How to Choose Between the Badger Sleep Balm & Badger Night Night Balm

We get asked a lot of questions at Hello Charlie! Here’s one that I was asked about recently: what’s the difference between the Badger Sleep Balm and the Badger Night Night Balm?

We stock both of these balms at Hello Charlie. Over the years, many of those delightful little Badger tins have made their way to our house. I always assumed that the sleep balm was for grown ups, and the night night balm was for children. It seems that there’s a little more to it than that. So let's have a look at it.

Here’s the two products side by side:

Badger Sleep Balm Ingredients: *Olea Europaea (Extra Virgin Olive) Oil, *Ricinus Communis (Castor) Oil, *Cera Alba (Beeswax), Essential Oils of *Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot), *Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender), *Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary Verbenone), *Zingiber Officinale (Ginger), *Abies Balsamea (Balsam Fir) and CO2 Extract of Zingiber Officinale (Ginger). (*certified organic)

Badger Night Night Balm Ingredients: *Olea Europaea (Extra Virgin Olive) Oil, *Cera Alba (Beeswax), *Ricinus Communis (Castor) Oil, *Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe) Extract, Essential Oils of *Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender), Santalum Album (Sandalwood), *Citrus Nobilis (Mandarin), *Mentha Viridis (Spearmint), and *Anthemis Nobilis (Roman Chamomile). (*certified organic)

As you can see, the base ingredients are the same, but the essential oils are different. So let's have a look at what each product is designed to do.

What are these two balms?

The Badger website has this to say about how to use Badger Sleep Balm:

“This dreamy, night balm will not make you sleepy (it’s not a drug); rather it’s a calming, soothing blend of essential oils to help ease you into a relaxed state of mind so sleep can come naturally.”

And this, about the Night Night Balm:

“Night-Night Balm is a natural Sleep Balm specifically designed with children in mind, to help ease younger minds into the magical realm of the sleep world.”

In both products, you start off with a lovely moisturising base of organic olive and castor oil. Next comes the pure, organic essential oils. Badger chooses the essential oils in these balms for their aromatherapy benefits. So while the balms are similar, they do different things.

Sleep is crucial when it comes to health and wellness. It's even more vital for kids and teens, as their bodies are still growing and developing at rapid rates.

While sleep doesn’t come easily for everyone, there are natural sleep remedies for babies and adults that can help when you have trouble dropping off.

There are lots of things that you can do to help get off to sleep, and to stay asleep.

One study suggests that aromatherapy works effectively to help improve sleep problems. Which is where aromatic balms come in, using essential oils as sleep aids.

How the Badger Sleep Balm helps with sleep

The Badger lavender sleep balm helps to clear your mind of all the busy thoughts from the day. It doesn’t send you to sleep, but it’s designed to help you push swirling thoughts away. Once your mind is clear, you can relax, and you fall asleep more easily.

This is a relaxing sleep balm for adults with rosemary oil to help clear your thinking and help with mental fatigue. The balm also has bergamot oil which helps to reduce stress, anxiety and insomnia. Balsam fir refreshes, and lavender relaxes.

Natural Remedies for Insomnia: A Guide To Help You Sleep

Is Badger Night Night Balm safe for babies?

The Night Night Balm works a little differently. All the essential oils are gentle, and ideally suited for children. Chamomile calms and soothes, and helps with anxiety and insomnia. It helps little ones to be calm and unwind from nighttime activities, making it an ideal sleep balm for babies.

Mandarin helps reduce anxiety, improves your mood, and smells delicious. Spearmint is another essential oil that helps with anxiety and insomnia. It refreshes and uplifts, too. Sandalwood and lavender helps children towards peaceful relaxation.

Although both balms are suitable for adults or children, the Badger Balm Night Night is gentle enough to use on children as young as 6 months old.

How to use badger night night balm

Use aromatherapy balms where you can smell them. So apply them to your chest, wrists, under the nose, or on your shoulders. The oil base is moisturising, so you can even rub it on under your nose or at the temples.

My boys love it when I rub the Badger Night Balm into their temples. It’s become a bit of an evening ritual for them – a goodnight kiss and some badger balm rubbed gently on their temples. My eldest (who often has trouble falling asleep) swears by this!

How to keep the scent from fading

The night night balm has a milder scent compared to the sleep balm. To help keep both balm scents from fading, tightly close the lids after every application and keep in a cool place.

Where to Buy Badger Balm

Badger Balm products are my absolute favourites – there’s not one I don’t love. These aromatic balms have different ingredients but with a similar aim: to soothe and calm you into a good night's sleep. They’re all natural, USDA certified organic, and a wonderful ethical company, as well. Hello Charlie is an official badger balm stockist. You can shop the range here.