What goes into the solid foot cream – and why

The solid foot cream Rosemary & Sage is made from nine raw materials. This post goes through them one by one: what each does in the formula, why there is no water in it, and how the tin and the refill belong together. It is for anyone who wants to know exactly what is in the tin.

The formula at a glance

The full list of ingredients is on the product page Solid Foot Cream – Rosemary & Sage. It has twelve entries: nine raw materials and three fragrance components that come from the essential oils. The order follows the amount. Whatever comes first is present in the largest quantity. The guide How to read an INCI list explains how to read a list like this.

Raw material	Name in the list (INCI)	Role in the formula	Stated origin
Sunflower oil	Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil	Liquid plant oil and the largest share. Makes the cream supple and easy to spread.	direct trade, cold-pressed
Beeswax	Cera Alba	Gives the piece its firmness. A thin film stays on the skin.	direct trade
Olive oil	Olea Europaea Fruit Oil	Second liquid plant oil. Makes the cream supple.	direct trade, cold-pressed
Shea butter	Butyrospermum Parkii Butter	Plant butter. Sits between oil and wax in hardness and leaves the skin supple.	direct trade
St. John's wort extract	Hypericum Perforatum Flower/Twig Extract	Plant extract in a small amount.	certified organic farming
Rosemary oil	Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil	Essential oil, provides the scent.	certified organic farming
Eucalyptus oil	Eucalyptus Radiata Flower/Leaf/Stem Oil	Essential oil, provides the scent.	certified organic farming
Sage oil	Salvia Sclarea Oil	Essential oil from clary sage, provides the scent.	not stated
Aloe vera extract	Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract	Plant extract in a small amount.	certified organic farming

At the end of the list you will find Linalool, Limonene and Geraniol. These are not separate ingredients but natural components of the essential oils.

Oils, wax and butter: the framework

Four raw materials make up the main part: two oils, one wax and one butter. The oils are liquid at room temperature. The wax is hard and only melts above 60 °C. Shea butter sits in between. The ratio determines how firm the piece of cream is and how easily it softens on the skin.

In the foot cream, sunflower oil comes first and beeswax second. In our hand cream (Solid Hand Cream - Beeswax) it is the other way round: the wax comes first. That makes the foot cream a little softer.

You can read more about the individual raw materials in the guides Olive oil or sunflower oil for skin?, Beeswax in skin care and Shea butter: composition, origin and refining.

Why there is no water in it

In most creams, “Aqua” is the first item on the list. Water and oil do not combine on their own, so a cream like that needs an emulsifier. And because germs need water to grow, it usually needs a preservative as well.

The solid foot cream contains no water. That is why its list includes neither an emulsifier nor a preservative. It is solid, softens with the warmth of your skin, and a small amount is enough because nothing is diluted.

This has a limit, too. A water-free cream keeps moisture in the skin but adds hardly any itself. So it is best applied when your skin is still slightly damp after a shower. The guide Water-free cosmetics explains what else changes without water. This does not apply to our whole range: the solid soaps and the aloe vera serum contain water.

Rosemary, eucalyptus and sage: where the scent comes from

There is no “Parfum” on the list. The foot cream is still not fragrance-free. Its fresh, herbal scent comes from three essential oils: rosemary, eucalyptus and clary sage. They bring Linalool, Limonene and Geraniol into the cream. These substances can trigger an allergy in some people and therefore have to be named individually.

If you react to fragrances, read the list before you buy. The foot cream is not suitable for children under 7; it contains eucalyptol and camphor. It is for external use only and should not be applied to broken or irritated skin. If your skin reacts, stop using it and seek medical advice. The guide Essential oils and fragrance allergens explains the background.

Tin and refill belong together

The foot cream is a solid piece of 40 g in a tinplate tin. You keep the tin. When the cream is used up, you take the Solid Foot Cream Refill - Rosemary & Sage: the same formula, the same 40 g, without a tin. You press the piece into the empty tin. If it is too firm for that, warm it briefly, for example in a water bath. Make sure no water gets onto the cream.

If you want to stock up, there is the Foot Care Set XL – for Dry Feet with one tin and three refills. The Empty Cosmetic Tin is also available on its own. It has a slip lid without a screw thread and, according to its product page, is made in France. For travelling there is the Solid Foot Cream Travel Size – Rosemary & Sage in a Tin with 8 g. The guide Refillable hand cream: tin and refill explained shows how refilling works step by step.

What is established about production and history

Care without water was there at the start of the brand. Benno, a climbing instructor and sports massage therapist, was looking for a hand cream for his hands and could not find a suitable one. So he developed a formula without water himself, in the kitchen of a shared flat. In 2019 he showed it to his brother Fritz. Together with Marc and Lennart, it became the first solid hand cream, called “Daumenschmaus” at the time. The first parcels were sent out in 2020. Between 2021 and 2024 the company built up its own production.

The foot cream follows the same principle: plant oils, a plant butter and wax, no water. It used to be called “Zehenschmaus”. In 2025, 4peoplewhocare became forpeople skincare. The formulas have stayed the same.

What is established about production today: the formulas are developed in Hamburg. The products are made in Germany, by hand. The foot cream is notified in the European notification portal CPNP in accordance with the EU Cosmetics Regulation, and every pack carries a batch code. You can read more about the history under Our Story and in the guide 4peoplewhocare is now called forpeople skincare.