What is the difference between balm and balsam

Nglish: Translation of balsam for Spanish Speakers. Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! Log in Sign Up. Save Word. Definition of balsam. Examples of balsam in a Sentence Recent Examples on the Web That earthy patchouli is lightened with lavender, grounded by balsam and steadied with tonka. First Known Use of balsam before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a.

Learn More About balsam. Time Traveler for balsam The first known use of balsam was before the 12th century See more words from the same century. Style: MLA. English Language Learners Definition of balsam. When used as nouns , balm means any of various aromatic resins exuded from certain plants, especially trees of the genus commiphora of africa, arabia and india and myroxylon of south america, whereas balsam means a sweet-smelling oil or resin derived from various plants.

When used as verbs , balm means to anoint with balm, or with anything medicinal, whereas balsam means to treat or anoint with balsam. Any of various aromatic resins exuded from certain plants, especially trees of the genus Commiphora of Africa, Arabia and India and Myroxylon of South America. Any of a number of other aromatic herbs with a similar citrus-like scent, such as bee balm and horse balm. Balm as a verb transitive, archaic :. When your skin is red, dry, cracked, or ashy, what do you do?

But really what is that stuff you are putting on your skin? So what is the difference between all of these treatments? The main difference between all of these is the formulation. Lotions: Lotions are typically the lightest consistency of these skincare products and include water as one of their main ingredients. They have a low oil content and typically only moisturize for a short period of time.

Many lotions use synthetic preservatives or alcohol to prevent microbial growth. Lotions frequently come in a bottle with a pump. While the choice between using these different treatments is a personal preference, our recommendation is mostly balms.