OUR Body Butter INGREDIENTS

AQua

Aqua is basically just good old water! We use distilled water in all our body butters. Distilled water is excellent in skincare due to its extreme purity. It is free from minerals, chlorine and other contaminants found in tap water. This prevents skin irritation, dryness and clogged pores; it also maintains a neutral pH. This makes distilled water the perfect choice for a clean, stable base in our skincare products.

Butyrospermum Parkii Butter

This is shea butter; a solid oil that is produced from the nuts grown on the shea tree. It is native to Western Africa and has been used for centuries to nourish and moisturise the skin. We use refined shea butter in our formulations because it is odourless. Shea butter is a great ingredient for skincare products due to its intense moisturising, anti-inflammatory, and barrier-repairing properties. It is rich in fatty acids (linoleic, oleic, stearic, palmitic) and vitamins A and E, making it deeply hydrating. It helps to soften the skin, and protects against environmental damage, making it ideal for dry, sensitive, or aging skin.

Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice

This is aloe vera juice. We use cosmetic grade aloe vera juice that is 99% pure, the additional 1% is preservatives (Sodium Benzoate and Potassium Sorbate) that prolong the life of the juice. Without these, the juice would turn rancid very quickly. Aloe vera juice is a highly valued skincare ingredient due to the deep hydration and moisturising properties it contains. It can also act as a natural antimicrobial agent, helping to clean pores and kill acne-causing bacteria.

Persea Gratissima

This is avocado oil; extracted from pressed ripe avocado fruit. Our avocado oil is sourced from mixed EU origin. Avocado oil is an excellent ingredient in skincare due to its deep moisturising, nutrient-rich profile. it is high in essential fatty acids (mainly oleic acid), vitamin E, and antioxidants. It helps to treat dry, irritated, or damaged skin by supporting the skin barrier, boosting collagen production, and reducing inflammation.

BEHENTRIMONIUM METHOSULPHATE

This is a plant based emulsifying wax that is naturally generated and often abbreviated to just BTMS. Despite the name, behentrimonium Methosulfate is a non-sulfate. The BTMS we use is palm free, derived from rapeseed oil and no GM products are used in the manufacture. It is completely vegan and serves as a conditioning emulsifier in our skincare products. We chose this ingredient primarily as it creates stable, creamy, and nourishing formulations. It creates a very fine conditioning coating on the skin and offers long-lasting moisture and a silky skin feel.

GLYCERIN

We add vegetable glycerin to our body butter formulation. Our vegetable glycerin is derived from a combination soy and coconut oil. Vegetable glycerin acts as an emollient and humectant which helps attract and retain moisture in the skin. Due to its soothing properties, vegetable glycerin is commonly used in recipes to for sensitive, dry or irritated skin types. It draws water to the skin, effectively balancing its moisture levels. Its presence in skin has been shown to prevent signs of aging by helping skin cells mature properly. Studies show that the introduction of glycerin to your skin care regimen can provide a protective barrier and train your skin cells to cycle through their lifespan productively.

BRASSICA ALCOHOL

Brassica alcohol is the fatty alcohol derived from brassica oil. It is a palm free and vegan-friendly natural thickening agent and viscosity adjuster. This is an ideal alternative to palm derived emulsifiers typically used in personal care. We use it to help with our emulsified body butter as it is brilliant at being an emulsion stabiliser: it helps mix oil and water, ensuring products like lotions and creams do not separate. In our body butter formula, it also smooths and hydrates the skin, creating a breathable, non-occlusive barrier that reduces dryness.

GLUCONOLACTONE, SODIUM BENZOATE & CALCIUM GLUCONATE

These ingredients are combined together to create a white powder used as a natural preservative in products like creams, lotions, moisturisers, shampoos and conditioners. It is formally known as Geogard Ultra. It is approved by the Soil Association and conforms with ECOCERT and COSMOS standards. It provides broad spectrum protection against bacteria that grow in water based cosmetic creations. This blend of ingredients has an added skin moisturisation benefit, making it ideal for products like creams, shampoos or moisturisers. Geogard Ultra is widely considered to be one of the most natural preservatives available. Our supplier considers Geogard Ultra to be 80% natural. It is suitable for vegans and vegetarians and is free from palm oil.

Tocopherol

This is the highly concentrated vitamin E oil we use. It contains around 70% vitamin E and is infused in sunflower oil. Some vitamin E oils are produced synthetically, however the vitamin E oil we use is 100% natural and is distilled from sunflower oil. Vitamin E oil for lips is an excellent moisturiser that restores skin hydration and is ideal for dry and cracked lips. It also conditions lips and keeps them plush. Vitamin E oil, usually used in lip care products, has humectant properties that hydrate, and emollient properties, which support the skin barrier.

Xanthan Gum

Xanthan gum is a natural, plant-derived polysaccharide used in skincare primarily as a thickening agent, emulsion stabiliser, and viscosity enhancer to create smooth textures in creams, lotions and serums. It improves spreadability, prevents ingredient separation, acts as a mild humectant to lock in moisture, and ensures uniform consistency. We add it to our body butter formulations not only because it acts as a binder that keeps emulsions from separating, increasing product shelf life; but also because it enhances the sensory experience, making products feel silkier and easier to apply and it helps to form a light barrier on the skin that helps retain moisture.

Essential oils

We only use essential oils to scent our body butters. Using essential oils are a more natural way of scenting products, as opposed to synthetically created fragrance oils. Body butters that are scented with essential oils have a more natural scent, however they do still contain allergens which naturally occur within the essential oils themselves. These allergens are all listed on our packaging.

The difficulty we find is essential oils can only be taken from certain natural ingredients such as plants and some citrus fruits. The scents are also not as strong and do not last as long as synthetic lab-made fragrance oils. Whilst it is a shame we do not have the range of choice and longevity of synthetic scents, we much prefer the more natural option.

The essential oils we currently use in our body butters include: Lavender (Lavandula Angustifolia Oil), Bergamot (Citrus Bergamia Peel Oil), Patchouli (Pogostemon Cablin Leaf Oil), Sandalwood Amyris (Amyris Balsamifera Oil), LemonEucalyptus (Eucalyptus Citriodora Leaf Oil), Rose Geranium (Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil), Peppermint (Mentha Piperita Oil), Tea Tree (Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Oil), Lemongrass (Cymbopogon Flexuosus Oil), Red Mandarin (Citrus Nobilis Peel Oil), Pink Grapefruit (Citrus Paradisi Peel Oil), Clary Sage (Salvia Sclarea Oil) and Cedarwood (Cedars Atlantica Bark Oil).

Many essential oils have allergens that naturally occur in the oils. These allergens are in all our sales listings and on our labelling included in the packaging of every purchase.