Okay, first of all, a papaw is a papaya. I had no idea till I came to Australia. Eh.

Lucas’ Papaw Ointment is apparently, very popular amongst celebrities, claiming to bring this little red tube (or jar) with them when they’re traveling on an airplane. Being the nosy parker that I am, I had to check it out.

Ingredients:

Carica papaya 39mg/g fresh fermented fruit, potassium sorbate 0.1mg/g as preservative. Note: this product is petroleum-based.

Now that I know that a papaw’s a papaya, this smells nothing like one. It reminds me of petroleum jelly, very VERY thick jelly. It actually takes a bit of might squeezing the thick jelly out of the tube.

The ointment is used as a local topical application for boils, burns, chafing, cuts, cracked skin, gravel rash, splinters, open wounds, insect bites and nappy rash. I haven’t tried it on most of those (God forbid!), but I have to say, this is simply a marvel on cracked lips. I simply apply it on cracked lips before I sleep, and regardless of how terribly painful the cracked skin was the night before, it would be healed the very next morning. It’s a miracle!

As the ointment is very thick, all you need per application, especially on the lips, is about 1/4 of the size of a pea. Maybe even 1/5. That’s how little you need for it to work. It’ll be ages before it even finishes.

I’ve also applied this on my dry, cracked heels. It works wonderfully too, but I don’t do it often as the ointment is thick and sticky, and it would be difficult to walk with greasy heels slapping on the wooden floor and carpet. I bring this along with me everytime I travel; whether it’s on the plane or on the road, it’s a skin saver.

I do wish that the good people of the papaw ointment would come up with a smaller tube that I may carry along in my purse. It would be a lot handier. Other than that, this is really good stuff.

Lucas’ Papaw Ointment comes in a 25g tube, 75g and 200g jars. It’s available at all leading pharmacies and supermarkets. The tube and 75g jar cost less than 10 bucks, whilst the 200g jar costs about $20. The papaw ointment is made in Australia.

What I like about it: It’s the best remedy I have come across for dry, cracked lips.

What I don’t like about it: Other than my preference for it to also come in a smaller tube, nothing.