Kawakawa-Infused Sweet Almond Oil
New Zealand's Most Beloved Healing Plant, Meet Its Perfect Carrier
Rooted in Aotearoa
Walk through almost any patch of New Zealand native bush and you'll find it; a lush, heart-shaped leaf with distinctive holes punched through by the Kawakawa looper moth. That's Kawakawa (Macropiper excelsum), and those holey leaves are actually the most prized of all. In te ao Māori, Kawakawa holds deep cultural and spiritual significance, worn in wreaths to honour the departed and used for generations as a plant medicine to soothe, heal, and restore.
At Bounti Balms, we've taken this treasured native ingredient and made it the heart of everything we create.
Why Kawakawa?
Kawakawa contains naturally occurring compounds that have long made it a go-to in traditional Māori rongoā (plant medicine). Modern interest in the plant has grown significantly as people seek effective, natural alternatives to synthetic skincare, and Kawakawa delivers.
Its properties make it particularly well-suited to balm formulations, where it can sit in close, sustained contact with skin. Whether you're dealing with dryness, sensitivity, irritation, or simply skin that needs a little extra care, Kawakawa brings something genuinely meaningful to the formulation; not just as a marketing story, but as a functional ingredient with real heritage behind it.
The Carrier That Makes It Sing: Sweet Almond Oil
A great ingredient is only as good as what carries it. That's why we pair Kawakawa with cold-pressed sweet almond oil; one of nature's most skin-friendly oils, and an ideal match for Kawakawa's properties.
Sweet almond oil is:
- Lightweight and fast-absorbing it sinks into skin without leaving a greasy residue
- Naturally rich in vitamins A, D and E key nutrients that support healthy skin function
- High in oleic and linoleic fatty acids which help maintain the skin's natural moisture barrier
- A natural source of potassium, zinc, and protein offering gentle support for skin that needs rebuilding
Because it's so well-tolerated by most skin types, sweet almond oil makes our Kawakawa infusion accessible to a wide range of people, including those with sensitive or reactive skin.
Our Infusion Process
We don't take shortcuts here. Our Kawakawa leaves are carefully dried before infusion — a deliberate choice that ensures consistency and concentrates the plant's active compounds, removing the moisture that can compromise shelf life in a cold-processed balm.
The leaves are then slow-infused into sweet almond oil using a gentle, low-heat method that extracts the full spectrum of Kawakawa's beneficial compounds without degrading their integrity. The result is a deep, richly coloured oil; beautiful evidence of just how much Kawakawa goodness has made it into every drop.
That oil then becomes the backbone of our entire lip healer range.
A Note on Sourcing
Kawakawa is native to New Zealand and found throughout the North Island and upper South Island. We source with care, with an eye toward sustainability and respect for the plant's cultural significance. This isn't an ingredient we treat lightly, it's a taonga of this land, and we're honoured to work with it.
Found In Every Bounti Balm
Our Kawakawa-infused sweet almond oil is a key ingredient in every lip healer we make. It's what unites the range and gives every Bounti Lip Balm its distinctly New Zealand identity.
It's not a hero ingredient because we say so. It's a hero ingredient because it's been one for centuries.