Why Not Essential Oils?

“Essential oils are thought to be natural and pure products. In recent years, however, the composition of these oils has been found to be more complex than previously thought. Increased use has led to increasing reports of allergic contact dermatitis (ACD), a delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction to allergens in sensitized individuals.” (National Library of Medicine) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC

I’m guilty of using essential oils in my skincare, when I first started. The first batch of tallow I made consisted of my own hand-rendered tallow, olive oil and a high grade essential oil. I made it for my nephew who has very sensitive skin and to my disappointment he had a reaction to it.

At first I was confused- I thought tallow was bio-similar to our skin in structure and was good for us, why didn’t it work?

But after some research I learned it wasn’t the tallow, it was the essential oil. I tried the exact same recipe without the essential oil and it worked WONDERS for him! It was one of the first moisturizers he’d ever used (he’s 13) that he didn’t react to!

As exciting as this was for him, my sister and myself, I still wanted to make a product that was scented. This is where I started looking into infusing with ingredients we could eat. My thought process behind this was- “if we can put it in our bodies, we can put it on”. I was a little hesitant taking this route as it is MUCH EASIER and more time effective using essential oils, infusions take a long time and the tempurature has to be just right in order to maintain the quality of both the tallow and the herbs, but I thought it's worth a try.

My first infusion was with organic, Madagascar vanilla beans and the results were incredible! I shared my tallow with friends and family and everyone was in love! I then advertised on Facebook and everyone who purchased it also LOVED IT!

This was last January. I’ve since adapted that original recipe to be using fractionated coconut oil instead of olive oil as well as a couple other skin-loving ingredients that make my Vanilla Balm on of my top sellers! If you tried and loved the first batch, you'll definitely love the new and improved version! I’ve also made many more products with other organic infusions, one of my other top sellers being The Face Balm which has marshmallow root and parts from the rose plant, if you haven’t tried it yet, I highly recommend it!

Since this discovery of the wonders of infusions I decided to never again use essential oils in my products and only use high quality, organic herbs and botanicals. Stuff we’d feel safe putting both IN as well as ON our bodies.

With all of that said I should clarify that I do love essential oils… in my diffuser. I also purchase soaps from local makers who use essential oils and love them. I just don’t love them for products that are going to be staying on and absorbing into our skin.

If you’ve tried my products, comment below for a chance to win a $5 gift certificate and let me know what your favourite scent is! The winner will be drawn this weekend!

And as usual, thanks so much for taking time out of your life to read my blog!

God bless,

Sarah ❤️🥰❤️