Carmex
Encyclopedia
Carmex is a brand of lip balm
meant to eliminate cold sores and soothe dry/chapped lips
. It is sold in jars, sticks, and squeezable tubes.
suburb
of Wauwatosa
.
After doing business like this, in 1972 Alfred discontinued making sales calls, which had mostly been in Wisconsin, Illinois
and parts of Indiana
. Alfred's son Don joined the business in 1973 and introduced assembly line
s to Carma Labs. In 1975, due to much success, a new production facility was built in the southwest suburb of Franklin
; production at the same facility continues to the present day.
Carma Labs began producing the product in squeezable tubes
in 1988, then shortly after the traditional stick form which had been the longtime domain of ChapStick
and Blistex
, Carma's major competitors in the lip balm market. Only five years after these expansions within the company's production, in 1993 it was estimated that 9% of the lip balm market was held by Carma Labs. Alfred Woelbing continued to drive to the offices everyday until 1997 when he suffered a stroke. He continued to come into the office at least once a week after this, until he died in 2001 at the age of 100.
The company continued further expansion under the management of his son Don and his grandsons Paul and Eric. In 2002, Mint flavored Carmex lip balm (SPF
30) joined original Carmex lip balm in the product line, and Carmex lip balm became available throughout North America
, Australia
, Europe
, Asia
and Africa
. During 2006, several Internet voters picked strawberry
and cherry
as the newest Carmex lip balm sticks. According to mycarmex.com the company employs about 100 people and remains under the ownership of the founding family.
A jar of Carmex was featured in the video game Pikmin 2
(NTSC version) as the "Healing Cask" treasure.
, camphor
, phenol
, lanolin
, cocoa butter
, salicylic acid
, vitamin E
, shea butter
, and petroleum jelly
. However, this formula varies slightly around the world - for example, phenol
is not included in Germany.
Salicylic acid is often incorrectly thought to be a drying agent, and its inclusion regarded as unnecessary, and possibly intended to cause increased use of the product due to the drying effect; however, this is not true. Salicylic acid works as both a keratolytic and comedolytic agent by causing the cells of the epidermis to shed more readily, opening clogged pores and neutralizing bacteria within, preventing pores from clogging up again by constricting pore diameter, and allowing room for new cell growth.
Lip balm
Lip balm or lip salve is a wax-like substance applied topically to the lips of the mouth to relieve chapped or dry lips, angular cheilitis, stomatitis, or cold sores. Lip balm often contains beeswax or carnauba wax, camphor, cetyl alcohol, lanolin, paraffin, and petrolatum, among other ingredients...
meant to eliminate cold sores and soothe dry/chapped lips
Chapped lips
Chapped lips or Cracked lips is a condition whereby the lips become dry and possibly cracked. It may be caused by the evaporation of moisture. Often the lips become dry because the layer of oil that is naturally produced by the body to coat the lips is removed or is lacking...
. It is sold in jars, sticks, and squeezable tubes.
History
Alfred Woelbing began experimenting with creating his own line of lip balm and other cosmetic products in the early 1930s. These were the beginnings of Carma Laboratories, Inc. After experimenting with his products, Woelbing created Carmex on his family's stove top. He began by selling the product from the trunk of his car. Popularity increased through word-of-mouth. During this time Alfred and his wife poured their lip balm into the now well-known yellow-capped jars. Then in 1957, the family business moved out of the kitchen and into a rented facility in the MilwaukeeMilwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Wauwatosa
Wauwatosa, Wisconsin
Wauwatosa is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States, and was incorporated on May 27, 1897. As of the 2006 census estimate, the city's population was 44,798. Wauwatosa is located immediately west of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and is a part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area...
.
After doing business like this, in 1972 Alfred discontinued making sales calls, which had mostly been in Wisconsin, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
and parts of Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
. Alfred's son Don joined the business in 1973 and introduced assembly line
Assembly line
An assembly line is a manufacturing process in which parts are added to a product in a sequential manner using optimally planned logistics to create a finished product much faster than with handcrafting-type methods...
s to Carma Labs. In 1975, due to much success, a new production facility was built in the southwest suburb of Franklin
Franklin, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
Franklin is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. Franklin is a suburb of Milwaukee with a population of 35,451 as of the 2010 census.-Transportation:...
; production at the same facility continues to the present day.
Carma Labs began producing the product in squeezable tubes
Tube (container)
A tube is a soft squeezable container which can be used for thick liquids such as glue and toothpaste. Basically, a tube is a cylindrical, hollow piece with a round or oval profile, made of plastic, paperboard, or aluminum. Both ends of this tube are treated differently during the manufacturing...
in 1988, then shortly after the traditional stick form which had been the longtime domain of ChapStick
ChapStick
ChapStick is a brand name for lip balm manufactured by Pfizer Consumer Healthcare and used in Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Colombia, Italy, Chile, Pakistan, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Argentina, the United Kingdom and the United States. It is intended to help treat and prevent chapped...
and Blistex
Blistex
Blistex was a small family company in 1947. Its focus was to develop and market lip care products in the United States. It then became a private company based in Oak Brook, Illinois that primarily manufactures lip balm, lip ointment, and other lip-related products...
, Carma's major competitors in the lip balm market. Only five years after these expansions within the company's production, in 1993 it was estimated that 9% of the lip balm market was held by Carma Labs. Alfred Woelbing continued to drive to the offices everyday until 1997 when he suffered a stroke. He continued to come into the office at least once a week after this, until he died in 2001 at the age of 100.
The company continued further expansion under the management of his son Don and his grandsons Paul and Eric. In 2002, Mint flavored Carmex lip balm (SPF
SPF
SPF may refer to:In science* Sun protection factor, a laboratory measure of the effectiveness of sunscreen* Specific Pathogen Free, a term for laboratory animals known to be without pathogens...
30) joined original Carmex lip balm in the product line, and Carmex lip balm became available throughout North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. During 2006, several Internet voters picked strawberry
Strawberry
Fragaria is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. Although it is commonly thought that strawberries get their name from straw being used as a mulch in cultivating the plants, the etymology of the word is uncertain. There...
and cherry
Cherry
The cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy stone fruit. The cherry fruits of commerce are usually obtained from a limited number of species, including especially cultivars of the wild cherry, Prunus avium....
as the newest Carmex lip balm sticks. According to mycarmex.com the company employs about 100 people and remains under the ownership of the founding family.
A jar of Carmex was featured in the video game Pikmin 2
Pikmin 2
is a real-time strategy video game developed by Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube. It was released in Japan on April 29, 2004, in North America on August 30, 2004, in Europe on October 8, 2004, and in Australia on November 4, 2004....
(NTSC version) as the "Healing Cask" treasure.
Ingredients
The ingredients of Carmex lip balm are mentholMenthol
Menthol is an organic compound made synthetically or obtained from peppermint or other mint oils. It is a waxy, crystalline substance, clear or white in color, which is solid at room temperature and melts slightly above. The main form of menthol occurring in nature is -menthol, which is assigned...
, camphor
Camphor
Camphor is a waxy, white or transparent solid with a strong, aromatic odor. It is a terpenoid with the chemical formula C10H16O. It is found in wood of the camphor laurel , a large evergreen tree found in Asia and also of Dryobalanops aromatica, a giant of the Bornean forests...
, phenol
Phenol
Phenol, also known as carbolic acid, phenic acid, is an organic compound with the chemical formula C6H5OH. It is a white crystalline solid. The molecule consists of a phenyl , bonded to a hydroxyl group. It is produced on a large scale as a precursor to many materials and useful compounds...
, lanolin
Lanolin
Lanolin , also called Adeps Lanae, wool wax or wool grease, is a yellow waxy substance secreted by the sebaceous glands of wool-bearing animals. Most lanolin used by humans comes from domestic sheep...
, cocoa butter
Cocoa butter
Cocoa butter, also called theobroma oil, is a pale-yellow, pure edible vegetable fat extracted from the cocoa bean. It is used to make chocolate, biscuits, and baked goods, as well as some pharmaceuticals, ointments, and toiletries...
, salicylic acid
Salicylic acid
Salicylic acid is a monohydroxybenzoic acid, a type of phenolic acid and a beta hydroxy acid. This colorless crystalline organic acid is widely used in organic synthesis and functions as a plant hormone. It is derived from the metabolism of salicin...
, vitamin E
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is used to refer to a group of fat-soluble compounds that include both tocopherols and tocotrienols. There are many different forms of vitamin E, of which γ-tocopherol is the most common in the North American diet. γ-Tocopherol can be found in corn oil, soybean oil, margarine and dressings...
, shea butter
Shea butter
Shea butter is a slightly yellowish or ivory-colored fat extracted from the nut of the African shea tree . It is widely used in cosmetics as a moisturizer, salve or lotion. Shea butter is edible and may be used in food preparation...
, and petroleum jelly
Petroleum jelly
Petroleum jelly, petrolatum, white petrolatum or soft paraffin, CAS number 8009-03-8, is a semi-solid mixture of hydrocarbons , originally promoted as a topical ointment for its healing properties...
. However, this formula varies slightly around the world - for example, phenol
Phenol
Phenol, also known as carbolic acid, phenic acid, is an organic compound with the chemical formula C6H5OH. It is a white crystalline solid. The molecule consists of a phenyl , bonded to a hydroxyl group. It is produced on a large scale as a precursor to many materials and useful compounds...
is not included in Germany.
Salicylic acid is often incorrectly thought to be a drying agent, and its inclusion regarded as unnecessary, and possibly intended to cause increased use of the product due to the drying effect; however, this is not true. Salicylic acid works as both a keratolytic and comedolytic agent by causing the cells of the epidermis to shed more readily, opening clogged pores and neutralizing bacteria within, preventing pores from clogging up again by constricting pore diameter, and allowing room for new cell growth.