It has taken Australians around 100 years to realise that they shouldn’t really be using Lucas’ PaPaw ointment on their lips. The identifiable red tube with its bold writing and cult following was the topic of recent nationwide debates that woke its users to the reality of the product. Bloggers took to their safe spaces to rant as if it’s new news to read the fine print – and Lucas’ PaPaw users were devastated.

Make-up artist and blogger, Wanda Waller, went straight to the gut, using facts to get her message across: “Lucas’ PaPaw contains more petroleum jelly than an actual pawpaw.”

No shit. It says so on the packaging.

In response, Lucas’ Papaw spokesperson Karyn Lees stated that the ointment is not meant to be used as a moisturiser. In fact, a full list of suggested uses can be found on the actual product. Imagine that.

Rather than using a processed paw paw powder from overseas, the active ingredient is created by using a fermentation process to concentrate the enzymes from Australian paw paws. “[This] means we must use a smaller proportion of active ingredient than the other products that use processed unfermented extracts from papaws,” Lees said. “The healing properties of fresh fermented papaw is very potent and has to be carefully balanced or it will be too strong for human use … and effectively “burn” our skin.”

All in all, there’s good news: the ointment does help the body maintain its existing moisture due to the qualities of petroleum jelly, and does not dry out your skin.

Developed in Brisbane, Australia in 1910 by Dr Thomas Lucas, a botanist and medical practitioner, the ointment was created on his belief that paw paw was the finest natural medicine ever discovered. Yum.