This is one of the most popular skin products in Sweden and one of my all-time favorites. I buy it in bulk. It is used for all kinds of things. It is Försvarets hudsalva or Army skin salve. It was created for the Swedish Army in the 1950s as a blister balm for chafing caused by army boots.
It contains tallow and peanut oil among other things. Because it is water-free it is suitable for preventing and treating frostbite and chapped skin. It is so pure you can actually fry food with it and spread it on your sandwiches (I kid you not!).You can use it as a ski wax or to treat leather.
But I use it as a lip balm or on my knees, elbows, hands and face if it is really dry. In an emergency I use it to tame my hair. It has a gorgeous subtle vanilla scent and taste that is mildly addictive. The last thing I do at night is put some of this on my lips.
It used to come in a small plain military green plastic tube with a white lid. You just pushed the stick up from the bottom. Nowadays there are small (9ml) and large (23 ml) pink and jungle camo tubes and also yellow ones which have sun protection factor in them. There is even a paw balm for paws which need TLC after walking on snow and ice in winter.
Every year almost 1 million of these salves are sold. Colette in Paris used to sell it (not sure if they still do) and you can find it here and there in the USA. Many companies are keen on selling it so the company receives many enquiries about it.Whenever I go to South Africa I take about 20 of them with me because everyone wants one! It is a real cult product and I think it should be available everywhere.
