Marmot Balm: An Alpine Tradition

Ask anyone who grew up in a Swiss mountain valley about Murmeli — marmot — and they'll tell you about the tin in the cupboard. Marmot fat has been used across the Alps for generations to rub into aching joints, tired muscles and stiff backs, and it remains one of the region's most enduring home remedies. Puralpina, based in the Bernese Oberland, still makes it, blended with alpine herbs and offered in two directions: the Cooling ointment for joints, ligaments and tendons that need calming, and the Warming ointment for backs and muscles that need loosening up. Both come in 50 ml and 100 ml, plus a Marmot Massage Oil for larger areas and Pure Marmot Oil for those who want it unblended.

Beyond the marmot line, the range is a small catalogue of alpine essentials. Edelweiss hand and foot balms for skin that takes a beating from weather and work. The Hemp Bar for chapped and cracked skin. A bergamot deodorant cream. And the lip care trio — the classic Lip Balm, the tinted Bargmuntschi lipgloss and the Vogellisi balm, named after the Adelboden mountain and the song everyone in Switzerland knows.

Cooling or Warming?

The rule is intuitive. Warming for stiffness — a tight back in the morning, muscles before or after exertion, cold weather aches. Cooling for irritation — joints, tendons and ligaments that feel hot, overworked or inflamed. Many people keep both: warming in the morning, cooling in the evening.

Puralpina's formulas are natural, simply made and honestly priced — CHF 11 for a lip balm, CHF 31 for a full 100 ml tin of marmot ointment. This isn't luxury skincare; it's what actually lives in the bathroom cabinet of a Swiss chalet.

Every Puralpina product ships authentic from Lausanne. Free delivery within Switzerland from CHF 100, worldwide from CHF 300.