A few of our favorite things…Part I

At Apothecare, we whole-heartedly believe that skin care education is at the heart of our company. We wouldn’t want to eat food filled with ingredients reserved for chemistry lab shelves, so why would we want to put synthetic-packed products on our skin?

The Apothecare blog is a great place to learn about and understand the function of the natural ingredients we use in the Apothecare product line. I’ll be blogging periodically about “A few of our favorite things…” which is a running segment on ingredient education. It is the wish of Steve and I that you feel GOOD about your purchases from our company. We hope you can appreciate the quality of Apothecare even more after learning about our hand-selected, health- and environmentally-conscious ingredients – and appreciate the value that comes with skin care peace of mind!

I am going to start off with talking about HONEY, which is such an amazing natural product that I can’t resist but put it into nearly everything we make at Apothecare. Plus, we source this ingredient from local apiaries, which makes us feel doubly good about the sustainability of it all. HONEY is a mixture of plant nectar and bee enzymes that is secreted by honeybees and used as a primary source of food during the cold months. HONEY, in its raw and unfiltered form, is chock-full of natural preservatives (have you ever seen a jar of honey spoil?) that help heal common skin problems like acne, eczema, psoriasis, and bug bites. It is also a natural humectant, which means it draws and retains moisture in skin so that it won’t dry out so quickly. HONEY soothes inflamed and irritated skin as well, and is overall very conditioning. It has been used for ages for its skin care properties and is widely accepted by all skin types – a very non-irritating and non-sensitizing ingredient. Additionally, it is believed that if you use local HONEY, made from the local flora, your body will benefit from the antibodies the honey naturally carries. This is especially beneficial for people with allergies to certain local plants and fungi. Common substitutes for HONEY are sugar alcohols and glycerin, which are cheaper to use and not so finicky to use, but lack all of the wonderful skin care properties that pure, delicious natural HONEY contains. We use raw, unfiltered Colorado HONEY in all of our Body Luxuries Cleansing Cream Bars, Nature Shave, our Skin Drench line of toners, Sugar Pine Scrub, Night-Into-Day Night Cream, and Dawn-Until-Dusk Day Cream.

Another favorite skin care ingredient of ours is ALOE VERA, especially during the summertime when sun exposure is unavoidable. ALOE VERA is a succulent plant indigenous to Mediterranean and desert regions. It has fleshy, triangular spears that exude a yellowish-colored, watery gel when cut. This exudate is rich in polysaccharides and amino acids and possesses antifungal and antibacterial properties. All of this, and its naturally cooling nature, make it a great choice for soothing sun and wind-burned skin, or for just helping repair normal, day-to-day skin damage. ALOE VERA is a very benign skin care ingredient that even the most sensitive skin types respond well to. You will find organic ALOE VERA in Nature Shave, Rose Remedy Lip Balm, our Skin Drench line of toners, Night-Into-Day Night Cream, and Dawn-Until-Dusk Day Cream.

No “A few of our favorite things…” blog entry would be complete without talking about an essential oil! Essential oils are one of the cornerstones of “Apothecare – Organic, Natural, Essential.” We use them as much for their inherent skin care properties as for their fragrance. Whereas synthetic fragrances may smell like lavender, rosemary, or sandalwood, they lack the mind and body healing properties that the natural plant oil contains. It’s like a Xerox copy of a Van Gogh painting…looks like the real thing, but absolutely NO comparison.  One essential oil that we use quite a bit of at Apothecare is GERANIUM, from the Pelargonium graveolens plant. This delightful, rose and herb-scented oil is appealing to both men and women, which is a good thing because it has so many amazing uses. The uplifting and harmonizing scent is used for settling energy…either for energizing the soul on a “down” day or calming the emotions on super-charged one. GERANIUM is a slightly astringent, non-irritating oil that is LOADED with antibacterial, antimicrobial, and antifungal properties (I recently made a foot cream using a combination of GERANIUM and tea tree oils in a base of jojoba and shea butter, and it has been very useful for clearing up a painful fungal infection). GERANIUM is used in skin care to heal inflamed or wounded skin and to balance the normal production of skin oils, which makes it especially effective for managing acne-prone skin. It is also a natural deodorant and one of the strongest insect repellents around – without the heavy, oily smell that citronella can impart. For all of these reasons, you will find GERANIUM oil in a multitude of Apothecare products, such as our fabulous Pit Spritz!! (a natural spray-on deodorant and insect deterrent all-in-one), Healthy Heal Blemish Balm, Rose Remedy Lip Balm, Dawn-Until-Dusk Day Cream, and Nature Shave. We source our GERANIUM oil from Ananda Apothecary in Boulder, who offers a fine organic product of the highest therapeutic grade.

 

Get to know the power of HONEY, ALOE VERA, and GERANIUM better through the suggested Apothecare products – it’s skin care that works, naturally.  Use often and enjoy!


Cheers,
Jessica & Steve