A Skin Salve for this Century
This isn't just an "all purpose" salve, and it can be used for all purposes & parts. It’s a healing salve for all peoples from all places.
That’s why, for while this fresh batch lasts, we are delighted to galvanize a collaboration with Herbalist’s Without Borders. 80% of the developing world relies upon traditional herbal medicine & food plant medicine lifestyle. Right now, skincare & plants can lean towards being rooted in elitism. We are actively shifting this to a shared mentality. We are all part of the whole. We believe Warrior is a representation of that.
We use this salve to tend to what happened to our body & to protect & nurture it for what will. This salve is for all parts & all people. From children, to elderly & every adult in between, our earthy, nourishing salve is a potent example of how fresh, small-batch formulas can shift tissue states, support healing of wounds, burns & minor irritations.
Your skin undergoes more physical damage than any other body organ. (3) Warrior is medicine for your skin. It’s here to nourish your largest organ. Among other structures, your skin is part dermis & part epidermis. The dermis is where your blood vessels, glands & nerve endings live; the epidermis is that outer protective layer that has tougher, flatter cells. This is where the most action happens! This is the part of your skin in which rejuvenation happens; it is the portion of skin that absorbs the salve. Most epithelial cells are here to absorb & secrete & protect. The skin is the window of releasing & receiving. Your skin is the direct connection to the outside world, literally holding your soul in & your skeleton up. That deserves to be held & fed & interacted with care. While we may be indoctrinated to think about what leaves the skin through secretion (sweat, blood) we welcome you to think about what you can & will receive through a topical application of Warrior. It’s first aid for the both playful & the grief-filled in your life. It’s full spectrum.
The Color
The extracts from yarrow, plantain & rosemary are all a deep, verdant hue. Plus, the murky tangerine, resinous color derived from calendula gets that: this ain't your high school Clinique-y see thru pump gel or “perfect” Bath & Body Works white cream. No, thank you! Tamanu oil produces that emerald, blue green to brown color, too. Additionally, avocado oil also adds the striking dark emeraldy hue. It’s literally fresh nature carefully infused in small batches into hydrating & healing oils. The rich color stems from the rich medicine. This is a salve. This is a whole new (okay it's ancient) way of tending, healing, reaffirming & protecting.
The Scent
Without any essential oils (the drops from a plant from a steam distillation) Warrior is pit-y, it’s smell structure so enwrapped in the oils of avocado, tamanu & apricot as well as the dense nectar smell of beeswax. If fats, like tamanu oil, have a strong aroma, this indicates its stability. The smell is how it stays stable.
The Plants & Their Purpose
✿ Calendula (Calendula officinals): We harvest the bright orange petals when they’re at their prime from California. 
Purpose: Calendula supports collagen synthesis right below the dermis. This plant is one of our favorite herbal allies especially during the summer months! It is replenishing to the skin biome & used for wounds, infections & trauma. It may diminish scars for those with a tendency of keloids (thick, raised scars). (2) Calendulahhh! It enhances circulation & connective tissue regeneration. It is anti-inflammatory & antipuritic, too. (7)
✿ Plantain (Plantago major) We harvest the thick green leaves & infuse it in our oil blend.
Purpose: This plant more than anything deserves a call in for its potency. Plantain is used in all wound care & itchy skin, too. In herbalism, plantain is leaned on a lot to extract splinters or a stinger from a bee! It’s flavonoid rich & helpful in your botanical medicine cabinet. If you look for it, you’ll find it growing around you!
✿ Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) We harvest the leaves & flowers right after peak bloom.
Purpose: Yarrow is used topically to stop bleeding & diminish inflammation. This ancient dermal care is appropriate for burns, bruises & blood blisters. Yarrow is astringent & therefore toning, too. (7) It has been used to treat acne (try Warrior for spot treatment), psoriasis & eczema as well. (2)
The Oils
Warrior’s oils come from fruiting bodies (avocado & olive), kernels (apricot) & seeds (safflower).
Note: Oleic Acid is the healthy, omega, fatty-rich compound. The more = the merrier.
Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) 75% Oleic Acid (6) Safflower Safflower (Saffloer in 🇳🇱! )is oh so rich in omega six. Did you know omega oils are most like our skin’s natural sebum? (4), making it the perfect “blank slate for herbs.” Isabella Ayala de Credico says. Safflower’s “minimal scent and color naturally allows the herb to shine through.” she continues. We’re so proud of how the calendula, yarrow & plantain come through via this intentional carrier oil.
Olive (Olea europaea) 75% Oleic Acid (6) Olive oil, like the other oils in our formula, aids in the skin’s natural respiration process & in the creation of sebum. Olive oil aids in the repair of sun-damaged tissues & moisturizes dry skin. (6) Because of its high squalene content, olive oil is very protective while oxygenating skin cells.
Apricot (Prunus armeniaca) 65% Oleic Acid (6) Apricot kernel oil is a kind, sweet-smelling (think marzipan from a french bakery) oil for any part of your skin(6). Because of its supple, light texture, incredibly high nitroliside (vitamin B-17) content & hearty dose of vitamin E, our apricot oil is very revitalizing for one’s skin’s health!
Avocado (Persea gratissima) 70% Oleic Acid (Omega-9, over 60%) (6) We love avo oil here for its ability to augment water soluble collagen in the dermis, thus helping to prevent age spots. Avo is great for quelling inflammation, repairing tissues & adding an extra barrier of protection for your dermis! Plus + + + + It’s got natural carotenoids to protect against UV rays. Great for sensitive skin, too. (6)
Tamanu (Caulophyllumum Inophyllum) fruits from August to December in & around the Pacific Basin. It’s a tropical evergreen that yields highly medicinal nuts. This is where the fixed oil, fatty acids, glycolipids & phospholipids derive from. Because of its really unique chemical composition, tamanu in many ways is a Divine Healer. When formulating Warrior for herself after a surgery, Cleban founder Liana Pekelharing was inspired by tamanu’s anti-scarring ability. (After all, it’s absorbable by ALL THREE LAYERS OF YOUR DERMIS!) The oil from Tamanu’s fruits are composed of a unique anti-inflammatory healing phytocompound. Plus, it’s anti-inflammatory, antioxidant & antimicrobial, too. Can you see why we call it a Divine Healer?
The Others
The SuperHex
Our beeswax like all pollen oil & honey is emollient (really helpful for the folx receiving tender care through HWB), & anti-microbial. It helps form the texture we love so much. Sourced from a family farm in Oregon, we love the Pacific Northwest ecosystem buzzing into your jars within your homes. Thank you, Bees!
“Gosh, this beeswax smells amazing.” Liana says. “You can taste the scent in your mouth.”
The Stabilizers
Vitamin E (Alpha-tocopherol) & Rosemary (Rosmarinus Officinalis) are used as subtle preservatives. There’s nothing gross or weird or unreadable here to keep your Warrior stable.
Read on for the Applications
Every Chakra & Corner
Head - A spot treatment for an itchy scalp. Hairline support for those tricky sunburnt areas.
Neck - The front. The back. The sides. There is so much lymph in our neck. We’ve never tried it for hickies because we are no longer 17 yet, theoretically, Warrior’s constituents will bring more blood flow to the area thus restoring “normal” skin tone & appearance. Do you see how we're not saying hickies aren’t normal? This Is A Summer of Love.
Face - Under eye treatment. Spot treatment for facial scars. Before sleepytime, use a thick application of Warrior for an extra-moisturizing night face care. Leave on overnight. (Put a darker pillowcase or a towel on your pillow because this formula is color-rich & oil-rich & we’re not here to stain your 800 thread count pillowcases). Inside your nose to support healthy breathing & as an antimicrobial barrier. Breathe well!
Upper Body - Tension: Clavicle care, upper body application. The hydrating, healing infused oils of yarrow which is both a blood stoppin’ (hemostat) & blood movin (diffusive) herb are why it’s a game changer for tension & slight pain.
Shoulder pain. Acute care for tight, stiff shoulders. A soft dime size application for hard lymph in the underarms. Your gentle touch as well as the calendula will encourage axilla (in the armpit) lymph movement. You have over 20 lymph nodes here, btw! :)
Chest & Breasts - For nipples that breastfeed & nipples that don’t. For harder breast tissue. Apply gently & massage.
Belly & Womb - A gentle balm to stimulate digestive (use while manually moving your hands around your belly in clockwise motions). An intentional salve for connecting with the womb or prostate space
Hands & Fingers - Cuticle care. After you scrub your hands with the morning’s (decaf! - we are sensitive creatures) coffee grounds. Callouses. Dry backs of hands. Knuckle care. Don’t forget your knuckles!
Lower Still… After a Brazilian Wax. Ingrown hairs. Directly on vulva for softening. After any form of sex. Not suitable for condom use- remember oils don't play nice with latex.
Cracks & Sun Spots- Reduce appearance of any scar old or new (1) + After the sun. After the Tuscan sun, the Tuscon sun. All suns. It’s really ahhmazing after the sun.
This formula is safe for children. Our customers with 2-10 years olds love applying it to their lovies’ scapes, bug bites, small wounds, cat scrapes. It’s effective for a diaper rash & lovely for after a bath. They’ll be asking for “that green thing” or as our little one calls it “wah-wah.”
“I think there's always a little bit of disbelief that Warrior can support healing of the skin, on new open wounds, old scars, and also be great for split ends/cosmetic use like a deeply hydrating face mask/slugging.” Roxane continues.
When Not to Apply
Most salves like this one are not indicated for rashes. And they’re not indicated for microbial environments. You don’t want to give a salve which is loaded with healthy fats to a rash that’s hott. Fats aren’t healing in this scenario.
Our Family to Yours
It’s really the perfect pot of green gold for your entire family.
“I imagine it as a gift from Mother Nature herself.” Roxane says. “It offers gentle reprieve & sweet nourishment,” she continues. She pauses. “I think of it as deeply maternal & generous.”
Giving & getting is our generous, maternal way of sharing this medicine widely. For as wise as Warrior is, its reach can be just as wide. We know about fight & flight, right? There is something beyond this. There’s fight, flight or gather & as sisters & as mothers, we know we are capable of gathering & that’s where we’re going. With your help, your purchase of Warrior will allow us to gather & send a jar to Herbalists Without Borders, too. Make Warrior yours & someone else’s simultaneously. Say yes to 1 for 1 & be a part of getting & giving.
get & give Warrior
✶
Resources:
(1) Pribowo A, Girish J, Gustiananda M, Nandhira RG, Hartrianti P. Potential of Tamanu (Calophyllum inophyllum) Oil for Atopic Dermatitis Treatment. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2021;2021:6332867. Published 2021 Dec 26. doi:10.1155/2021/6332867
(2) Stansbury, Jill. Herbal Formularies for Health Professionals, Volume 1: Digestion and Elimination, Including the Gastrointestinal System, Liver and Gallbladder, Urinary System, and the Skin. Chelsea Green Publishing, 2018.
(3) The Human Body Book, Steve Parker
(4) Notes from California School of Herbal Studies
(5) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5878035/ Plantain _ Persian
(6) Parker, Susan M. Power of the Seed. Process, 2015.
(7) Hoffmann, David. Medical Herbalism: The Science and Practice of Herbal Medicine. Rochester, Vt.: Healing Arts Press, 2003.