Sunblock Recommendations

I'm in the process of developing a Bubble & Bee Organic sunblock...but in the meantime, here are my recommendations:

Badger Balm

Soleo

Mexitan

Look for sunscreens that use non-nano Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide as the active sunblocking ingredient. Nanoparticles can absorb in to your bloodstream and skin, causing unknown side effects--they haven't been studied much!

Stay away from chemical sunscreens like avobenzene (for more chemicals, check out this previous blog post).

And of course, look for as many organic ingredients in the "inactive" ingredients section as well. Our sunblock will have 100% organic inactive ingredients, and we're going to use non-nano Zinc Oxide as the active sunblocking ingredient. Great stuff. We have to put it through a lot of testing in order to get an "SPF" and we're hoping to launch it in time for next Spring. Stay tuneD!

Vegetable Emulsifying Wax

I've talked about how, although it's a great starting point for learning about chemicals in personal care products, the Cosmetics Databse is not the end-all source for determining product safety. Today, I'm going to show you how an ingredient that scores a "0" in the database, should really score much much higher.

Vegetable emulsifying wax is used in a lot of products, from lotions to conditioners--even makeup--to make oil and water combine in to a lotion form. It's the emulsifier of choice for home crafters and larger companies alike because it's easy to work with and it's relatively cheap. At first glance it looks natural (after all, it's made up from "vegetable" material, right?) but once you learn what it really is, it's not so great after all.

I did some digging and found out what vegetable emulsifying wax is actually comprised of:
Cetearyl Alcohol (a blend of cetyl and steareth alcohol)
Polysorbate 60
PEG-150 Stearate
Steareth-20
Let's look at these chemicals one by one.

Cetearyl Alcohol
Although cetearyl alcohol scores a "0" risk score in the Cosmetics Database, the two ingredients that it's made up of, Cetyl and Steareth Alcohol, both score a "1" for a mild risk of skin irritation and tumor formation at high doses. Not a terrible score, and I'm not particularly outraged by this ingredient. However, is it a synthetically produced chemical? Yes. Is it truly natural? No.

Polysorbate 60
Also scores a "1" risk score for possibly being a reproductive toxin and for tumor formation at high doses. When it's in small amounts in a lotion, you're probably pretty safe. That said, it's the same story as the cetearyl alcohol--it's not truly natural and it's still a chemical.

PEG-150 Stearate
This is where it gets hairy. PEG is short for polyethylene glycol. Polyethylene glycol is an ethoxylated compound, meaning that it's been processed with ethylene oxide, a known human carcinogen. Traces of this compound can be left in the product, along with byproducts such as 1,4-dioxane, also a known carcinogen. (Read more about the latest 1,4-dioxane scandal here.) PEG-150 Stearate scores a 4-7 risk score in the cosmetics database, "depending on product usage." So, in a product that would remain on your skin, like lotion or deodorant, I'd imagine that they'd give it a "7".

Steareth-20
Even though this ingredient only scores a "1" in the database, it too is an ethoxylated compound, and can also contain traces of ethylene oxide and 1,4-dioxane. It's created by taking stearyl alcohol (a naturally-ocurring fatty alcohol) and combining it with ethylene oxide. The number following the "steareth" is how many units of ethylene oxide reacted with the stearyl alcohol. So, steareth-20 has been reacted with 20 units of ethylene oxide. There are a lot of steareths that range from 2 on up. Steareth-20 is the highest--meaning it's been processed with the highest amount of ethylene oxide.

So, how does this happen? How does an ingredient with all these chemicals end up with a "0" risk score in the Cosmetics Databse?

How this happens
The Cosmetics Database is just that--a database. When an ingredient is entered in to the database, it searches about 50 other databases for safety information based on the key words of the ingredient. When "vegetable emulsifying wax" is entered, the database searches for studies with those words. It doesn't take in to account the fact that there are separate ingredients within the one ingredient. There are little to no studies on "vegetable emulsifying wax" as an overall blend, so no information comes up and the ingredient passes with a "0" score. This happens all the time. ("Coconut fatty acid cream base", anyone?)

How to avoid ethoxylated compounds
Compounds created with ethylene oxide (or ethoxylated compounds) are pretty easy to spot. Any time that you see an "eth" you can be sure it's ethoxylated. Sodium Laureth sulfate, sodium myreth sulfate, steareth, ceteareth, polyethylene. PEG is short for Polyethylene Glycol, so those are culprits as well.

Safer Alternatives
These lotion products are 95% or more organic, and contain no "vegetable emulsifying wax" or iffy ingredients.

Trillium Organics Organic Body Butter
Bubble & Bee Organic Body Butta
Nature's Paradise
Terressentials
Oracle Organics

What I Use...Your Questions Answered

I get asked the question all the time: Stephanie, what do you use for (fill in the blank)? Well, in this blog post, I'm going to bare it all!

What I Use: Hair Care

Shampoo & Conditioner: I switch between using the Unscented All Over Bar followed by a vinegar rinse or our Peppermint & Tea Tree shampoo. This week I've actually used the Lemongrass & Rosemary shower gel on my hair and I'm getting some great results with it as well. I use just plain ole distilled white vinegar in my vinegar rinse. To make sure I don't get the oilies, I make sure to keep my water softener filled with the right level of salt.

Styling Aids: Stevie "B" uses more hairspray than I do! I personally hate the stuff and don't use anything on my hair. On days when I actually pay attention to how I look, I'll heat style with a curling or flat iron. In this photo I'm completely product-free. I just used a curl dryer. I dried my hair with a regular dryer about half way, and then when it was still damp, used the curl dryer. I'll also let you in on a little secret--you can use our lotion stick to tame flyaways and dry ends. Just rub some on your fingers and then rub on hair!

What I Use: Makeup

Mascara: I'm currently using the dark brown mascara from Real Purity.

Eyeshadow: I'm using a brand that's made locally here in Utah called Lauren Brooke Cosmetiques. She has this great cream eyeshadow that's fun to put on and has great staying power. Plus it's as chemical-free as you can get with a mineral makeup.

Blush: I'm using Warm Mesa from Real Purity

Foundation: When I feel like I need a liquid foundation I use Physician's Formula Organic Wear. I just picked it up in a pinch at my local grocery store. I don't think I'll be buying it again because it feels really heavy on my face and seems to clog my pores. But then again, I don't like wearing much makeup anyways.

Loose Powder: Most of the time I'll skip the foundation and just use this. I'm currently using the powder from Physician's Formula Organic Wear, although when I run out I'm going to get Lauren Brooke's. I ordered a sample and liked it a lot.

Eyeliner: I'm using the dark brown eyeliner from Real Purity. It's a softer formula, so you have to be really gentle with it. But I like it pretty well.

Lipstick: I'm using Lauren Brook's Natural Lip Tints.

Nail Polish: Honeybee Garden's Water Colors. These chip very easily and you have to let it cure overnight. The trick is right before bed to apply one very light coat, let it dry, and then apply another light coat. Let it dry and then go to bed. Otherwise you'll pretty much chip it immediately. I ordered a darker mauve color and a light pink. I prefer the light pink because it doesn't seem to chip as easily and the chips don't show as bad.

What I Use: Toothpaste

This is my deep dark secret--the one product I haven't gone organic on! All the health food store brands still contain SLS (hello Tom's of Maine!) I currently use Biotene because at least it's SLS Free.

I did try A Wild Soap Bar's tooth soap--it was interesting and kinda fun. I would recommend it if you want something completely chemical-free.

What I Use: Facial Care

Face Cleanser: I just use our soap! In the summer I like the Oatmeal Spice or the Orange Peel. In the Winter when my skin's a little drier, I use the Unscented All-Over Bar because it has added rosehip seed, jojoba and sunflower oils.

Toner: Every once in a while if I feel like I need a toner, I'll use a little diluted Apple Cider Vinegar.

Moisturizer: I use a face cream of my own invention. I have a little batch of it made up if you want to try it. Click here to order a pre-release sample!

Anti-Acne Treatment: 2 Tablespoons of FlaxPro Flax Seeds every day!

What I Use: Sunscreen

A hat. ;-)

What I Use: Lip Balm

I go back and forth between all of our flavors. I seem to be gravitating towards the Karma Apple lately, which is weird because it was never my favorite, but now it is!

What I Use: Hand Lotion

I go back and forth between the Sunflower Lotion Stick and the Coconut Lime Lotion Stick:

What I Use: In the Shower

My favorite is the Organic Orange Peel Soap. I'll rotate between that and the Lime Shower Gel. for some reason I like having both the bar and the gel.

What I use: For handwashing

Right now I'm using the Red Raspberry Jam Heart Soap we made for Valentine's Day. We tested a few bars before we launched the product--they've lasted so long they're still at the sink more than a month later!

Have more questions? Need more recommendations? Comment below and I'll do my best!

Good News!

The Utah State Organic Program is up and running! We're getting our application in this week!

An Organic Snag

For months we've been working with the Utah State Department of Agriculture to become a certified organic processing facility. It's a great state program, in fact it's the only one in the nation that has the power to certify farmers and producers and to enforce NOP (National Organic Program) rules. It's inexpensive for businesses to get certification, local, and saves the hassle of having to fly an inspector out. It's a very thick packet that I work on in-between every thing else that I do (accounting, answering e-mails, developing new products, overseeing production, shipping...you get the picture). Back in January, I was getting close to sending it in and was ready to fill out the final part of the application. I sent an e-mail to the person who handles the department with a question. He wrote me back saying that the legislature had canceled the organic program. Now what?!

This was discouraging news, as now I would have to start all over with the application process, and incur thousands of extra dollars in costs to get certification through a private agency. In fact, certification through a private organization was going to cost us $8000, as opposed to the $1500 the state program would cost. The Salt Lake Tribune also caught wind of the story and interviewed me for it. Click here to read the article.

Being the easily fired-up person that I am, I called the State Legislature trying to find out exactly what was going on and when the issue was or would be voted on. I spoke with the Secretary of the Executive Appropriations Committee and he said that it wasn't even in a bill yet to be voted on. By reading the article and from the response at the Agriculture Department, it seems like the program has already been cut. But according to the legislature, no budget cut has been made, and the subject is still up for discussion. The Secretary told me the issue would be presented first to the committee as a possible budget cut. The budget cut will then be added to a bill and the bill will go through the state Senate and the House and voted on in to law. So, we're five steps away from the program being cut, and by all laws, there still is an organic certification program in the State of Utah. So, why did the head of the organic program tell me that "unfortunately, the program has been cut"? Well, inside sources tell me that the federal government was increasing their fees to charge the state for their organic certification and the state didn't want to pay those extra fees.

So, we rallied. Organic companies throughout the state rallied around Neutraceuticals, a large organic company here in Utah that makes supplements. Bruce Hough of Neutraceuticals became our spokesperson and proposed a fee increase instead of cutting the program. He presented our case to the appropriations committee, and it looks like now the program will be saved!

But the State Department of Agriculture still won't take our application---We still have to wait for the legislative session to end in order to solidify the continuation of the program.

So, in other words, as soon as the program's back up and running, we'll be slapping our application on their desk! In the meantime we're keeping up with all our organic requirements--strict documentation of all ingredients and products that go in and out of our facility, not using pesticides or chemicals in or around our building and so on. We'll keep you updated as the process moves forward!

Update on Makeup

In my last post I mentioned that we were developing makeup products. Lots of you have been asking me for an update, so here it is, in all it's glory...

A couple days after my last post I received my organic color compounds. I couldn't wait to start working on the makeup line. I unpacked the box, grabbed all the little bottles and ran to my test kitchen to get started. I began by testing the colors--some were oil soluble, some water. Once I figured out which colors would work, I started adding them to arrowroot powder and jojoba oil. The colors were very difficult to blend in, so I started mixing them with a stick blender.

The stick blender started working, but the problem was that it would get jammed up in the bottom. I was mixing and mixing but it just wasn't blending enough. Frustrated, I turned it off and stuck my finger down in the bottom to clear out some off the compacted powder mix. Well, just as my finger was in there, I accidentally tapped the very sensitive power button....I let out a gasp and sang a little song...."I just hurt my finger really bad!" I sang out, feigning a positive attitude while knowing I had just severed off a nice chunk of flesh. Steve could tell there was something wrong so he came running. I rushed over to the sink and started rinsing off my finger which had now started to gush blood. "We have to take you to the hospital!" urged Steve. "No, I'll be fine," was my automatic reply. "No, you need stiches!" So, my finger wrapped up in a few layers of paper towels, Steve rushed (and I mean rushed!) me down to the insta care.

Five stitches and a tetanus shot later (which I was opposed to, but they talked me in to it under my state of duress) I was all patched up.

It has been a few weeks now and the bandages and stitches are all out now. The finger's pretty well healed except a funky looking battle scar. I guess when they say you give your blood, sweat, and tears to a business, they really mean it!

I got a new little blender that will hopefully not tempt me to stick my finger in it. The ingredients are there..the equipment is ready. Now all I need is the courage to start blending those dubious colors again.

2009 Bubble and Bee News

Hello everyone! Bubble and Bee has some exciting new developments for 2009 and we want to share them with you now!

First of all, we're opening our own store in the heart of Salt Lake City. Located in Trolley Square, a 100 year old trolley station that has been turned in to a mall, it's the perfect full-of-character location for us. We're going to be making all of our products right there in the store. We're hoping to do a "soft open" on February 6th. We'll be continually improving the store and are shooting for a "Grand Opening" in June. Once it's in full swing, you'll be able to come down and make your own soaps, sit in our reading area and learn about organic products, and even invite your friends to a Bubble and Bee party where we teach your group how to make great organic and natural products. Stay tuned to the website for solid dates and times as they may be subject to change.

Second, we're expanding with Whole Foods. I know some people call Whole Foods "Whole Paycheck," but we absolutely love Whole Foods. We try to do most of our shopping there, because, believe it or not, their prices are lower and their selection of fruits and vegetables is much fresher and abundant. That aside...they have been an extremely great company to work with. We get personal attention from the regional buyers and they believe in us. It's pretty unheard-of for Whole Foods to take a full line of an unknown brand in to their stores---but they see the potential in our company. They do everything they can to support our business without squashing our company with the demand. Currently, we're in 21 stores, and we have plans to expand to 29 in the first quarter of 2009. They work by starting you out in your region. We're in the Rocky Mountain region, which includes Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico and Kansas. When we feel comfortable that we can keep up with the demand, the regional buyers want to help us expand nationally. If you have a Whole Foods or other health food store near you, let them know that you want Bubble and Bee! For a full list of the locations that carry our products, click here.

Third, we have a ton of new products in development. We're working on a fabulous 100% organic shea body butter, 100% organic facial creams and face washes, 100% organic body mist, and organic makeups. If you're on our newsletter list, you'll be the first to know when these products come out. We've had a lot of requests for these products, and we can't wait to bring them to you.

Fourth, we're launching our Chemical of the Day blog. It has been a while in development, but it is coming soon! Every day we'll tell you about a new chemical, what products it's in, why it's used, and why to avoid it. There are going to be some surprises--a few chemicals that rate a "0" risk on cosmeticsdatabase.com rank a "7" with me! Stay tuned to find out more. To sign up for daily alerts, just send an e-mail to stephanie@bubbleandbee.com with "sign me up" in the subject line.

Thank you so much for all of your great support and e-mails. I just updated the testimonials page and it seems like it's miles long. Thank you to everyone who wrote in to sing our praises! We are a small company and each and every order and e-mail means a lot to us. We thank all of our great customers who have helped us have an amazing 2008 and look forward to an awesome 2009.

Sincerely,
Stephanie, Stevie "B," and the Bubble and Bee crew