Lanolin is a natural wax that comes out of sheep’s wool when it is washed. Its soothing and emollient (locks in moisture) properties make it a great ingredient for skin care, especially for dry skin.
When wool is sheared to make yarns and fabrics, lanolin is taken out of it. Sheep are not hurt when their wool is cut during the summer (like going to the barber). So there is no need to hurt any animals to get lanolin.
Lanolin is sebum from sheep, and its main job is to make their wool soft. It is taken out of the wool using a process called centrifugation, which separates the lanolin from dirt and other chemicals.
After lanolin has been cleaned up, it is used in ointments, skin care products, and topical medicines. It is mostly used for how well it keeps skin moist. In the past, however, people used raw lanolin to treat many skin problems. This is because its molecular structure is very similar to that of sebum, which is oily skin grease.
Lanolin is semi-occlusive, which means that it forms a barrier that keeps your skin safe and also lets your skin absorb it. Once it’s deep in your skin, it can hold 400 times as much water as it did at first. So, it keeps your skin both on the outside and inside moist.
In Lanocrème review of their products, it was found that lanolin is the most important ingredient in their products. When a farmer was working with sheep’s wool, he noticed that lanolin oil made his dry, weather-beaten hands feel much better. In 1959, Christchurch, New Zealand, became the home of Lanocrème.
Lanolin Benefits
Lanolin has many uses. It can be used in emollient therapy, skin care, hair care, on the face, body, lips, and in many other ways.
Moisturizes the body. Most skin medicines that treat rough, dry, or scaly skin contain lanolin. It can also heal burns, rashes, and itches that aren’t too bad. This is because lanolin is a great moisturizer and helps stop water loss through the skin.
It makes your skin soft, gets rid of dryness and flaking, and keeps it moist. When you put lanolin on top of your daily moisturizer, it forms a layer that traps water and makes the moisturizer work better.
A study found that lanolin and olive oil in a topical cream could lower the risk of dermatitis in babies.
Can help dry lips. Not happy with how your lips look in the winter because they have scales? You can get help from lanolin. Lip balms often have lanolin as one of their ingredients. It has a waxy texture that covers your cracked lips and keeps them from getting any worse (7). It also takes in moisture from the air and helps the cells in your lips grow back.
Keeps their nipples from getting cracked. Nipples can get dry and cracked if you breastfeed your baby all the time. Lanolin has long been used to heal cracked and sore nipples in babies who are breastfeeding. But you should stay away from it if you are allergic to wool. Before using lanolin, you should talk to a doctor to make sure it won’t make you sick.
Could help with sunburns. Lanolin can keep skin from drying out. It stops the skin from drying out and keeps it moist so that the skin doesn’t hurt as much, peels less, and feels better.
It keeps your cuticles and nails in good condition. Lanolin keeps your cuticles and nails soft and healthy when you put it on them. It also keeps nails from getting weak.
May make fine lines and wrinkles less noticeable. Lanolin’s ability to keep the skin moist and full keeps it from drying out. This might help make fine lines and wrinkles look better. Lanolin is especially good for protecting the skin from the harsh weather of winter and the dry air inside.
Skin care items made with lanolin
Lanolin is a versatile ingredient that can be used to make a wide range of skin care products. Below, we’ll talk about some of the most common things that have lanolin in them. Lanocrème products line is known for using lanolin in their products.
Pure lanolin. Pure lanolin is a wax that is hard and can be put on the skin. It may be called “lanolin ointment” on the product label. Pure lanolin can also be found in lip balm tubes and other lip products. If you put pure lanolin on dry, cracked lips, they will feel softer and smoother.
Lanolin balm. Pure lanolin can be mixed with oils and butters to make products that are softer and easier to spread than pure lanolin. A lanolin balm is made by mixing pure lanolin with butters. It is mostly used for dry skin on the body, like on the hands, elbows, and knees.
Lanolin oil. Lanolin oil is a liquid that can be separated from pure lanolin wax. It is also called liquid lanolin. Most of the time, lanolin oil is used for hair. Using lanolin on dry, brittle hair helps because it helps the hair shaft hold water. Lanolin oil can also be used to deeply moisturize and protect the skin, especially in places where the skin is very dry, cracked, or exposed to harsh conditions.
Lanolin lotion. Lanolin lotion is easy to spread, and most people use it all over their bodies to relieve dry skin. Because it would feel sticky if it had more than 10 percent lanolin, it usually has less than 10 percent.
Lanolin cream. Lanolin cream is thicker than lanolin lotion, but it still has less than 10% lanolin to keep it from feeling sticky and tacky. It is mostly used to help soothe and protect sore nipples when breastfeeding. Medela lanolin is another popular lanolin cream. It is made of pure lanolin, caprylic capric triglyceride, and oat beta glucan. Medela lanolin is meant to be used as a breastfeeding cream to soothe and protect dry, sore, and sensitive nipples
Conclusion
Use lanolin only as directed to avoid an allergic reaction. Young children are at risk for ingesting dangerous amounts of lanolin, so keep it away from them.
Try a small patch of skin first to see if you’re allergic to lanolin if you’ve never used lanolin-based skin creams before. Even if you aren’t allergic to lanolin, it can still cause some people to have an adverse reaction.