UC Davis Proves:

January 9, 2020.Reading time 3 minutes.

Organic Farming DOES Increase Carbon Sequestration! Confession:We sell organic ingredients into the cosmetic industry because I “believe” that organic farming is better for the planet. As I often say about science, it is not a belief system, it is the pursuit of provable truth. I am happy to report that U.C. Davis (yeah! My alma […]

Our Liquid Gold

December 17, 2019.Reading time 3 minutes.

Organic Argan Oil INCI: Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil Origin : Moroccoo The Story: Our “liquid gold” is sourced from the ancient forests of South West Morocco from the “Trees of Life” , Argania Spinosa. Traditionally, Berber women would gather the fruit and men sell it. Today, we work with over 40 co-ops that sustain local […]

What More Can I Say About Coconut Oil?

November 21, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

Coconut Oil has had millions of words written about it. It is good for you, it is bad for you, it is good for everything, it’s terrible, it causes acne…where to start? It comes in a few forms: Virgin Coconut, which when it’s a good quality, smells amazing and is a gorgeous, pearly white. Refined […]

Organic Rosehip Seed Oil

November 6, 2019.Reading time 3 minutes.

A Beautiful Oil From a Beautiful Place. INCI: Rosa Rubiginosa Seed Oil (aka Mosqueta Oil) As some of you may know, Oh, Oh now represents Sustainable Botanicals Int’l (SBI), an innovative company operating out of Chile. They are focused on identifying and producing unique botanical products that are sustainable and support indigenous communities. The first […]

Fair Trade Cosmetics

November 5, 2019.Reading time 3 minutes.

FloCert – Fair Trade USA – Fair Trade Int’l – Fair Trade Federation – UTZ Certified – Fair For Life Above are the fair trade organizations I found in a 5 minute Google search…all private standards and all private non-profits. Each of these organizations has their own standards (rules), their own audit process, and most […]

Why Organic?”

October 31, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

In 1991 I decided I only wanted to earn a living in a way that was constructive rather than destructive. Supporting organic production was a clear choice and gave me a measurable way to improve the planet. I was also concerned about “safety”, both as a mom and as a physiologist. Taking care of the […]

Cold Pressed Oil?

September 23, 2019.Reading time 5 minutes.

We frequently get the question: “is your oil “cold pressed” ?”. Well – yes and no. First, some transparency: The references we mainly use for oil quality are: The American Oil Chemist Society (of which we are members). Codex Alimentarius (a document supported by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations – Guidelines […]

A Note on Quality: Peroxide Value and other Quality Measurements

September 23, 2019.Reading time 3 minutes.

I am always talking about Peroxide Value (PV) when I talk about oils. This is part of how we assess the quality of an oil. When we receive a new shipment of oil, we check: The Production date, The test date, The Peroxide Value, And the Free Fatty Acids (not to be confused with the […]

How to Make a Cosmetic Black List … (Hint: Don’t)

July 24, 2019.Reading time 3 minutes.

I’ve no idea how many “green” brands and retailers there are but all of them seem to have a “black list”. They choose some number of nasty chemicals and promise that they are not in the products they sell. Further – everyone seems to copy everyone else’s Black List – so you see the same […]

Ingredients & the Sin of Omission

October 31, 2018.Reading time 4 minutes.

🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 There are a few ingredients of concern that keep popping up on “clean“ personal care labels that […]