hi guys!
a few posts ago i mentioned that id like to share some info about why i use what i use to make the products we make. which, im going to do .. probably in a few stages.. anyhow the real reason, is a very personal one. its not for marketing, its not for clout.
most of you know the story.. but for the new goodie fans im going to sum it up as quick as i can...
when bodygoodies started out, well, prior to it even having a name, i had just come off of one of the craziest things to ever happen to me. i went into anaphylaxis in my sleep. woke up absolutely terrified, wound up in the er, and left there with a fear of putting anything on or anything in my body. thats how this all started. i needed to know exactly what i was being exposed to, to watch for reactions so i knew what was safe for me, and so i didnt die. lol
my whole life changed after that event. my whole diet changed, my product changed, my life literally changed. the er didnt know what caused it.. but they rattled off a list of possibilities and after that it was just kind of up to me to figure it out. so, it took years of doing- lots of food journaling and a lot of trial and error in making my own products.
i started out using the least amount of everything. i ate only whole foods one at a time to see if id react or not, i used minimal ingredients in product to see if id react or not. there was a lot i reacted to. i always had allergies as a kid but this was a whole new level.
one of the things that caused one of the worst reactions for me was a totally natural amazing ingredient, but i reacted severely to it, and we will talk about that in another blog another time. point is, i cant possibly avoid every possible allergen in the world for every person, but i can definitely avoid " likely" culprits.
as time went on, my product was taking on a theme, really safe, really allergen friendly, really simple. but because of my experience, i always needed to find THE REALEST form of everything. i wanted anything i used to be absolutely unadulterated. because i needed to know personally, for sure, that this was or was not in fact going to be a problematic ingredient for me.
so here we are all these years later and i can tell you with total confidence, i would rather turn off the lights and lock the doors for good before id ever use anything but the very best, from trusted reputable sources, and what i deem to be safest ingredients. i believe what we put on our bodies is the same as what we put in them. and i have a thing, that i personally believe ---- that there is no better money spent than on your health. whether thats mental/emotional health, your foods, your environment, your necessary medications. health is first and foremost. you only get one body and only one lifetime to take care of it.
that said, and please dont take this as advice, im simply sharing my personal thoughts -- i think theres an importance in balance. like, for example -- i dont put anything anywhere in my home with chemicals, or etc... but theres this ONE hair conditioner that i just frikkin love. i mean, i know its not the best lol... i know its not -- but i LOVE it and i use it. hah. but thats ok, you know, for me. the rest of what i do is so incredibly healthy its ridiculous. i am picking this battle. i am choosing to use this product. because it makes me happy. and as i stated, i think mental health is really important. I think trying to live life into ridiculously strict lines could open opportunity for stress, and i personally view stress as unhealthy to a body as toxins. i think it makes an unhealthy environment for your well being, which could create vulnerability for things like free radicals, lurking auto immune disorders and other little baddies to take hold. so, ill keep using my terrible conditioner and ill be really happy when i love the way my hair feels. lol
... recently, its been brought it to my attn how our labels dont list " organic" and yeah, we'll cover that one right now -- i dont put it on the label for a few reasons, but mostly its just a thorn in my side. ha. no joke. i get really irritated when i see organic on a label because 9 times out of 10 they are using the loophole made available to them that only a % of the product needs to be organic for it to be on the label. yep. gets my goat because the rest of the ingredients can be complete shite.... but the consumer doesnt really know all of that. ALSO, there are a lot of handmade soap makers putting organic all over their ingredient lists and labels but not actually knowing what the heck they are doing, some of them, jesus, ive seen toxic plants on their labels with " organic" next to it and someone is going to grab that product thinking cool, its organic it surely must be good for me, and theres me ... im thinking, cool so youll poison someone organically, nice.
another reason i dont boast organic all over my business is because sometimes, certain things arent available in organic - sometimes they are, sometimes they arent, depends on crop shortages, availability, etc. thats one of the trickiest parts about working with these sorts of ingredients! and i certainly am not about to have thousands of labels sitting all over the shop because one particular thing wasnt available in organic for this particular batch. and sometimes, yes, sometimes i dont want them to be organic!! some things need to be changed to be in their best form, sterilized, or compounds removed from them for the safest use. *sigh* theres a lot about organics, theres a lot about making product.
i could go on for days, and i know its going to come back up as im getting into nitty gritty ingredients and im going to have an all out legit rant. its festering, i can feel it coming. but, today is not the day.
HA ok ....
so, yes, the poppy seeds you see in my soaps are as organic as the grass fed cows milk, the cacao, the oils, or the cane sugar, the small batch local eveythings, etc etc etc... ---its always with caution when i make my decisions to buy organic or not, but i promise you, its always a decision based on the standards for health and safety that i see as the most important part of what im doing, of what im making, of what you are bringing into your homes from my little soap shop.
i pay extra to get alcohol free witch hazel so you can use our bug spray on your dogs, i pay extra for organic cane alcohol for our sanitizers and room sprays, i pay extra for organic sugar, i pay extra for organic poppy seeds, rose petals, all the botanicals, i pay extra for sustainably sourced palm and all sorts of other crops... would anyone reading this have known? probably not. but, i do everything i do for a reason. your health and my character has everything to do with it. im honest, i care, i care about you, i care about your pets and your children, i care about the toxins in your home, i care about the footprint i make, i care about the planet, i care about what IM PERSONALLY exposed to... think about how much of this stuff i am around all day long!! breathing, touching, mixing, heating, whipping lol .... large amounts, every day. no, i am not about to be inhaling cancer if i dont have to ;)
alright yall. my ethics have been exposed and they need a coffee now. ha
until next,
-heidi ( btw, how many of you are starting to regret me making a home office to blog from hahaha )