What we're made of!

Leather Balm

I wanted to use a leather balm on my products that was mink oil, not tallow. During my research and testing period, I found more natural ingredients that would work in harmony with the mink oil to make a strong, resilient and lubricating balm with easy-to-spread characteristics and a lovely scent.

My balm can resist direct contact of water for minutes at a time and spread exceptionally well, even in freezing temperatures! Not to mention, it's 100% natural and environmentally safe.

Ingredients

Mink Oil
Lanolin
Beeswax
Carnauba Wax
Vitamin E
Essential Oil Blend

Mink Oil

I use 100% pure mink oil that is not rendered using chemicals. Unlike store-bought options, each tin contains two emollients: mink and lanolin. No cheap fillers like tallow or lard.

Mink oil is an oil extracted from the belly fat of the mink. It is said that mink fat benefits can date back to fur-trapping Indians who would have their hands softened by the belly fat!

There's a few characteristics that make mink oil special to leather and skin care. One stems from a rare Omega-7 fatty acid, palmitoleic acid, shown to aid in the absorption rate of the oil, especially in human skin!

Mink oil is compromised of over 70% unsaturated fatty acids, yet has a comparable shelf life rating to its animal fat counterparts and other highly saturated fat heavy oils and butters. This fact alone is why mink oil is especially great, because it remains fluid in extremely cold temperatures, penetrates deeply into leather or living tissues while remaining oxidatively stable. These characteristics are usually counterintuitive to one another, however, mink oil remains the anomaly in the oil world!

Lanolin

I use anhydrous lanolin that is left in its natural, waxy form. This form of lanolin is the best for waterproofing leather, while at the same time providing it with strong lubricating properties.

Lanolin is secreted from sheep skin glands to naturally waterproof and moisturize their wool, and is harvested from freshly cut wool.

Beeswax

I use pure organic beeswax that isn't treated, filtered or extracted with any chemicals whatsoever! From USA bees and farm!

Beeswax acts as a safe, natural and strong barrier to help waterproof a leather surface and provide some abrasive protection!

Carnauba Wax

I use organic pure carnauba wax, the strongest natural wax known on Earth and found on a special palm tree found only in brazil. It has a high melting point at 172°F, unlike beeswax at 145 °F.

It provides not only a stronger barrier on leather, but it makes for a better shine too!

Despite it's strong chemical composition, carnauba needs to be blended with beeswax to prevent it from being too brittle.

Vitamin E

I add additional pure Vitamin E (also naturally found in Mink oil) Alpha-tocopherol for added oxidative protection of the balm AND your leather.

Vitamin E is an important natural antioxidant that helps improve shelf-life and oxidation of natural oils. (For better understanding of oxidation damage of leather, visit here).

Essential Oils

Once upon a time, I was a delivery driver for Amazon. I was already looking for a special scent for my balm but had no luck in finding that unique tincture. As I walked to my delivery location, I could smell fresh cut wood with a mysterious sweet note... like a fresh cut orange! This heavenly scent was far beyond forgettable, and I knew that this was the perfect scent!

Thus, I have set out to make that scent of crisp pine with a slight hint of sweet citrus notes.

I use 3 pure essential oils to make my scent: Sweet orange, Siberian Pine and Virginia Cedarwood using perfume-makers ratios to balance them!

Finalizing notes

The information above is intended to provide you with a basic understanding of what I use and why I use it. I encourage you to look further into all these ingredients as I have nothing to hide from you! All pictures seen above are my actual ingredients! You can always email me @ BluebellyLeatherBalm@outlook.com if you have specific questions or concerns!

P.S. If you read through that all, I am virtually high-fiving you for that effort! 👏Thanks for stickin' around! I greatly appreciate it! 👍

Stay awesome!