This is an important post..
Please read with an open mind and accepting mind. I'm a bit anxious about sharing this.
After reading this, please comment with any questions. I will answer them all and maybe even do a video answering any questions and going into any more detail you'd like.
The bottom line is, I value my integrity. I have always promised to be honest with all of you. I resist ideology and do what I do because it works. In that, I have always followed better information as I get it. I have and always will be committed to providing the safest, most effective and accessible products to you all. I have no interest in virtue signaling. I will always "walk the walk".
Fact: Not everything ''natural'' is better and not everything synthetic is bad. I truly need you to read all of this but if you refuse, the TLDR is that moving forward, Handmade by Bumble will no longer adhere to the 100% natural/naturally derived label. The business will provide products that are the least irritating, most effective (that I can manage as a small business with limited access to materials) and simplest. This means that sometimes synthetic ingredients will be used. Those chosen will be thoroughly researched and determined safe within certain usage amounts by me. If you don't trust me, I understand. I can only ask that you do and hope that I have proven to you over the years that I am honest and open. I have always accepted and addressed my mistakes and changed my mind when I need to because better information is out there and I found it. I have zero desire to hurt anyone. I use these products on myself and my family and I certainly don't want to hurt them! I have never been profit driven (of COURSE a business needs to make money or it's simply a silly endeavor). I genuinely enjoy sharing good information and helping you all make the best decisions for your family that you can. Skincare and cosmetics is just one aspect of that and the only one I'm going to discuss here.
Let's start with a little history.. I have been making my own products for over a decade. Starting 6 years ago, I began to sell those products. I sold some balms, body butters and deodorants to family and local people. Although I never dreamed my business would be what it is today, I got my LLC to protect myself and learned regulations (this was a bigger task than I realized at first). Those who have followed me know that it was a while before I started to sell things like lotions and creams. There's a good reason for that. These products are much more demanding and require strenuous preservation systems. I wanted to study these products and how to keep them safe before offering them to you all so.. I bought some courses. I need to tell you, the vast majority of free information out there from various blogs is bad.
Here's where I made an assumption. I assumed that natural skincare was the direction I should go and stick with. I assumed that because I advocate for holistic health and herbal medicine, of course 100% natural skincare fits right in with that. With that mindset, I enrolled in courses at a school called Formula Botanica. I have loved my education there! I have gained so much knowledge and I have zero complaints about that school. However, just as I advocate for some allopathic and conventional medicine, I have come to understand that some synthetic ingredients are just better for formulating safe cosmetics. The area that has really brought me to this conclusion is preservatives. These are ingredients that most commonly get attacked and demonized by the ''crunchy'' movement and ''natural'' skincare movement. To better understand these ingredients and decide for myself, I have been studying cosmetic chemistry much deeper and taking courses from a different school (The Institute of Personal Care Science).
Fact: Everything is a chemical.
Have you seen these blacklists of ingredients pushed by influencers? A long list of ingredients that are ''toxic'' and chemicals are bad . I have seen some say that 90% of all cosmetic ingredients are toxic and that the cosmetics industry is unregulated. This is total nonsense! However, I will admit I fell for some of it early on. The fear mongering never sat well with me though. I have seen interactions in ''crunchy'' spaces online that are downright nasty and often not even based in science. People nit-picking ingredients labels who have no clue how cosmetic chemistry works and what they're even looking at. Not understanding that the ingredient that they are attacking has a usage rate of .2%! I even see people saying that just because you can't pronounce something, you shouldn't use it. Good luck pronouncing all of the latin names of botanicals! Are those all ''toxic'' now?! I have never identified myself as any label. I have no interest in appeasing masses and doing something because there is consumer pressure. I will do what I feel confident in. If people want to support and buy that, great. If not, I'm sorry and I wish you the best. I won't bend the knee and make concessions to keep a label.
Here's the harsh truth and the conundrum.. natural preservatives are just not as strong and I've come to the conclusion some of them are total garbage. Natural formulations are full of organic matter (wonderful for your skin and health!) that microbes simply love to chow down on. These products are breeding grounds and then trying to preserve them with weaker preservatives has proven to be such a challenge! I have had rather large losses because my attempts to preserve some things 100% naturally failed. These ingredients are more expensive for me and when they go in the trash, that's even worse. What's much more dangerous than a tiny amount of propylene glycol in a formula?? Bacteria and mold are. Staph infections from bad skincare are much more dangerous.
I'll try to spare you too much technical talk about chemistry (although, if you're interested, I can go into it for sure!). Natural preservatives have much tighter parameters for effective use. They require mostly low pH (for the record 5.5 is a wonderful spot for adult skincare) and some aren't compatible with other ingredients and very careful formulation skills are required to keep them effective. The funny thing is, many people I see are inclined to automatically trust someone who says what they're selling is "natural" (talk about unregulated! There is no regulation surrounding this term). Let me be clear with you, you need to be MORE critical of those making that claim. Chances are, their products are far less safe than something purchased at CVS seen as ''toxic''. Yes, I said that. Someone creating ''natural'' cosmetics without proper formulation skills and knowledge can do some real damage. Read my blog on preservatives here: https://handmadebybumble.com/.../skincare-and-cosmetics...
Remember.. The dose makes the poison. There are a lot of natural chemicals that are toxic all together and those that are toxic when used above certain levels. It's important to consider this when examining cosmetic ingredients. It's also important to know that how something affects our bodies when ingested is very different than how it reacts on our skin. You can NOT conflate the two. If you were to drink bottles of the natural preservatives I use, you'd be in big trouble! This seems obvious but I see many people don't make this important differentiation.
I believe it's also an important thing to note that the vast majority of ingredients accepted in natural skincare formulation are, in fact, created in a lab. They are what is referred to as ''Nature Identical''. They are synthetic substances created in a lab to mimic the chemical structure of a natural substance. I think many people make a lot of assumptions when they see the word natural and I also think it is being used in a manipulative way. Many companies are cutting corners and making concessions because they want the label appeal of saying that they are ''natural'' or ''free of'' certain ingredients. Fun fact.. in the EU, you can't state that your product is free of certain things like parabens because it insinuates that those ingredients are not safe when used properly. There are a lot of pressures from consumers right now who are seeking ''greener and cleaner'' products. I won't go down the rabbit hole of the truth about how sustainable any given ingredient is but let's say there's a lot of virtue signaling going on and appeasing.
To quote my coursework ...
"Why are preservatives so controversial? Preservatives interfere with one or more of the following: cell membranes, enzyme function, protein structure or cellular metabolic systems. But let’s face it, that’s exactly why we use them… on micro organisms. Perhaps it is a lack of understanding by consumers and misleading fear campaigns by organisations that highlight their activity for bacteria and fungi as if it will have the same impact on us! But, we are talking about tiny microscopic organisms here compared to 70kg adults (or even 5kg babies!!!) Again, using these materials within the limits set, especially by the EU, helps ensure confidence and safe use in a finished formula. Perhaps its pressure from consumers or marketing departments to avoid certain preservatives that makes formulators take risks in these otherwise very hospital environments? One thing is certain, an inadequately preserved formula is a greater risk to a company’s reputation than an unpopular preservative choice! Now, if we can just get back to focusing on the needs of the formula and ensuring compatibility, we’d have a lot more choices for every formula…"
I would like to simply formulate the gentlest (this is important to me as myself and many of my customers have sensitive skin and skin conditions) and most effective that I can without limiting myself to choosing from one category or another.
There is no ''one size fits all'' preservative. A preservative needs to be chosen to suit the needs of the product. As often as I am able, I will continue to use the safest natural options I can and my products will largely remain majority natural ingredients and organic when possible. When that is not an option, I will choose the gentlest synthetic option. An example of this is baby care. One of the important factors in keeping baby wash and shampoo gentle is maintaining pH. The pH required is actually a bit higher (6.5-7.3) This range is not compatible with many natural preservatives that require lower pH to work. Many natural options also contain salicylic acid which is not safe for children under the age of 3. For these reasons, I have chosen to preserve our baby shampoo and wash with Liquid Germall Plus. This is one of the most commonly used preservatives on the market. Our skin toners will also be preserved using this. Going into this year, every lotion and cream I offer will have an added chelator. The most common synthetic one is EDTA. I have found a natural alternative that is effective called TSGD (Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate.. back to those scary sounding ingredients). This will bolster the preservative systems and keep stability longer. Added at just .1-.2% they are very effective and gentle.
It's possible I don't need to go into all of this detail but to dispel bad information, one must meet it with much more good information.
I appreciate all of you and thank you for taking the time to read this. As always, all ingredients will be listed on the label and on the website. Something to know about that.. It is a regulation that all ingredients be listed in descending order as they appear in a formula. Anything used below 1% can be listed in any order at the end of the list. I find this helpful when looking at ingredients lists. It helps the consumer know approximately what concentration is present of any given ingredient. Also.. If someone has listed an essential oil (for example) as the first or second ingredient that tells you 1 of 2 things. 1, they used a massive amount of essential oil and the product is not safe or 2, they haven't taken the time to understand labeling regulations and therefore really shouldn't be trusted to have done their due diligence in other realms.
Ok.. I think that's enough words from me. I can't wait to share all of my fun and creative formulations with you all this year! I have new equipment to play with and so much information to put to use.
Comment
Thank you for being transparent and educating us on the changes! This is a lot of great information and it can be really hard to find the truth with a simple google search. So glad I found you!!