Keratin Salve

The keratin salve treatment is an ancient Native Ovinex wellness routine given new life and increased efficacy through the application of modern chemical science. Regular application of keratin salve helps to keep the keratinous parts of an ovinex's body - specifically their horns, hooves and fingers - dark, lustrous, and healthy.

History

Historically, the ovinex used various plant and fish oils to help maintain the luster of their horns and fingers and to stave off cracking as a result of dryness or excessive wear. Some varieties of salve containing natural latexes also serve to enhance the grip of keratinous fingers and hooves; the natural ovinex sure-footedness, a blessing of their ovine heritage, is nevertheless still imperfect and amenable to enhancement. Long after the end of the Rostran-Ovinex War and the integration of an ovinex element into the burgeoning Rostran Archipelago Confederacy by way of the Native Ovinex, Rostran chemists discovered the specific set of compounds responsible for the salubrious qualities of keratin salve and distilled them for maximal effect. As part of its aesthetic, the Baxbr cultural movement has elevated the use of keratin salve through the application of cosmetology principles; varieties of the treatment now include a wide variety of color and gloss options to suit the tastes of the customers at ovinex-focussed salons cropping up in the major urban centers throughout the archipelago.

Significance

Applying a coat of keratin salve is often a social activity among ovinex and, increasingly, between ovinex and their Rostran peers. Getting the salve into all the little nooks and crannies, especially along one's horns, is a task that is much easier to accomplish with the aid of a partner whom one trusts to do a thorough job of it. The application of keratin salve is non-gendered in both Native and Civil Ovinex societies, but it is nevertheless a staple of 'girls' nights' throughout the archipelago wherein Rostran woman share in similar cosmetic activities.

Item type

Drug / Narcotic / Medicine

Rarity

Modern keratin salve is mass-produced by companies like Eudoxia Chemical Group and even more distant companies like the Ghostleaf Foundation. Traditional vegetable-based keratin salves are still made in the Ovinex Island Tribes, albeit generally for personal use or as a service industry rather than for resale.