Our mission is healthy skin care products and at times, it really is a moving target.  The more we learn about how technology alterations, the more we question and examine the raw materials we use.

I am sure that many of you reading this pay attention to labels on your food and other products you use in your home. No matter what the product, synthetic ingredients are used in our food, our homes and even our clothes are starting to exact a toll. Higher levels of cancer, auto-immune disorders, allergies, autism and other maladies have struck our population at a rate that has never been seen before.

Fragrance oils in soap are a cause for concern as the majority of their ingredients are considered “trade secrets”.

While we can learn if phthalates, alcohol, and some petroleum additives are present, we cannot find out further detail due to the “trade secret” clause.  Full disclosure is not required of cosmetic manufacturers, especially when it comes to fragrances. And this gives us pause.

Many of us have never questioned, how those scents came to be or what they were made of, we just know we enjoyed them. They brought joy to our lives and longevity to memories of a Grandma, a vacation, a former love……fragrances are without a doubt……emotional.

Fragrances bring pleasure to our world and support and enhance memories & experiences……Grandma loved Lily of the Valley…..Uncle Bob’s Bay Rum and so on.  .

I have mentally struggled with how to convince customers to leave fragrance oils behind in favor of Essential oils and other aromatic plant oils.  But nature’s oils simply cannot mimic, “Cherry Almond” or “Strawberry” or “Bay Rum” and many, many more.  As I thought about this, I realized I had already faced a similar choice.

I LOVE Mountain Dew. On a hot summer day, the idea of an ice cold dew can make my mouth water.

I had already been extricating myself from the soft drink world knowing that high fructose corn syrup and carbonation are bad for me in multiple ways. But I recently learned that Mt. Dew contains a compound called BVO, which stands for Brominated Vegetable Oil. It is used in a myriad of soft drinks where citrus is part of the formula. Pepsico agreed to remove BVO from soft drinks back in 2013.  The company then walked back the promise saying that the amount used was not “enough to cause concern”.  Really? BVO is banned in most of the rest of the world.

Brominated vegetable oil is a carcinogenic, synthetic chemical that occurs when vegetable oil is bonded to the element bromine.  Bromine keeps the citrus oils in soft drinks from floating to the top of the water- based solution.  In another words, it acts as an emulsifier, keeping water and oil together.

As I pondered this, I realized my days of drinking Mt. Dew had just ended, abruptly. Bromine is toxic, and it is not something I want in my body.  It is a choice I have made, but I will seriously miss that ice-cold Dew.

So when I contemplated asking our customers to understand the need to move away from fragrance oils, I realized they would feel much like I did.  Would they see the danger in using a product where the ingredients will not be disclosed?

We examine Certificate of Analysis, Material Safety Data Sheets and other pertinent documents to learn all we can about the ingredients we use.  We already promised to never use fragrances that contain phthalates as these have been proven to be endocrine disruptors, damaging hormones and testicular cells.

In checking  the Certificate of Analysis, we have been learning, that phthalates are now being added back into fragrance oils scents where they had previously been removed.  They are a very effective emulsifier and fixative in fragrances at a fraction of the cost of other similar compounds.  I called one of the manufacturers to ask why the change…..I do not want phthalates I said.  The explanation was the same “the amount is so small, that it should be of no concern”.  To me, that is neither an acceptable or ethical explanation.

Even if the phthalates are removed, the issue remains that we cannot learn what “else” is in there and we know from the chemistry, that the synthetic load is huge.

So Steve and I are moving our product line away from synthetic fragrance oils.  We will finish up the inventory that is phthalate free meaning certain scents will be discontinued by the end of 2018. I am sure it is a move that will disappoint some, but we take our commitment to your skin safety seriously.  We have earned our customers trust and want to continue to do so.

In the end, it is the customer’s choice.  As Americans, we enjoy the  freedom to choose what we use on our bodies, good or bad.   If you choose us, you will be choosing products with a commitment to clean, green, organic, non-gmo and cruelty free.  We hope that is of value to you.   Please feel free to comment and share your thoughts!