Hi everyone
I have (randomly) selected the winners from the 2nd certified organic drawing. The winners are TS and LT; they will each receive one grande (full) size 80% certified organic elixir. Congrats to both! (I just used their initials to protect their names; this announcement will also be posted on the forum too). TS and LW I will be contacting you shortly!
Cheers,
Li
One of my customers just asked me about the use of sodium benzoate in cosmetics on the forum, so I decided to post my answer here too. She also asked about grapefruit seed extract (but I don’t use that in my line but to read my long response on that ;P please read the rest of the post).
From my post on the forum:
Edited to add what how I define a broad spectrum preservative (which was in the gfse part of my post on the forum): I personally define a preservative that is ‘broad spectrum’ as something that kills a wide range of bacteria as well as fungi AND keeps it fresh for long periods of time, anywhere from 7 months to a year, or for synthetic preservatives up to 2 years.
I only use sodium benzoate in one product so far (Balance toner) and that is part of the preservative geogard ultra (which is an Ecocert approved preservative). I think the amounts of sodium benzoate in geogard are safe to use (sodium benzoate is used in a lot of foods). My opinion is that sodium benzoate applied TOPICALLY in very small amounts and not used all the time* is safe (topical versus ingested sometimes have the same effect and sometimes the effects are different).
(*this is one of the reason I stress rotation so much, since most things are safe in very small amounts but in high amounts, or used over long periods of time, can be toxic. Even something as ‘benign’ as tea tree essential oil can be toxic if used incorrectly and for too long).
I use geogard to preserve my hydrosols/toners for a couple reasons. Though hydrosols have a pretty good shelf life on their own (they are sterile straight from the distiller) and in theory have a shelf life of anywhere from a few months to a year or so (depends on the plant and also the methods of the distiller), once people handle them, they can get easily contaminated (many people handle them before they get to me, and then I handle them before I give it to my customers). So they can be good for months or they can go bad in a day.
I think it is very important to test skin care for bacteria and fungi, so I test every batch I make for my business with simple bacteria and fungal tests (which is not as good as a lab can do, but still at least a good indicator. Not every small hand crafter tests their products but I do). Though you can sometimes tell something has become contaminated, you can’t always tell by looking at it.
From my experiences with helping friends, family, and also dozens, maybe hundreds, of people over the last several years on forums, I’ve come to realize that although I am anal ;P in how I handle my personal cosmetics (using them up fast, refrigerating when needed, not storing in the bathroom, trying to handle them carefully, etc) not everyone else is as anal as me. So for my customers’ safety I decided to use a preservative in my toners. Though there are a few synthetic preservatives I will use (like cosmocil) I prefer using as natural as possible so that’s why I choose geogard (most people define geogard as ‘all natural’, personally I define geogard as somewhere between ‘all natural’ and ‘naturally derived/synthetic’ but closer to natural than synthetic).
A good read, my ecoliving article on anb (all natural beauty) mall’s site on what is natural.
Also my article on what is organic
To make a long story, very long ;P there are very few truly natural or ‘more natural’ preservatives that have been challenge tested and shown that they are truly broad spectrum preservatives (many like some essential oils can kill bacteria but they are not broad spectrum). Geogard is one of them, another is leucidal. Both are pretty new to the market (Geogard has only been available within the last few years. Leucidal is very new, only started seeing that a few months ago). I will be using leucidal in another toner probably (I need to test it for longer to see if I like it as much as geogard or not).
Geogard is considered to be Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS), probably one of the safest preservatives out on the market now.
For sodium benzoate some people with really sensitive skin may be sensitive to it (key word may. Many people with sensitive skin can use sodium benzoate with no problem). Sodium benzoate is used in many things from vinegar/salad dressing, soda, and cough syrup. I am more concerned in the amount in soda since many people drink a lot of soda daily! Most of the concerns in foods are when high amounts of sodium benzoate are combined with other substances (like artificial colors or ascorbic acid, etc). Very small amounts are considered to have no adverse effects when ingested.
The small amount in geogard for a topically applied product; I think it is safe in that amount, applied to the skin. I’ve read that the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel considers Sodium Benzoate to be safe when used in (topically applied) cosmetics at levels at 5% or lower. In cosmetics, Geogard is used in way lower amounts, between 0.75% – 2.0%. Geogard is made with mostly Gluconolactone (first ingredient) and also Sodium Benzoate, so the amount of Sodium Benzoate is very low in it.
I think it is wonderful that you (my customer) are researching things 🙂 Though I think sodium benzoate (when used in the correctly amounts) is relatively safe in skin care (it’s much safer than using many of the synthetic preservatives out there), others may disagree and don’t want to use it, and that is okay. That is one of the reasons why I am looking into other preservatives too, and if I end up liking leucidal as much as geogard I will add that to a different toner (so far I like it). Geogard will remain as the preservative in Balance toner though. There are other natural/more natural preservatives I am experimenting with too. I may come out with herbal extract only toner (so preserved with grain or grape alcohol) one of these days, but shelf life on those would be much shorter than preserving with geogard or leucidal so I am thinking about it.
Edited: game is now over! That was quick! Thanks Celia and Shannon, and congrats! 🙂
Hi everyone
A new game is up on the forum! Go to the forum and play before it’s over!
Cheers,
Li
The petite (sample size) perfumes are now being packaged in new perfume vials. The new perfume vials are larger than the old ones. I decided to switch them because the old ones were really difficult for me to close (doing one is okay, but doing dozens at a time was not easy). My new vendor had either a smaller vial or the bigger one so I went with the bigger one. 🙂 They are still clear perfume vials but they have black caps (they look very nice!). I’ve adjusted the price accordingly (since they hold more).
Here is a picture of the old ones versus the new ones.
Though I usually try to give notice before any changes, I am sorry that I wasn’t able to give notice before switching them this time (I needed to package Paradise and another perfume, and I didn’t have enough old vials left, so I just went ahead and used the new ones).
Also new sizes of products, and new products coming VERY soon! Yay!
Hi everyone
Thanks to all that voted in the poll or that emailed me 🙂
I have just adjusted the new bottle choices and also new prices on the toner page. I originally was going to change it on March 10th but I left the current prices up for an extra four days or so. Everyone that ordered toners before the change, will get a glass mister with their order at the old price.
The toners are now being packaged (and shipped) in plastic (PET #1) recyclable bottles. But customers can choose between a plastic bottle only option, or they can choose to purchase a glass mister with their toner (the toner will still be shipped in plastic).
Eco tips: recycle the plastic bottle after use. Reuse (Clean/sterile before reusing) the glass mister or recycle the glass part of the mister. Thank you 🙂
Cheers,
Li
Edited: Mini game is OVER! Congrats to the winners! 🙂
Hi everyone
Throughout the next few weeks I will be having a few mini-contest/games posted on the forum (they will be posted randomly) so head to the forum to play. I will try to post about them here too, but since they are games they may be answered fast so keep checking the forum!
Please note, you have to be a member of the delphi forums (have a delphi account) to post on the forum, and not just be logged in as a guest.
I will edit this blog entry again when someone wins/answers right.
Cheers,
Li
Hi everyone
New drawing: every order placed from now (March 10th) until March 19, 2010 11:59 pm EST will be entered in our drawing for an organic elixir. This elixir is made with 80% certified organic ingredients, but it is actually more organic than that since in addition to 80% of the ingredients being certified organic, I also used non-certified organic ingredients in it too. A couple of the ingredients are ethically wild harvested too. Like my other skin care products, it is 100% natural. Made for all skin types (except the very dry) but I think it would benefit oily skin, normal, or combination skin the best, but mildly dry and dehydrated skin will love it too. My skin is normal/balanced but can get dehydrated and dry, and my skin loves this! It contains certified organic hemp, antioxidant, nutrient rich watermelon seed oil, and many other lovely carrier oils. This one is scented with distilled lime (which is NOT phototoxic), exotic sensual ylang ylang, and other balancing essential oils. It is a facial elixir.
Like the last drawing I have two of them, so there will be two winners. Each winner will get one of these lovely elixirs. They are grande (full) sized and are 1 oz in amber orifice reducer bottles (like the bottles I used for the Hope Body Oil).
Good luck to all! I’ve already sent the two elixirs for the last drawing out, so I hope BM and CR love them!
Cheers,
Li
My new eco living article on anb (all natural beauty) mall’s site is a recipe for an organic apple mask! Apples are great in skin care since they mildly exfoliate (they contain malic acid) and also soften the skin, and have so many vitamins/nutrients in them! I hope you love the recipe!
Cheers,
Li
I posted this on the forum too. Please take the poll on the forum (since I disabled comments on the blog due to spam)
My new bottles finally arrived (for the toners and other products. I ordered bottles from a few different companies. Though I got my glass misters earlier in the week, the bottles/jars from the west cost–which included the plastic toner bottles and also blue glass jars for the dreams–arrived thursday night). The ones for the toners will be switched immediately, and the other ones will be switched over time. Most of my products will eventually be switched to blue glass (except for the mmu and the toners when shipped, and maybe a few jars) but I still have a lot of the other bottles and jars left (amber, green, clear). I may just save those other bottles for limited edition products, or keep using them until they are gone (though the xiao sized amber toner misters will never be used to package my products again; I’ll just use those for personal usage).
Though blue glass is more expensive than amber or clear glass, most of the prices will remain the same, I am absorbing the costs on most products. I also forgot to add several costs when figuring product costs (like paypal fees, basic bacterial/fungi tests–I test every batch of skin care I make–, labels, shrink wrap, didn’t add enough to cover boxes for first class shipping, etc), I am absorbing most of those costs too for the current products (since I think that it’ll eventually balance out when other costs I did incorporate, such as insurance and web fees, are eventually paid off for the year; though that won’t be for a while since those cost a lot).
However for some products, like the toners, I am very sorry but I am afraid that I won’t be able to absorb all the costs, and may have to raise the price a little. If it was only the above costs (the higher cost of the blue glass and the costs I forgot), then I would absorb them (since I really, really did not want to change prices after only being in business for such a short time. I just don’t think it is fair to my customers). But for the toners, I am going to package them in PET plastic bottles but would like to offer the blue glass misters for them too (so the higher cost of the blue glass mister plus the cost of the plastic bottle), and also there have been price increases in two ingredients* (see note below for more on ingredient costs). I do not think I can absorb the costs I forgot, the higher cost of the blue glass AND also the cost of the plastic bottle and the increase in ingredient costs.
I have thought a lot about the solution: whether to only offer them in plastic bottles (so I probably wouldn’t have to increase the cost at all since plastic cost less than glass, and the money I saved from offering plastic could cover the increase of costs of the ingredients) or to offer the blue glass misters with the plastic bottle (which would definitely result in a price increase of 50 cents to 70 cents for the two sizes). I could do one or the other, or offer both options; I am leaning toward one particular option 😉 but I would very much like to hear which option my customers would prefer.
Here are the poll questions. Please take the poll on the forum. Thank you!
1) Would you prefer the toners only be packaged in plastic and pay about the same price as now (so NO glass mister). Please state why.
2) Or would you prefer the toners be packaged in plastic and that they come with a blue glass mister? (note: this option would have a price increase of about 50-70 cents depending on the size ordered). Please state why.
3) Or would you like both options available? Please state why.
Thank you for your time and for answering! 🙂 Current pricing will remain in effect until I change it (March 10th) so anyone that orders now will get both the plastic bottle and blue glass misters at the current price.
(*notes on ingredients: my vendor for ylang ylang hydrosol stopped carrying it so now I am trying to source more, but the couple other places I’ve found are more expensive and are either retail companies, or have a high minimum to get the wholesale price and high shipping cost (so even if I buy enough to get the wholesale price, the shipping costs are very high so it may be better to get it from the retail company which has cheaper shipping). In addition, my vendor for lavender hydrosol stopped carrying it too; lavender is one of the most common hydrosols so very easy to source but they had a very good quality lavender at a great price, and once I run out of lavender hydrosol, it’s going to cost much more from other vendors.
I am still buying in very small amounts so though I buy from some wholesale companies (when I can meet the minimums), several of my vendors are retail vendors or retail companies that sell in bulk. For wholesale, GOOD wholesale prices don’t start until you buy larger amounts–like several gallons of hydrosols, over 40 lbs of oils or butters, and over a kg (so a couple pounds) of essential oils. I buy in small amounts–such as 4 oz to a gallon of oil (depends on which oil), either under 1 oz to up to 4 oz of essential oils, 1 to 5 lbs of butters, hydrosols: mostly just 32 oz to 1/2 gallon though I buy a couple hydrosols by the gallon–so I do not get the good deals as other larger businesses. Some ingredient and business costs: 1 ounce of superior quality organic Turkish damask rose essential oil and 1 oz of superior quality organic Indian jasmine sambac absolute cost me about $500 wholesale. Insurance and web fees cost about $800).
Cheers,
Li
Hi everyone
Congrats to B.M. and C.R. for winning the recent drawing! Both of you will receive one of the grande sized 80% certified organic elixirs. I hope you love them! I have emailed the both of you and will send you the elixir!
(I am announcing their names only with their initials to respect their privacy).
Cheers,
Li