Walk into any Australian chemist and you’ll see them side by side: paw paw salves, paw paw balms, paw paw creams — all with the same fruit on the label, all promising much the same thing. But they’re not the same product, and knowing the difference saves you buying the wrong one.
What is a salve, exactly?
A salve is one of the oldest skincare formats there is: oils or fats thickened with wax (usually beeswax — or, in many big-name paw paw products, petroleum jelly). Salves don’t absorb much — that’s the point of them. They form a protective layer that sits on top of your skin, sealing moisture in and the weather out. A paw paw balm is essentially the same idea, usually firmer.
What is a cream?
A cream is an emulsion — oils blended with a water-type base — made to absorb into the skin rather than sit on it. Our cream’s base isn’t even water: it’s certified organic aloe vera juice, carrying 60% paw paw fruit extract — made from fresh Australian fruit, never a dried or freeze-dried powder.
Same fruit, opposite philosophies
| Salve / balm | Cream | |
|---|---|---|
| How it works | Sits ON the skin — a seal | Absorbs IN — delivers |
| Feel | Waxy, greasy, protective | Light, sinks in |
| Usual base | Beeswax or petroleum jelly | Water — or in ours, organic aloe |
| Vegan | Often not (beeswax) | Ours is — always |
Choose a salve when you want a physical barrier — a seal over your skin against wind or weather.
Choose a cream when you want the goodness in your skin — everyday moisturising with nothing waxy left behind.
Why we make a cream, not a salve
At Real McArthur we went the cream road on purpose. A salve’s base — the wax, the petroleum — is most of the product; the fruit is a passenger. In our cream, the fruit IS the product: 60% paw paw fruit extract made from fresh Australian fruit grown by certified organic growers. Vegan and cruelty-free from base to label: no beeswax, no lanolin, no petrolatum, ever.
That’s our natural paw paw cream with magnesium — and if you’re weighing up creams against the famous petroleum-based options, we’ve written an honest comparison of the two with no scare tactics.
Quick answers
Near enough — both are wax-thickened and sit on the skin. Balms are usually firmer.
Often not — most use beeswax, and many big-name ones use petroleum jelly. If vegan matters to you, read the ingredients list first.
A cream, by design. Salves are made to stay on the surface as a seal; creams are made to sink in.
Not currently — we make a paw paw cream built on organic aloe and 60% real fruit, because we’d rather the fruit did the work than the wax.
The fruit should be the point — not the wax it’s carried in.
Shop natural paw paw cream →