From One Family to Yours
Milkweed Balm began with a little boy in pain and a mother determined to help him. When Debbie Dekleva’s baby, JoJo, struggled with severe eczema, even gentle lotions stung his raw, chapped skin. Drawing on her family’s long-standing work with milkweed, Debbie created the first formula in the company lab.
She called it JoJo’s Burning Butt Balm. It worked. And what began as a mother’s answer for her son became the beginning of something much bigger.
A Mother’s Search
Debbie needed something gentle enough for her baby, but effective enough to make a difference. Milkweed seed oil became the unexpected answer.
A Father-Daughter Dream
Debbie’s father, Herb Knudsen, had worked with milkweed since 1987 and believed deeply in the plant’s potential to serve people and protect nature.
More Than Skin Deep
Today, Milkweed Balm carries forward a family legacy — creating products that support comfort, care, and monarch habitat conservation.
A Balm Born From Need
Drawing from her family’s work with the plant, Debbie crafted her first formula with milkweed seed oil. To her relief, it worked. No more tears at diaper changes. Just smiles.
What started as a product made for one child became a discovery that would eventually help countless others searching for comfort.
The Milkweed Project
Debbie’s father, Herb Knudsen, was a chemist, patent attorney, and visionary entrepreneur. In 1987, he acquired the Milkweed Project and began pioneering new uses for wildcrafted milkweed.
From bedding to balm, from wellness to wildlife, Herb saw endless potential in this North American native plant.
A Legacy of Innovation
Herb begins working with milkweed and its commercial possibilities.
Debbie creates the first balm for her baby’s sensitive skin.
The family begins sharing samples with friends and loved ones.
Milkweed Balm continues the mission of comfort, care, and conservation.
More Than Skin Deep
Milkweed is the sole food source for monarch butterfly caterpillars. By creating value-added products from milkweed, we help support a larger mission: protecting wild milkweed patches, encouraging habitat growth, and creating economic incentives for conservation.
We are more than a skincare brand. We are part of a movement.
Our Promise
We believe in the healing power of nature and the strength of family. We believe in finding answers when hope feels out of reach. And we believe in milkweed — not just for what it can do for your skin, but for what it means to the monarchs, the planet, and every family looking for something that finally works.
This is more than a business. It’s a legacy of care. And it’s just the beginning.