tarte tatin

I first made the acquaintance of Lucas’ Papaw Ointment via fellow makeup artist Ara Fernando. She had a tube in her bag which she was using for her chapped lips. She made me try it on my dry lips and I loved it. My lips felt soothed and smoother after just one application (no kidding). Of course, back then it was only available in Australia and Amazon, but you’d have to buy a lot of tubes since the tube would come out cheaper than the shipping cost. 

When Pam went to Australia for work, I asked if she could bring back some Lucas’ Papaw (is it Pa-POW or Pa-PAW?). It’s so popular in Australia that when she asked her Oz-based friend Bex where Lucas’ Papaw was, Bex knew instantly what it was and where to get it. Pam liked it enough that she brought home a ton and gave away tubes (Pam is like Oprah when it comes to gifting). 

Since the Papaw is so hard to come by, I’ve been treating it like gold dust, applying only a teeny bit on my skin problem du jour, like that time I got that weird insect bite on my ass, or the time the side of my mouth started cracking from the cold (my room is set to freezing all the time to make my polar bear aka Gucci happy) or when I got that love/annoyed nibble bite from Gucci (it’s a Chow Chow thing). 

You can imagine my elation when Sol at Digital Traincase announced the addition of Lucas’ Papaw Ointment to her awesome inventory, and she even sent me a tube! I’m so happy that I can now apply this like crazy all over because it’s readily available here in Manila at last. 

Best salve ever! And I love how the tube looks so delightfully vintage.

(I suggest you start with the 25g tube, it’ll last you quite some time and it’s small enough to bring with you everywhere, which you’ll want to do.)

I’m not the only one obsessed. Lucas’ Papaw Ointment’s Facebook page has plenty of raves and testimonials (one even says “Live and die by the Papaw”, lol), as well as odd ways of how they used it, e.g., it’s not just for humans, it’s for pets, too! One user used it on her cat’s eczema (cats get eczema? Who knew!), while other dog owners swear by it for healing cracked paws (it’s natural enough that it’s lick-friendly, but check with your vet just the same). 

The main ingredient of the ointment is fresh fermented fruit of the carica papaya (which explains the yummy smell), which apparently is also known as papaw/pawpaw, cute! I think I’d like a dog named Papaw. Lol. While we use the papaya mostly for whitening here in the Philippines, in Australia, where botanist T.P. Lucas lived, the fermented papaya fruit which he calls “the finest natural medicine yet discovered” was used to treat a variety of skin ailments. You can use the ointment for the following:

a) minor burns & scalds (beauty junkies who can’t live without a curling iron should have this

b) sunburn (for those without daylight rings, LOL)

c) gravel rash (for skaters/plankers?), cuts & minor open wounds

d) nappy rash and chafing (for runners’ nipples!)

e) insect bites (for Filipinos)

f) splinters and thorns (for carpenters and lovers)

It’s also recommended for milder forms of dermatitis and eczema. 

Lucas’ Papaw Ointment is available at Digital Traincase for P450. 

Follow them on Twitter or Like their Facebook page. They’re on Instagram, too (dgtaltraincase).