We think that what you leave out says as much about your business as what you put in. The following is a list of ingredients we either avoid completely or use the minimum possible.
Synthetic colour and fragrance - Because some have been shown to irritate skin, we use only natural colours and scents. This is particularly important in the realm of scents, where essential oils and flower waters provide the beautiful fragrances our products are noted for.
Mineral oil - We don’t use mineral oil at all as it’s derived from petroleum and so isn’t renewable. Instead we use some of the many natural plant-based alternatives like jojoba.
Silicone - Many cosmetics use silicone to create a film that gives the skin an artificially smooth feel. Unfortunately, this can block the skin’s pores – which is why we use don’t use silicone at all. Instead we use naturally derived extracts to make our products feel as smooth as silk.
Alcohol - We use only plant derived alcohol and then only where essential – since many people worry about alcohol drying their skin.
Parabens - Parabens are preservatives widely used in cosmetics and also foods and pharmaceuticals. Available naturally or synthetically, they prevent fungi, bacteria and mould. Questions have been raised over their safety so as a result, we stopped using parabens completely, replacing them with natural preservatives where possible.
PEGs and PEG derivatives - While they have a long, safe history of use in skincare, some still regard them as contentious. Wherever a suitable and effective natural alternative is available, we have replaced PEGs. We only use them in our bath oils and some cleansing products where we feel there is no pure natural ingredient that works as well.
SLS & SLES - Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) are both very widely used surfactants – ingredients that help foaming and lathering. We believe there are more gentle, more natural alternatives so instead, we use mild, plant based surfactants like coco-glucoside and sodium cocoyl sarcosinate. We also use Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate and Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate which although they start with the same letters are not SLS or SLES and are completely different in structure and effect to SLS & SLES.
