Dr.Lipp

Dr.Lipp is a British natural-skincare brand founded in London in 2004 by Pontine Paus [1]. It is built around a single multi-purpose product, the Original Nipple Balm, a lanolin salve originally intended for breastfeeding mothers that the company markets for use on lips, cuticles and dry skin. The brand positions itself in the clean-beauty space, emphasising 100% natural ingredients and short formulas, and remains active, with new editorial content and award announcements recorded through late 2025 [3].

The company is independently held; no parent company or acquisition is on record. Its products are sold directly through drlipp.com and through retailers including Space NK, where the balm gained a following among makeup artists.

Before working in skincare, Pontine Paus was a handbag designer, artist and illustrator [4]. According to the brand, she developed the first product after looking for a gentle remedy for her own eczema-prone skin and finding that the lanolin balms used by nursing mothers offered what she described as pure, natural relief. That discovery became the Original Nipple Balm, summarised in the company's own retelling by the line "if it's good enough for your nipples, it's good enough for all the other bits."

A 2018 trade report describing a new launch as "the first to be released by the brand for 14 years" corroborates the 2004 founding date [4].

The Original Nipple Balm is the brand's hero product and, for much of its history, effectively its only one. Space NK describes it as a single-ingredient formula of "100% medical grade lanolin" sourced from Australian sheep's wool, with no added fragrance, parabens or sulphates, and markets it as a tasteless, edible balm for lips and dry skin [5]. It is positioned as an affordable everyday product, though it has also been stocked at premium beauty retailers.

In September 2018 the company introduced Tinted Lips & Bits, a trio of lip tints — its first colour cosmetics and, as trade coverage noted, its first new products in fourteen years [4]. The tints combine lanolin with anthocyanins, distarch phosphate and glyceryl caprylate, drawing colour from plant pigments such as red radish, sweet potato and elderberry.

Dr.Lipp describes its approach as "stripped-back" skincare: 100% natural ingredients, fewer than ten per formula — a count the company frames as an industry first — and concentrated, multi-use products meant to reduce waste [2]. The brand's stated mission is "making 100% natural, clean, safe, and sustainable beauty a real thing," and its certifications charter lists the chemicals it excludes, among them parabens, phthalates, synthetic fragrance, sulphates, silicones and microplastics [3].

The company also makes a health-oriented claim, citing research it attributes to Dr. William Goodson to argue that eliminating parabens and phthalates can reduce cancer-associated cells within 28 days [2]. This is presented as the brand's own position rather than an independently established finding.

On packaging, Dr.Lipp says it uses 100% recyclable, carbon-capturing bioplastic made from sugarcane, and states that the change reduces landfill waste by 80% [2]. Its certifications include Leaping Bunny approval — the Cruelty Free International standard, awarded in August 2023 — alongside ECOCERT, COSMOS and NATRUE.

The Original Nipple Balm has been described in editorial coverage as a "cult-favourite balm" and a backstage staple among makeup artists at fashion shows and photoshoots [7]. The number of industry awards it has accumulated is reported inconsistently: the brand's own 2025 blog cites 45 awards [6], while retailer and editorial copy has repeated a figure of "100+ industry awards" [7]. Recent recognition includes a bronze at the 2025 Natural Health Beauty Awards and a Best Multi-Tasking Skincare Balm win at the 2025 Attracta Beauty Awards.

Dr.Lipp is active. The brand maintains its direct-to-consumer site, published a blog post in November 2025, and announced fresh awards through August of that year [3]. Its products are distributed across several markets, including UK and European retailers and the Nordic region.

Some Dr.Lipp stock has appeared through liquidation and discount channels, which a February 2026 trade piece attributed to surplus inventory rather than business failure, stating that the brand is "alive and well" and still producing its signature products [7]. The brand's headquarters remain in the United Kingdom; the Australian connection sometimes noted in product listings refers to the sourcing of its lanolin, not the company's base.