From Kitchen to Creation: The Story of Monkey Balm

I used to find myself in the kitchen often — long before The Tribe Authentic was born. Blending, creating and making my own magic.

Pots and pans, glass jars, beeswax, and bottles of oil would fill the counter until there was barely room to move. Botanicals immersed in oil for the cycle of a moon. Essential oils in every corner.

The smell of cocoa butter warming on the stove was my signal that something good was being made.

Back then, I wasn't blending for my brand.
I was blending for a little girl we called The Monkey.

My daughter Lynnie — my wild climber, my fearless adventurer — was always leaping from counters and play structures, climbing fences, racing over rocks barefoot.

And with that wildness came the inevitable: scrapes, bruises, bumps, cuts.
The kind of wounds that tell a story of living fully — but that still needed tending by a mother's hands.

I wanted something clean. Something simple. Something based in nature.
Something I could trust on her tender skin.

So I stood in the kitchen, stirring oils and beeswax together, letting my aromatherapy and herbal training and my intuition meet in the pot.

And Monkey Balm was born.

It wasn't fancy.
It wasn't perfect.
It was effective.
And it was made with the kind of love that no commercial formula could ever bottle.

About Balm Itself: (Yes - this is a bit of teaching here)

Balms are simple by nature — just oil, beeswax, and a little patience.
They protect.
They soothe.
They seal the body's natural healing process, without interfering with the body's wisdom.

True natural balms are alive:

• They soften when warm.

• They firm when cool.

• They change, because life changes. And sometimes it shows in the texture. But that’s ok. ;-)
  And they are meant to be used, loved, and remade — not frozen on a shelf forever.

Monkey Balm lived that way too:
Given freely, used generously, reborn over and over again as the seasons and needs shifted. It grew as I grew and I am proud of where it is right now.

Today, Monkey Balm still lives inside Tribe Authentic — only now as Mindful Monkey Balm in the evolving Authentica Skincare line.
It’s a simple healer for everyday bumps, bruises, burns, scrapes, dry patches, and tender spots.

And like everything wild, it grew.

Gorilla Balm evolved out of those early days:
A tougher, deeper balm for grown-up adventures — carrying the same spirit of healing and protection, but built for the bigger battles of adulthood.

Some things we make because the world needs them.
Some things we make because we need them.
Monkey Balm was both.

It was never just about bruises.
It was always about remembering that healing begins with care.
Care for ourselves.

Care for our planet.
Care for those we love.
Care for the wild and tender places inside us all.

Explore the balms that grew from my kitchen — and find a little healing for your own wild adventures.
[Discover Monkey Balm and Gorilla Balm here.]