I wished to chop via all that – to create one thing that merely works, lasts ages, and brings a little bit of enjoyable to your day by 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 tasks embody:
- Looking for British manufacturing options
- Investigating new sustainable packaging choices
- Creating relationships with native ingredient suppliers
- And sure, nonetheless often 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 any British producers working with sustainable packaging options, please drop me a line – I’m at all times trying to enhance and evolve.
