I was born in Berkeley, California. If you know anything about California, you know its reputation for all things natural (well, except Hollywood, but that’s another blog!). So I grew up eating pretty well, exercising and living an overall healthy lifestyle. It wasn't all granola and nuts, though. Not by any means. If I wanted cake, I ate it. If I wanted bread, I ate it. And on those common occasions when I had to pull an all-nighter cramming for exams at Cal, the Mrs. Fields Cookie Shop on Telegraph Ave was my best friend. Even today, I splurge when I want. But I do exercise. There is no such thing as a free ride. It’s all about moderation. So when I started this company, I knew I wanted the products to be natural, but what does that really mean? What I discovered is that just because something is natural doesn't mean it’s good for you. Take poison ivy for example. Yep, it’s natural alright. When that plant touches your skin you're naturally gonna see a red, itchy, streaky rash called contact dermatitis. Nice. And there are plenty of essential oils, plants and flowers that are natural but can cause internal and external discomfort and worse. Tobacco, anyone? On the other hand, just because something isn’t natural doesn't mean it’s bad for you. Yes, there are incredibly harmful chemicals on our planet. But there are also chemicals necessary for our daily lives with no ill repercussions to mind, body or spirit.
The best advice? Read ingredient labels and do your due diligence. What can you live with? What should you live without? Our body butter, for example, is what the industry considers 99.9% natural. We don’t put that on our packaging because there is no federal regulation on the word “natural” and it’s tossed around so freely with companies using it as a marketing ploy, that it loses its efficacy. Here's what we do say: We believe we use the best ingredients on the planet to make all our products. We source globally to bring you ingredients that are good for you, free of harmful chemicals, parabens, sulfates, phalates, petroleum and propylene glycol among other things. And of course no animal testing, ever. If that makes us natural, sign us up!