Ingredients
Water. It's water. Distilled, always.
Beeswax. The most versatile wax on the planet. Used in candles, cosmetics, as a sealant, a lubricant, a polish, and an additive to countless other materials.
Shea Butter. A rich butter from the nut of the shea tree. It's great for your hair, your skin, and everything in between. Incredibly versatile, it's often the first butter added to any product calling for it.
Kokum Butter. From the seeds of the fruit of the kokum tree. It's high saturated fat content makes it extremely versatile for all types of cosmetic applications. It's one of the harder butters, but it melts at low temperatures, making it perfect as a foundation for balms and salves.
Mango Butter. Mango butter is pressed from the seed kernel of the mango tree. It is moisturizing and soothing and is a mild lubricant for the skin.
Cocoa Butter. Not only is this extremely moisturizing butter great for the skin, but it's an edible butter that's added to many chocolates. It melts at body temperature, making it a great moisturizer.
Hydrogenated Castor Oil. Castor oil is typically a liquid at room temperature. Once hydrogen is added, it raises the melting point, thickening the oil. That's it. The PEG-40 is similar, with polyethylene glycol added -- a compound derived from petroleum jelly (think Vaseline). It's used in cosmetics, food, and medicine, and creates a very effective emulsifier (allows oil and water to mix, and stay mixed).
Ceteareth-20. Uh oh. Weird word. Ceteareth is another emulsifier/thickener, a product of cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol -- both derived from coconut oil. So they are fatty alcohols. Pretty cool.
Candelilla Wax. One of our favorite waxes on the planet. It's derived from the leaves of the candelilla shrub, found almost exclusively in the US and Mexico. The biggest perk of this wax is an extremely high melting point, which means it does a great job solidifying thin mixtures and adding phenomenal hold.
Petrolatum. White petroleum jelly. The kind of stuff mom or dad put on your butt/lips/elbows as a kid. Highly moisturizing ingredient that, contrary to popular belief, does not clog your pores. That said, it is used in certain hair dressings only, so it doesn't matter. Also used to add a smooth scoop.
Kaolin/Bentonite Clay. Both are fantastic cleansers and mattifiers. Many people use kaolin for masks to stem breakouts and detoxify pores. That same absorbent property lends well to hair products, stripping shine out of even the greasiest waxes and oils. Bentonite carries many of the same benefits with the added perk of being a natural texturizer. Either are edible, and many people use them in toothpastes and to treat stomach ailments. We haven't, but people do!
Sweet Almond and Avocado Oils. Fairly matte, easily absorbed oils. Great for skin and hair, as they don't sit on the surface where they are applied. Instead, they penetrate and moisturize. Whatever either clay strips from the hair, these oils replace, essentially.
Phenoxyethanol, Sorbic Acid, Caprylyl Glycol. THE DREADED PRESERVATIVES. Without them, there are no water-based products on the market. Water is a haven for bacteria, in which many can incubate and duplicate fast. We're talking within days. And unless you want a nasty infection on your skin or scalp, a preservative is necessary to inhibit said growth of bacteria, yeast, and mold. All 3 ingredients are extremely safe, diluted to very small amounts, and necessary for shelf stability.
Fragrance. Our essential oils and fragrance oils are vetted for only the highest quality. We have to smell this stuff throughout our shop once the respirators come off, so you better believe they're good stuff. We err on the side of lightly scented. No one wants to be nauseated from their cosmetic products. Leave that for your grandmother's perfume.