This One Thing: An Artist's Statement

This One Thing was born out of necessity.

For years, my hands were in terrible shape - cracked, inflamed, reactive, and often painful. I tried eliminating products, changing routines, wearing gloves, simplifying everything. Some things helped. (most didn't)  And nothing solved it.

So I started making this balm.

I built it slowly, ingredient by ingredient, using materials I trusted.   This One Thing is entirely plant-based and intentionally restrained. Every material was chosen for how it behaves under stress - on skin that is dry, reactive, overworked, or struggling to hold itself together. Nothing here is ornamental. Each ingredient earns its place through use.

Individually, ingredients offer specific support; together, they form a system—hydration, structure, protection, and repair working in balance.

Cupuaçu Butter

Cupuaçu is the heart of the formula. A plush Amazonian butter with an exceptional ability to bind and retain moisture, it hydrates more deeply than most plant (and animal) butters without feeling greasy or occlusive. On compromised skin, it softens immediately while helping restore elasticity and comfort. It’s one of those ingredients skin seems to recognize - familiar, cooperative, and quietly effective.

Kokum Butter

Kokum provides discipline. Firm and dry-feeling, it gives the balm structure without heaviness and keeps the richness of cupuaçu in check. On the skin, kokum reinforces the barrier rather than sitting on top of it, offering strength and stability where hands are cracked, tight, or fatigued.

Ucuuba Butter

Ucuuba is traditionally used in Amazonian skin care for irritated, inflamed, and damaged skin.  It brings a quiet corrective quality rather than simple occlusion. Ucuuba helps calm stressed tissue, supports barrier repair, and contributes to the balm’s ability to move skin out of a reactive state.

Candelilla Wax

Candelilla wax replaces beeswax with a clean, plant-based structure. It sets the framework of the balm—firm in the container, responsive on contact - while remaining breathable on the skin. Rather than sealing skin shut, this wax creates a flexible barrier that protects without smothering.

Jojoba Oil

Technically a liquid wax, jojoba closely mirrors the skin’s natural sebum. It absorbs readily, improves compatibility, and helps carry the butters where they’re needed. In this composition, jojoba acts as a mediator, keeping the balm balanced and highly skin-adaptive.

Meadowfoam Seed Oil

Meadowfoam seed oil plays a structural role in the formula. Naturally stable and slow to oxidize, it helps maintain consistency and performance over time while also contributing a smooth, cushiony feel on the skin.

On compromised hands, meadowfoam reinforces the barrier and improves comfort without adding weight, helping the balm feel supportive rather than greasy. Its presence gives the formula durability - both in the container and on the skin.

Red Raspberry Seed Oil

Light yet resilient, red raspberry seed oil supports stressed skin with an impressive antioxidant presence. It helps soothe visible irritation and adds elasticity, particularly useful for hands prone to cracking and sensitivity.

Argan Oil

Often called “liquid gold,” argan oil earns that name through performance rather than mystique. Rich in fatty acids and naturally occurring antioxidants, it supports elasticity, resilience, and long-term skin comfort. On compromised hands, argan helps restore flexibility and reduces the brittle feeling that comes with chronic dryness. In this formula, it brings nourishment with intelligence - deeply conditioning, but never heavy or clogging.

Castor Oil

Castor oil provides grip and cohesion. It thickens the oil phase slightly, helping the balm stay where it’s applied and improving its protective qualities. On the skin, it contributes a subtle occlusivity that supports healing without sealing things off completely.

Black Cumin Seed Oil

Black cumin seed oil is included for its long-standing reputation in traditional skin care for calming troubled skin. It supports balance and recovery in reactive areas and adds a subtle medicinal backbone to the formula without dominating it.

(it smells like a box of fresh pencils and I love it)

Tamanu Oil

Tamanu is included for repair. It has a long history of use on damaged, stressed, and scar-adjacent skin. In small amounts, it supports recovery and resilience, helping skin move through irritation rather than getting stuck in it.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E supports both the formula and the skin. It protects the oils from oxidation and contributes to the skin’s own recovery processes, adding an extra layer of stability and care.

Together, these ingredients form a balm that is rich without being overwhelming, structured without being rigid, and supportive without trying to override the skin. It’s designed to work with damaged hands, not against them - slowly, steadily, and on their terms.

I used it morning and night, often in larger amounts and under gloves. Especially after showers - when skin is most vulnerable and most receptive.

This is a rich, oil-forward balm. In generous applications, it requires a bit of time to settle, and works best when you’re willing to slow down and let it do its job.  In smaller amounts, I used it between tasks.

This One Thing didn't fix me but it did provide relief.

Over time, I learned what my hands responded to - and what they didn’t. The formula eventually settled into something I stopped thinking about, which is exactly what I wanted.  And while medical care eventually addressed my underlying inflammation - I still use it regularly. Especially in winter.

This balm began as a personal tool. I’m offering it now because I suspect I’m not the only one who needs something like this: uncomplicated, intentional, and made with respect for sensitive skin.

On Artist's Statements

Everything we make at Cult of Bees begins in the studio, not the marketplace. These works exist because we believe care deserves to be studied, refined, and given form.

Whether it’s a photograph, a jar of balm, or honey, the process is the same: to observe, to decide, to make something honest. Each piece exists to answer a question about how touch, material, and attention can shape experience.

This is why we write about them. The words are part of the work — a record of what we learned in the making, and a reminder that even the simplest object is full of meaning.