Essential Oils and Fragrances, Botanicals, and Natural Colorants

ESSENTIAL OILS (EO's):

Many of the products listed on this website contain Essential Oils, as indicated in each individual product description.  Essential Oils (EO's), for those who are not extremely familiar with them, are plant (flower, tree, root, bark) products, some might more rightly call them plant essences, extracted (pressed or more often distilled) directly from the plant itself.  Quite often, it takes many to dozens of pounds of a plant material to produce an ounce of an EO.  Depending on the plant and process, most are not technically very "oily" to the touch but they do retain many of the characteristic qualities of the plant in terms of scent, flavor, and color.

Fragrance Oils, which are a proprietary blend possibly containing Essential Oils, are also used in many products (as indicated, see below for more info). 

People may vary in their reaction to EO's. People who have extremely sensitive skin, who have certain health conditions or women who may be pregnant or breast-feeding should use caution in which EO's they contact.  Please FULLY read all information regarding EO's and learn more about the EO's that are right for you when considering ANY of our products.

Essential Oils and Botanicals are not regulated in the same way as pharmaceuticals.  Despite the fact that many have been used traditionally by different cultures for thousands of years, more formalized medicine has not studied these with clinical trials to determine effectiveness, safety, or lack thereof.  Therefore for your health and safety it is recommended that you become knowledgeable about EO's, possible uses, and Contra-indications for use (Ex: when pregnant or breast-feeding) PRIOR to considering any of our products.  In product descriptions and elsewhere on this site there may be mention of traditional practices using particular EO's or other well-known uses of these oils.  This in no way constitutes medical advice, and nothing found on this site is intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any condition. 

The following is not an exhaustive list nor should it be construed as medical advice.

It is generally recommended that pregnant women "play it safe" and avoid all EO's during the first trimester of Pregnancy.  Pregnant women past the first trimester should probably also avoid contact with the following oils: (Content to be added soon).  Sources:

It is also generally recommended that breast-feeding mothers avoid the following EO's: (Content to be added soon). Sources:

Cinnamon Leaf Essential Oil may be a skin irritant for some persons with very sensitive skin.

If you have any health or skin condition, it is recommended that you consult with your doctor or other trusted medical practitioner regarding which EO's are safe for you to use.

FRAGRANCE OILS:  Fragrance Oils (FO's) are blends that can transport us almost to other worlds, in a scented sense.  There are so many amazing possibilities, from a warm Cinnamon Sugar Bun to a bath with Green Tea and Jasmine.  Given the fact that Fragrance Oils constitute a Proprietary Blend that belongs to the specific manufacturer, they may contain Essential Oils, other botanicals, infusions, extracts, synthetics, etc.  If you have questions about a specific Fragrance Oil, inquiry may be made to the manufacturer.  We can provide you the manufacturer name for a specific oil at your request, and will be more than happy to answer all questions regarding our products to the best of our abilities.

NATURAL COLORANTS: Micas, Clays, and the role of Botanicals:

Many of our soaps use colorants found in nature, such as Micas (which derive their color from naturally-occurring Oxides) and natural Clays mined from the earth (such as Brazilian Yellow Clay).  In addition, some of our soaps derive some or all of their color from botanicals, such as the lovely deep-tan spiced coffee hue achieved in our Mocha Spice soap (in this example, no other colorant is used just the coffee and spices).  We also sometimes use body-safe FD&C colors in our designs.  Although Micas and Oxides are natural in the sense they are found in nature, per FDA regulations (and due to the levels of contaminants such as metals and trace minerals found in naturally-mined colorants) the colorants we use are created in a laboratory setting and are considered to be nature-identical.

Botanicals are quite simply, any plant material.  This includes fresh or dried Lavender flowers, Mint or other herbs, spices, flower petals (Examples: Calendula, Rose), bark, materials such as real coffee grounds, and exfoliants such as finely ground Walnut Hulls and ground Apricot Stone.  This also includes plant extracts, such as Green Tea Extract and Calendula Extract.

Botanicals can add so much character and beauty, and quite often also improve the function of the soap (dried Orange Zest for a fresh Citrus Oil burst in the shower or crushed Walnut Hulls for exfoliation, anyone?).  However, many will go through noticeable changes once they have been added to your soap - some may discolor and/or fade in color, there may be a noticeable change in scent, and so on.  This is a natural part of the life cycle of the plant material and is to be expected.  In cases where very noticeable changes in color or scent occur rather quickly, it is usually noted in the item description.