Organic Nipple Balm and Nipple Butter

The USDA does not write special rules for body care. A balm made of farm ingredients, such as olive oil, shea butter and beeswax, can be certified under the same National Organic Program rules as food. To use the USDA Organic seal, at least 95 percent of the ingredients, not counting salt and water, must be certified organic, and a USDA-accredited certifier must approve the label.

That is a statement about farming and handling. The FDA says the source of an ingredient does not determine its safety, and that products with organic claims still have to meet FDA safety and labeling rules. So the seal narrows down how the ingredients were produced. It does not tell you the balm will work, or that your baby will not react to it.

Most certified balms are also lanolin-free, because they are built on plant butters. If a second claim such as non-GMO matters to you, check that it names the program. Our page on Non-GMO Project Verified explains what that one covers.

The Office on Women's Health, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, says nipples often feel tender at first and that a good latch is the key. Its tips for cracked nipples are to rub a few drops of expressed milk on them after a feed, to let them air dry, and to use purified lanolin made for breastfeeding. It also says to get help from your doctor or lactation consultant before using creams.

The research on lanolin itself is mixed. The NIH LactMed record on lanolin says it appears to be effective for nipple pain, but that studies have not found it consistently different from applying breast milk or other measures, and that good studies are lacking. LactMed also says even highly purified lanolin should be avoided by anyone with a known wool allergy.

We did not find an NIH review of the plant-butter balms listed here. That is worth knowing: organic certification is well documented for these products, and clinical evidence is not.

ACOG says nipple pain can be improved with proper breastfeeding technique and tells patients to talk with their ob-gyn or a lactation consultant to learn how. The Office on Women's Health puts it more bluntly: if you are putting off feeds because breastfeeding hurts, get help from a lactation consultant, because delaying feeds can cause more pain and affect supply.

It also advises changing nursing pads often so moisture is not trapped against cracked skin. Our page on organic nursing pads covers what those are made of. If you are also weighing herbal teas sold for nursing, read the evidence on our pregnancy and nursing teas page first.