'I tried British Airways' best-selling skincare balm with one immediate result'

Daily Mirror

19-05-2025

British Airways travellers have made Wonderbalm's multi-use balm the airline's best selling product, and I put it to the test to see whether it could help my dry sensitive skin
In a world where there seems to be a beauty product for quite literally every possible skin complaint, finding one that promises to do it all (and then some) may seem to be good to be true. But that's exactly what Wonderbalm (£29) promises to do. It's said you can use the multi-purpose balm as a hair mask, lip balm, makeup primer and remover, eye cream, hand cream and as a natural first aid treatment, helping with everything from dry hair and skin to minor cuts and burns.
In fact it's so popular, it's recently become British Airways ' number one best selling skincare product, outselling big name brands (and even some alcohol brands) during on board shopping. With a 20% increase in sales since it launched last year, my dry, sensitive and eczema-prone skin and I decided to put it to the test to see if it was really worth the hype.
A quick summary of everything you can use Wonderbalm for:
Skin moisturiser
Lip balm
Hair mask
Makeup primer
Makeup remover
Eye cream
Cuticle conditioner
First aid – treating minor cuts, burns and scrapes
Post shaving care
Tattoo aftercare
Soothing insect bites
Calming sunburn
Using Wonderbalm
Wonderbalm contains all natural ingredients with plenty of vitamins and antioxidants which help hydrate and repair your skin. There's shea butter, olive oil, cendelilla wax, orange peel oil and vegetable oil, which might sound very heavy on your skin, but as long as you don't use too much it's just nicely hydrating and soothing.
If I had to describe my skin, it would be dry, sensitive, tight and damaged. I suffer quite badly from eczema everywhere from behind my knees to my eyelids, and the addition of hayfever means my eyes, nose and mouth especially suffer from cracked, dry and raw skin on a regular basis.
Since Wonderbalm can be used on broken skin, it seemed the perfect product to try applying to my damaged skin, especially around my eyelids where products tend to cause stinging and do little to prevent skin from cracking or splitting. The Wonderbalm has a waxy, solid texture that you scrape out of the jar, and a little goes a very very long way. A fingernail's worth would cover your hands easily, whilst two small scoops was more than enough for my entire face.
Once applied to your skin, the heat from your body immediately turns it into more of an oily texture that's easy to rub in and blend, whilst promising not to clog your pores. It does stay moist to the touch for quite a while, so I usually apply it either first thing in the morning or before bed, when I don't need to be doing anything else for a little while.
If you're looking for something a little easier to apply, Bloom and Blossom's Wonder Worker Multi Tasking Balm is a great alternative, coming in a squeezy tube with a more cream-like formula. It's currently on sale at £12.80 (was £16), and can be used for almost as many issues as the Wonderbalm.
Alternatively the La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Balm B5 Multi-Purpose Repairing Balm is £10.90 with a similar cream formula that's easy to apply and rub in. It's also gentle enough to be applied to post-injury on broken skin, and helps repair and protect your skin.
The results
I first applied it to a particularly nasty eczema patch on my eyelids which had been splitting and getting worse as the area is naturally dry and moving quite a lot. The immediate effect was that it took any sting out of it, and created a protective barrier over the top, which meant it wasn't being aggravated every time I blinked.
I also tried applying it to my entire face, and when I say I woke up the next day with the softest skin ever, I'm not exaggerating. However, I do think it's maybe a little heavy to use daily.
It's great as a treatment once or twice a week, but after trying it on my whole face every day for a week my skin started to feel a little oily and like it couldn't breathe properly. It did, however, work as a daily treatment over very sore and dry skin (like eczema patches) and helped prevent cracking or splitting.
Overall this has been a hero product to keep in my skincare kit for times when my skin needs a little extra help. Whilst it's not solely responsible for my improved skin, it has played a key role in helping protect it, and I can totally see why travellers have been adding Wonderbalm to their skincare kits. All those benefits in one little pot? My hand luggage has never been so grateful.