Frankincense Everyday Hand Cream

Distributed by Beautiful Balms (U.K.), Frankincense Everyday Hand Cream is a rejuvenating body-care product that should work with most skin types: Normal, dry, sensitive, and mature.

Aromatic, with healing properties: Frankincense.

Soothing Hand Cream

Made with the aromatic frankincense resin, Frankincense Everyday Hand Cream has also been formulated with herbal and essential oils, aloe vera, and the flower lavender. In addition to replenishing the skin, the cream is also designed to:

• Condition skin
• Heal cracked skin
• Prevent scars
• Soothe inflammation (rashes)

Though the product is meant for the hands, it can also be used as a light cream for the face.

Healing Resin: Frankincense

As the product's name suggests, a main ingredient in it is "frankincense," also known as olibanum.

Age-old, the resin (taken from the Boswellia tree) dates back some 5,000 years. Its fragrance is spicy, balsamic, and sweet, and it is primarily used today in incense and perfumes.

For Beautiful Balms' frankincense hand cream, the natural antiseptic has been paired with lavender to create sweet-smelling nourishment for the skin.

Frankincense Everyday Hand Cream: Ingredients

Aside from frankincense and French lavender, the hand cream's formula also consists of:

Aloe Vera Gel

For thousands of years, aloe vera has been used to treat wounds and infections. In products such as shampoo, the plant's nutrients are added to help replenish and enrich. The aloe vera plant has a water content of over 90 percent, making it a natural moisturizer.

Calendula

Commonly known as marigold, calendula extract is believed to help with inflammation and is often used in acne treatments and wound care. For Beautiful Balms' product, calendula oil is included to reduce inflammation, soothe rashes, and rejuvenate the skin.

Comfrey

Comfrey is an herb used in organic gardening, as well as by herbalists in natural medicine. The "allantoin" in it is believed to help stimulate cell proliferation, thereby helping damaged skin repair itself.

Almond Oil

A sweet base used to dilute the hand cream's more intense essential oils.

Benefits of Frankincense Hand Cream

Frankincense-enriched hand cream is meant to promote healthier, more youthful skin by stimulating elastin and collagen. For damaged, cracked, dry skin, this action means rejuvenation. It may even help with scarring. Though the product can be used for most any skin type, the emphasis is on dry, sensitive skin.

Did You Know

Frankincense alone has been used to treat cuts, scars, and blemishes. Due to its anti-inflammatory and astringent properties, it has been used throughout the world to treat skin conditions and infections.

UK-based Beautiful Balms

As of now, the only place to purchase Frankincense Everyday Hand Cream is in the United Kingdom. The product's company, Beautiful Balms, specializes in handmade beauty products and natural skin care. Although delivery is only available in Europe, the proprietors say that overseas customers may contact them with requests.

• Beautiful Balms: The official site.
• Cream balms: The shop's entire line of cream balms, including its frankincense hand cream.

Buying Alternatives

As an alternative, consider other hand creams that feature frankincense. Though the resin is primarily used in incense and perfumery, a number of products make use of the herb's aromatic and therapeutic properties. For example, Abba Oil offers a selection of frankincense bath and body products, including lotion, bath salts, and shower gel.

Tip: Think Specialty

Begin your search by looking at boutiques or aromatherapy shops that carry imported items. Though a shea butter cream with frankincense and myrrh (by Nubian Heritage) is available at pharmacies, a specialty shop will help you find a wider selection. In certain cases, overseas companies will only send to fellow retailers -- not individual consumers. If so, you may be able to special-order the product you're looking for.

Nourishment for the skin.

Further Reading

For more information on frankincense, its scent, and therapeutic uses:

• HowStuffWorks: An overview of the herb and its use in aromatherapy.
• Omani Sites (on the World Heritage List): A look at the many uses of frankincense by cultures around the world.
• Plant Botanic: Information about how frankincense has been used for spiritual, medicinal, and cosmetology purposes.
• ScienceDaily:' The Arthritis Research & Therapy reports that frankincense can perhaps be an herbal remedy for arthritis.
• Neal's Yard Remedies (U.S. shop): Made in England. Frankincense items include toning body cream and a best-selling nourishing cream..

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