Today I wanted to chat about two things that I see a lot in the natural/DIY skin care community: the natural efficacy fallacy and natural shaming. These two things often come hand-in-hand, and I’d like to address them because they can drive people away from this amazing hobby and community. The Natural Efficacy Fallacy is the notion that all natural products can do everything and all of them will work for everyone, all of the time. Given that no ingredient or product works for everybody (natural or not!), I find this can create high expectations, disappointment, and sometimes shame when those expectations aren’t met. Natural shaming can happen when people have very rigid ideas about what ingredients are “good” and which ones are “bad”, regardless of application and concentration. This isn’t just limited to skin care—I also see it in discussions on everything from parenting to nutrition to dog training. I think a lot of the time remarks of this nature are meant to be educational and helpful, but they can easily come across as judgemental, leaving people who aren’t getting the results they were hoping for with natural products feeling like there’s no place for them in the natural skin care and beauty community—that if they can’t abide by the rigid good/bad standards, they are failures and unwelcome.
I want to kick this off by telling you a story; I think it’ll sound familiar.
In the beginning
Back in early 2011 I’d just started to dip my toes into DIY. It started with argan oil, and then shea butter, and then lip balm, which spiraled into lotion, soap, face masks, and more. I came to DIY skin care through a friend’s thesis; she researched and wrote about the migration of the toxins in our cosmetics into our bodies. This was something I’d never really heard about—I was super careful about what I ate, so why wasn’t I thinking about what I was putting on my body? My skin care philosophy at that point turned into something similar to my food philosophy; that is, if I didn’t know what it was or it sounded chemical-y, I wouldn’t use it.
My transition started slowly and then snowballed. I started with switching my moisturizer for argan oil, and then body wash for homemade soap, and store bought lotion for homemade lotion, and by the end of 2011 there weren’t many store bought skin care products left in my life. I was proudly making everything myself—with varying levels of quality and efficacy, but still! I felt self-sufficient and like I’d outsmarted “the man” and the beauty industry.
I found Pinterest in the fall of 2011. It was still in beta at that time, so I had to sign up and wait to be granted access, and when I got it—whoa momma! It was like an old-fashioned marketplace of inspiration. What a cornucopia of ideas! Hacks, tricks, tips, and so many uses for ingredients I already had! Coconut oil, baking soda, tea tree oil, apple cider vinegar, and honey were clearly the holy grail of DIY beauty, and I devoured and re-pinned pictures of miraculous transformations and tips about spa-equivalent baking soda scrubs. I drew a ton of inspiration from Pinterest and spent hours there learning about new uses for everything from yoghurt to vinegar to safety pins.
One of my favourite things about Pinterest was how accessible the projects were, and how natural they were. For somebody avoiding ingredients she didn’t recognize, this was amazing! I collected infographics on toxic chemicals and scoffed at recipes calling for anything I deemed not “natural” enough for me, enthusiastically “educating” anyone who would listen about the incontestable benefits of all things natural. I gravitated to recipes using common, friendly-sounding ingredients—mostly oils, herbs, waxes, and essential oils at this point. I was drawn to these ingredients because they felt safe and familiar, unlike those ingredients with multi-syllabic names that sounded like something from a chemistry class. You can still see a lot of this mindset in my early blog posts, which feature mostly oil-based products infused with herbs and essential oils.
Branching out
Over the next year I think I tried every natural sounding Pinterest “holy grail” product and hack—everything from baking soda scrubs to honey facials to gelatin masks—and many things inspired by these projects ended up here on Humblebee & Me. As I explored and learned my pantry of DIY ingredients continued to grow, as did my definition of an acceptable ingredient; you can definitely see this transition in my history of blog posts, too. Emulsifiers were one of the first things I added, followed by mineral cosmetic ingredients. I’d research them to see if they met my safety standards before adding them to the roster, and was always thrilled with how these new ingredients performed when compared with the more “natural” alternative I’d been using before (an emulsion made with emulsifying wax is much less greasy and easier to make than an old-fashioned borax/beeswax emulsified lotion, and mineral pigments kick the butt of botanical extracts and spices as pigments).
At this point in time I was still doing something kind of silly, though: I was doing some seriously impressive mental gymnastics to convince myself that these new ingredients were still natural, or natural enough. Part of this is because when I’d write about them readers would protest their not-natural-enough-ness, and I would say I was ok with said ingredients because they were “derived from coconuts” or “nature identical”, but a big part of this is because I was so dedicated to the idea of everything being all natural that it was easier to decide something was natural than to admit that maybe, perhaps, “all natural” concoctions made from kitchen ingredients aren’t the holy grail of DIY beauty. Maybe the things I was making were improving because I wasn’t nailing myself to the floor of “all natural” anymore.
I was basically natural-shaming myself, and I didn’t even know it.
I want perfect skin, darnit
In my Let’s talk about “natural” blog post I wrote:
Many people who get into this hobby want to do things more naturally/safely, but ultimately don’t want to sacrifice performance or negatively impact their life. The number of women I’ve heard from who still use their old store bought shampoo because cold processed shampoo bars just do not work for their hair is not at all insignificant—and I can’t blame them! If my hair looked and felt awful when washed with CP shampoo bars, you better believe I’d be backing off that particular “natural” track pretty fast. Nobody dives into this hobby thinking “I don’t care if my acne flairs up and my hair frizzes like mad—I just want everything I use to be natural!” We seem to hope and assume the opposite will happen (“my skin will be so much happier with natural oils and soaps!”), but if it doesn’t, most people go back to what was working for them before, and I can’t blame them.
The problem I’ve always wanted to solve with my DIY endeavors has been acne. My skin has never been atrocious, but it was rare occasion when I didn’t have at least one or two poor, tortured pimples dying drawn-out, inflamed deaths somewhere on my face. I dreamed of being one of those people who is able casually reply they aren’t wearing any when asked about their foundation. In pursuit of this dream I have tried every quasi-natural, accessible Pinterest anti-acne hack in the book—every honey and clay mask, every baking soda scrub, every hot spoon spot treatment. I also ordered every natural/botanical DIY ingredient with “anti-acne” in the description, and made up all kinds of mega-concoctions with them in the attempt to create some sort of holy grail product that would give me the skin of an airbrushed supermodel.
Now, nothing I made was an outright disaster for my complexion, but nothing seemed to be making miraculous headway, either. Argan oil, evening primrose oil, facial lotions, and clay masks definitely helped, but not much else did—not for long, at least. I’d see small improvements for days, or sometimes months, but they’d usually backslide over time (black soap, you fickle mistress), or I’d tire of the mediocre results and move onto something else as part of my continual search for the holy grail of perfect skin.
Does any of this sound familiar? Through comments and emails I’ve chatted with hundreds of readers, and I know that many of you have a similar story, be it with your complexion, your eczema, your hair, or something else. So, here’s the question I’ve been asking myself—why do we assume that homemade products formulated with all-natural ingredients can and will fix all our problems?
The natural efficacy fallacy
This is something I’ve been self-examining for a while now. I’ve always been aware of the natural safety fallacy (the notion that natural ingredients are inherently safer than synthetic ingredients)—arsenic and mercury are, of course, natural, but definitely not the sort of thing I want in my creations. As I described above it took me a little while to apply this both ways in my DIYs, and accept that just like all things natural are not safe, all things synthetic are not unsafe, but I was at least aware of the fallacy.
However, up until recently I was completely ignorant of my natural efficacy fallacy. Now, if you’d asked me if natural ingredients could do everything I would’ve said “Of course not!”, thinking about things like chemotherapy and air travel and sunglasses—but not skin care, for some reason. I so deeply believed that natural ingredients were superior to man-made ones that I completely assumed that using natural products would solve all my problems, and if they hadn’t been solved yet, I simply wasn’t trying hard enough. If my skin was a natural thing, then natural things could fix whatever I deemed wrong with it, right? Over the last few years I’ve been re-examining this notion in bits and pieces, but I only recently realized just how deep-seated this belief was.
I am certainly not alone in this belief—the natural efficacy fallacy is everywhere, and not just in the realm of skin care. The green industry uses it as a core part of their marketing and pricing strategy. They can count on many consumers choosing (and paying more for) a product perceived as natural because consumers believe it’s healthier for them and the planet, and that it is equally or more effective than a more conventional product. This fallacy is everywhere on Pinterest and lifestyle blogs that promise to help you live a more natural life, with authors espousing that inviting more natural alternatives into their homes has improved every aspect of their lives immeasurably. The presentation of their natural alternatives is that the performance of natural products meet or exceeds that of all the “not natural” alternatives. I don’t think this is always disingenuous, but I do wonder if any less-effective alternatives will remain the permanent choice in anyone’s home (washing one’s greasy dishes with castile soap comes to mind as a particularly less-effective alternative). This can be a dangerous fallacy when applied to all areas of ones life (sometimes leading to heartbreaking stories like this one), but in the realm of skin care and cleaning bath tubs it’s usually fairly benign.
For clarity, let me state that natural ingredients have many strengths, and the complexities and benefits of them cannot be easily replaced or replicated with synthetic ingredients. I am not saying that natural ingredients have no merits, or that they are never effective—far from it! I am simply saying that they are not the be-all-and-end-all of skin care for everyone!
This belief of mine I got a big ol’ slap upside the head when I read this amazingly comprehensive post on fungal acne. Before reading this I didn’t even know fungal acne existed, and the article was insanely informative and eye-opening. Basically, fungal acne (or Pityrosporum Folliculitis) is an acne-like skin condition caused by fungus that lives on your skin. That fungus eats sebum and all kinds of things we put on our faces, and for some people when the fungus is fat and happy it reproduces like mad, causing horrific breakouts. So, step one—don’t feed it. This fungus, however, eats just about everything the natural beauty industry loves. Name a lovely oil, and chances are it’s fungus food: olive, sunflower, coconut, cocoa, hemp seed, evening primrose, argan—every single one of these oils will feed the fungus. You know what doesn’t? Mineral oil and isolated caprylic/capric triglycerides. If you suffer from fungal acne, trying to go all-crunchy will make your acne worse, and no amount of trying different plant-based oils will do anything except exacerbate the problem.
So, if natural solutions don’t work for everybody, and don’t work for every problem, why do people feel shame and disappointment for embracing safe solutions that do work? It seems silly to suffer with a solvable problem simply because one really, really wants a “natural” solution. Any why would anybody feel the need to express their disappointment or dismay in another person’s skin care routine if it’s safe and effective, but just not up to whatever their “natural” standard might be?
Natural shaming
Despite evidence to the contrary, the belief that all natural products are superior in every way is quite fiercely defended in the green beauty/DIY community, and frankly, it isn’t nice. Not a week goes by that I don’t get a comment from somebody telling me that I ruined a formulation by including “nasty chemicals”, and I could’ve made it all natural and just as good if only I’d tried harder. I am frequently asked about replacing an ingredient deemed “not natural” with a more “natural” alternative. When I use a new ingredient with a chemically-sounding name, I get push-back and complaints. I’ve had people tell me they’re disappointed in me for using ingredients they don’t agree with. I’ve had people sneer at the suggestion of the use of shea butter as an alternative to coconut oil because coconut oil is “more natural” (what?!). I’m mildly afraid of the comments section on my YouTube channel because it seems like whenever I mention preservatives somebody flames me out for being a natural “fraud”.
I’ve also heard from other people in the community who’ve had similar experiences. I know people in this community who have been bullied for (successfully) treating their fungal acne in a scientifically-backed, non-crunchy way. I have heard from so many of you that you’re embarrassed that your homemade shampoo isn’t working for you (as if you’re the problem, and not the shampoo!). I’ve heard frustration from people who have been told the reason they don’t love coconut oil is because they just aren’t using enough. Suffice it to say, it sounds like many people got into this world expecting all-natural DIYs to fix everything, and when they don’t, they are left frustrated and disappointed.
I hear from so many people that using cold processed soap as shampoo doesn’t work for their hair, or that oil serums make their acne worse, or that coconut oil just isn’t wowing them like Pinterest says it should. They often keep trying those products in dozens of different ways for months on end before giving up, dejected and ashamed. This community can make people feel like if natural doesn’t work for them, they’re the problem. They’re not trying hard enough. Sometimes it’s in the form of outright shaming, and sometimes it’s a general unwillingness to admit that said crunchy product just might not work for somebody, vinegar rinses don’t fix everything, and not everybody wants to make a new face lotion every single day so they can skip the preservative. I have probably contributed to this in the past, and I am both sorry and embarrassed for that. An all-or-nothing attitude drives people away—from anything! Be it a diet, an exercise plan, a job, whatever—anything that requires a 100% level of dedication to be considered a success will not work for most people. You shouldn’t feel ashamed for using a shampoo that makes you happy with your hair, or a serum that makes your skin glow, regardless of how crunchy it is. If you’ve done your research and you’re ok with it, that should be enough.
Of course most people in this community are lovely, and oftentimes what leads to the feelings of shame isn’t even shaming, and it definitely isn’t supposed to be mean. It comes in the form of incredibly determined optimism and encouragement. It’s an amorphous external voice telling you that if that serum breaks you out, or that shampoo leaves your hair greasy, then just try something else! Use a different oil, shampoo a different way, follow up with that rinse. It worked for X person on the internet, so it will definitely work eventually! You might be doing something wrong now, but that’s ok, you can fix it! I’m sure I’ve done this, and I’m sorry if I’ve ever made you feel like you were the problem—you weren’t! You aren’t!
And sometimes, you don’t even need to hear from somebody else. We’re excellent at shaming ourselves; feeling guilty for having that piece of cake, for indulging in an extra glass of wine, for using that shop-bought serum that makes your skin glow. We shouldn’t feel bad for doing what works for us—tormenting yourself takes energy that could be better spent in so many other ways!
Encouragement and sharing can be a tricky thing to navigate because it always comes from a place of enthusiasm and well-meaning sharing. When something works for you, you want to share it with the world, and you want to believe it can help everyone, even though it’s unlikely to be truly universally useful. On the flip side, when you’re that person the thing isn’t working for, you can start to wonder if it’s just you—if you’re the issue—when everyone else is singing its praises. Even expertly formulated store bought products don’t work for everybody, be it due to preference, sensitivities, or the phase of the moon. When there are so many people on Instagram who seem to be living the wonderful all-natural life that you aspire to, it can be really disappointing to feel like it’s possible, but you just can’t get it right. Whenever you are tempted to compare yourself to these people, remember that almost nobody shares their failures on their Instagram, and that as natural as their shampoo may be, you know their iPhone isn’t 😂
So—why the backlash against safe, useful ingredients? When I use ingredients like Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (a safe, gentle surfactant), emulsifying wax NF (a wonderful ingredient for creating foolproof emulsions), and BTMS-50 (an effective conditioning emulsifying wax that leaves your hair feeling unbelievably silky), I’m doing it because these ingredients are safe and create amazing products that do things that beeswax, coconut oil, and baking soda can’t do. All ingredients have strengths and weaknesses, and insisting that a small portfolio of all-natural ingredients can do everything is downright silly. You wouldn’t try to make a birthday cake with tofu, soy sauce, and pickled herring, so why are you trying to make hair conditioner out of beeswax and baking soda?
As somebody who struggled with disordered eating as a teenager, a lot of the attitudes I hear about “natural” remind me of the way I thought when I was in the thick of my eating disorder. I had a hard, short list of foods that were “good”, and everything else was “bad”. I couldn’t believe people ate the “bad” foods, and I definitely judged them for it. Didn’t they know white flour was the devil?! That cheese had so many calories in it?! That they could’ve steamed those vegetables instead of roasting them so they’d have fewer calories? The person I shamed the most viciously was myself, of course. That level of rigidity and never-ending self-policing made me miserable. I didn’t care that these ingredients could be used in moderation as part of a healthy diet—it was all or nothing. Good or evil.
I want to share recipes that work, that impress you. Products that you’re proud of, excited to use, and plan to make again for reasons other than the pride that you made it yourself. Remember when you were a kid just learning to make your own food? A lot of it was kind of awful, but you ate it anyways because you made it, right? DIY skin care shouldn’t be like that cheez-whiz, pickle, and mayonnaise sandwich you made when you were seven. You shouldn’t be using it out of obligation because you made it, you should be using it because it’s amazing and it works. That’s what I strive for with my recipes and that’s why I use awesome (and sometimes not entirely natural) ingredients. And yet, the notion that if I’d only try harder I could do everything naturally prevails.
I get it; I once thought that way, too. I was wrong.
(As a side note, why am I the one not trying hard enough? If you want to avoid something that doesn’t matter to me, but don’t simultaneously shame me for using it and task me with creating recipes that you find acceptable.)
It’s ok to do what works
If you’ve found going 100% crunchy works for you, cool! That’s awesome! When you’ve found some awesome stuff that works for you, that’s the holy grail. You’re golden, and keep on keepin’ on. And, if you really want a natural solution because you aren’t happy with what’s in what’s currently working for you, you’re obviously more than welcome to keep searching for one.
Might I just say, though, that if 100% crunchy solutions work for you in every area of your life, you are very fortunate—a crunchy unicorn. You’re that person that survives the Oregon Trail because you never caught dysentery, or that person in London who never drank from the well that gave everybody else cholera. You’re lucky to have a body that responds extremely well to simple, crunchy ingredients, and I hope you can appreciate that for what it is—a privilege that not everybody has (remember that dastardly fungal acne!). I also hope that if, one day, you find the crunchy approach isn’t working in some realm of your life, be it your hair going on strike or a massive breakout, you’ll be kind to yourself.
So—if you are feeling frustrated with DIY and natural skin care or hair care because you aren’t seeing the results you thought you’d see, that ok. Strictly crunchy products aren’t going to do it for everyone, and I want everybody to know that and be ok with it. Maybe crunchy works for your hair, but not your face, or vice versa. That’s ok. Stop beating yourself up because something that worked for someone else isn’t working for you. You don’t have to feel like a failure if your hair needs silicone to thrive, or if the products that make your face the happiest didn’t come from your own kitchen. That’s fine. You do you.
In conclusion
- Nothing works for everybody, all of the time—natural or not, and regardless of whether or not it works for you
- A strict definition of what is “good” and “bad” is extremely limiting and over-simplifies a complex issue
- All ingredients have strengths and weaknesses, and trying to make everything with very “crunchy” ingredients like coconut oil and baking soda is simply not going to deliver good results
- It’s ok to use products that make your skin and hair happy; there’s no need to feel embarrassed or like there’s no place for you in the DIY community because you like to make lip balm, but prefer to purchase your shampoo. As always I recommend researching what’s in your shop-bought products, and if you’re ok with what’s in them, that’s great.
- Let’s have a discussion about this! I’d love to know what your experiences have been with crunchy approaches and if you’ve ever encountered natural shaming.
Further reading
- Meet the chef who’s debunking detox, diets and wellness from The Guardian
- Question: What does it all mean? Labels and misinformation from Scrub Me Down- Happy Skin
- Question: What do I need to know before I begin on a DIY journey? from Scrub Me Down- Happy Skin
- The sickening business of wellness from The Outline
- It Ain’t Easy (Not) Being Green from Pur Opulence
Thank you for this. It takes a really intelligent person to be willing to acknowledge and explore gray areas. Also, thank you for your puppy video – I just got a puppy too, and hoo boy…. But it seems like you had a particularly difficult time of it with your little girl! But it was nice to have someone acknowledge that having a puppy can be something other than sunshine, rainbows, and, well, puppies sometimes 🙂
Thanks so much for reading and for your kind words, Kate. Regarding Lottie, I don’t think I actually did have an extra hard time of it—whenever I go to puppy classes there’s always dogs that are much crazier! I just think collecting it all into one video makes it seem worse, and the fact that I was doing it alone meant I had pretty much no back-up, which is bound to be harder than doing it with somebody else. She sure is a lot better now, though, and we are understanding each other better every single day 🙂 The whole reason I wanted to make the video is because I was so blindsided by how hard it was at times, so I wanted to scream “not just rainbows!” from the rooftops 😛
Excellent article Marie, thank you for sharing your thoughts about this issue. I guess we shouldn’t draw a strict line at “natural” .. perhaps we should draw it at “proven safe”. It is a personal choice, and the better educated we are, the better choice we can make.
Thank you for your amazing work!
Thanks so much, Mona! I tend to agree 🙂
This!!∆ I get so much crap from people about fragrance oil and why I use that. Ummm… Because i like the smell? And you can’t recreate it with essential oils (that I can’t afford)
And you know what? I occasionally buy a lotion at Bath and Body works! Heresy!
Lol I love you Marie, even with your preservative and BTMS-50
Fragrance oils are more sustainable than EOs in some ways. So much plant material is needed to produce so little. I mainly use EOs where their is a direct benefit, like a facial oil.
SUCH a good point!
As someone just getting started in DIYing my own products, this has been a really wonderful read. Thank you for sharing your story and insight about all of this! It’s so wonderful to see science and naturopathic knowledge come together. I’ve been really worried about reading sources that just lean way too heavy one way or the other about what’s going to work, what’s “good”, and not see the heavy biases because I’m a newbie just trying to soak up info! Embracing the best of both the sciencey/chemical-y world and the botanic world is the approach that has always made the most sense to me and I’m so glad to find a resource that reflects this!
Thanks, Veronica! I, too, have been having fun playing with fragrance recently, and I’ve been (gasp) purchasing some skin care products to see what’s out there. It’s a big, wide world, and if we paint ourselves into the strictly crunchy corner we sure miss a lot 🙂
Very nicely said.
Thanks, Katht-Anne!
Good article Marie. I have spent a lot of time in the last year looking at your archive of recipes and the positive growth in your pursuits is evident. As long as you are willing to let yourself learn, it will be so, which is wonderful. You have a curious mind, discipline to research and try new ideas, and the humility to recognize that to grow, very often requires letting go of ideals once clung to for various reasons.
The reason I follow you and support you is because your recipes are good and I enjoy using them. The reason I diy is because I can make equally good products, for less money, as I can buy but I get to personalize every creation by putting the products into beautiful jars, bottles, containers of my choice. Sometimes a pretty little antique jar or something modern. I also enjoy designing beautiful labels for my cosmetic containers. Such special treats get a spot in my bathroom that adds a bit of charm to that little space. It’s the entire process that I enjoy.
Best wishes on your journey.
Thanks, Becky! Over the years I’ve really come to appreciate how much this blog shows my growth—it can be a bit embarrassing at time to read old thoughts that I’ve moved so far from, but I hope that my public record can be of help to others—hopefully they can avoid some of the mistakes I made.
Something I’m currently struggling with is the wall of “well, I can’t make this myself”. Then what? Do I need to invest in more equipment and niche ingredients, or should I admit that’s it is, perhaps, wiser to purchase some tricky things so I can focus on areas where I can succeed, and perhaps re-consider after more learning? Hmm.
YOU GO GIRL! This is mature, balanced and well thought out. The thought process that led you here will help you in so many areas of life.
Thanks so much, Ros! 🙂
And all I took away from this article was…. I love your spoons. And what are your ph strips “brand” name? Do ph strips even have brand names?
Wow lady! I suffer from fangirlitis when you are on you get up on your stage! Wield your spatula with one hand and your immersion blender as your scepter! Rock it!
I 100% agree with everything you are saying. I made anyone who read every comment I posted about my hair read about it and my unending attempts at trying to find the perfect shampoo bar and nothing worked. Months and months of comments and tries had me giving up and feeling like a failure because my hair was just one thing I couldn’t go crunchy on. Well I could, just not in a nice way. It really was a painful experience thinking something was wrong with me.
When you spoke about- screw it. I love quoting. “and not everybody wants to make a new face lotion every single day so they can skip the preservative. I have probably contributed to this in the past, and I am both sorry and embarrassed for that.” No. You didn’t. You shouldn’t feel embarrassed, guilty, sorry, or whatever. You know what? I think most of us where exactly in the same place as you at one point or another. I know I was, and I know a bunch of ladies I have met through your blog were too. Gradually, we all learnt this really hard lesson. Preservatives are our friend and not our enemy. Men who walk around with their shirts pulled up over their beer bellies are. But that is a different story altogether.
This DIY thing is an adventure, and one thankfully, we can mess up and learn from our mistakes. I don’t make near as many mistakes now as I did in years past, but I still make plenty of- er- minor errors. We all do. And that is the beauty of it. A new ingredient is the equivalent of a shiny new pony for kids. And with each new- wildly new ingredient (here’s looking at you random white powder whose label fell off that I have to try to figure out what you are!) we get to learn as you said, it’s strengths and its not so strengths.
My biggest lesson in actually selling the things I make that I have learnt, is people just don’t know. They don’t know which is better and why, they don’t know what various ingredients do, and most importantly, they only read the first few hits on google. And generally, those first few hits are for some wellness blog. And because they don’t know, they end up buying what they read from those wellness blog. They hear from everywhere that natural and organic is best and the only way to go! GMOs are horrible! Parabens will cause a fungus on your big toe making it turn hot pink! Oh there is so much I can say on this topic!
After listening to your video on Youtube about Youtube commenters, I decided to read through the comments. Dear lord! Some of those people are just nasty!
Good lord I’m verbose. And rambling. I did take that second glass of wine. And feel no shame. I opened up all the further reading links and I swear I suffered from some major time travel worry. Then confusion. Then I squealed. Thank you lady of the spatula!
Penny,
Are you sure it was only TWO glasses of wine?!?! Hahaha!
Love the spoons in the pictures too!! And the links are AWESOME!!
I love the spoons too!!!!! Been there done that on the all natural. I use fragrance oils, but for me only in soap. But it’s because that’s what I’m comfortable with. I just went back to using commercially made laundry detergent and shampoo. I was liking the savings, but my time has value too! I would love to know where to get the spoons, the spatulas are already on my wish list. 😉
Penny sent me the spoons all the way from China! Aren’t they awesome?! Unfortunately I have no idea where to get them, though.
You’re the best, Penny 🙂 I’m so happy to have you on this journey with me! 😀
Marie,
I think the heavens just opened up and angels sang the “Hallelujah” chorus!! You deserves a high five, a hug, and major high praise for putting this article out! It is so much excellence, it should be framed and hung on your wall.
I think it is so important to stress in this wonderful hobby of ours the importance to people of finding what works FOR THEM. You nailed it. No one should be shamed in this community for doing what’s right for them! If all natural does it for you, awesome! If mineral oil and SLS are your best friends, I am happy for you! I think it’s incredible that people get in their kitchen and actually make something for themselves. I don’t care what they made it with. I use all kinds of ingredients and love learning what works FOR ME. If others don’t like it or don’t agree with it, I could care less. My body, my choice. If people try to shame me, I just laugh, because usually the philosophy they start spouting I KNOW is pseudoscience BS. Which makes me laugh even harder. Then I will tell them “let me know when you want to hear the real truth backed by solid science, not some advertising gimmick”. That’s all this “natural” “organic” “chemical free” “non GMO” movement is, the latest advertising gimmick. And, oh boy, are people cashing in on it!! If someone is preaching to you from a fear mongering standpoint, people, you need to look long and hard at what viewpoint they’re standing ON.
I’ve loved following you for the past few years and seeing you evolve into a truly great DIY voice in this community. I’ve seen the changes you’ve made in your philosophy and reasoning and I think it’s fantastic! If people don’t appreciate that, then they need to find a blog site that better follows their own philosophy and should stop harassing you just because they don’t agree with you. We know there are plenty of sites dedicated to “all natural” and I’m sure they are more than welcome to join those. Be true to yourself Marie and don’t let the whiners get you down! You rock!!!
Belinda, you nailed it! I agree with what she said!
Thanks, Belinda! 🙂 I was definitely a bit nervous about this one coming out, haha. These last few years have definitely been a huge learning experience (aren’t they all!? And may it never stop!) and I often wish present Marie could have a chat with past Marie as she really could’ve benefitted from it, haha.
Thank you Big HUGS
Yes. I as well am/was on the all natural band wagon. In part reading and listening to others. It wasn’t until I started researching different ingredients that I began to realize the vast use of the word Natural. It’s like trust me……….(when someone says that RUN ). Natural means something different to everyone. I have tried your recipes and have enjoyed them all.
Thanks, Taanya! You are so correct—it’s such a widely used (and abused) word that it’s almost useless. Thanks for reading and DIYing with me 🙂
Thanks for another very thoughtful post Maire. Many of your experiences and feelings are the reasons I stopped selling products several years ago. I’ve been DIYing since 1994 and there are a lot of people out there who have jumped on this organic, all natural band wagon who are seriously misinformed. I have tried to minimize the ingredients I use in a particular product and be sensible about the types of ingredients I use (cost wise) but under no circumstance will I not use preservatives or some “unatural” ingredients if it lessens the quality of the product. It irks me when posters are forever asking for substitutes when you clearly state you either cannot substitute or you direct them to a faq. It would seem that many people want you to do all the research for them. Very unfair and lazy in my opinion. Your blog clearly says DIY, not all natural or organic, so if people are looking for that they should check out some of the horrible (IMO) blogs that use nothing but coconut and olive oil in their formulas. There will always be those individuals who deliberately look for reasons to shame others and argue just for the sake of arguing. Its the world we live in.
And by the way Veronica, I too use fragrance oils once again. You are correct, you simply cannot reproduce many scents with eos, and frankly, some eos stink! However, I couldn’t live without BTMS or preservatives.
Love ya Marie and keep up the amazing work.
Thanks, Lynne! It sounds like we’re both all about quality and efficacy over crunchy-ness. I’ve definitely been on the more crunchy but less effective side of things and I gotta say… it’s very messy over there lol. Thank you so much for reading and for your kind words and insights!
I have to admit that, even before reading this, I had been chastising myself for being too excited & overly zealous when talking to others about food/natural DIY products. I have tried to tone it down and make an effort to “read my audience” before opening my mouth. Not always easy. I think what brought it to my attention was reading other peoples comments on various sites. People can get down right nasty. So I had to take a good hard look at myself because I don’t want to be that kind of person and I don’t want to make others feel bad about their own choices. Their choices are not mine to make! Thank you for the reminder. And thank you for the wonderful recipes you choose to share with us. You have been my “go to” for all my DIY recipes for several years (because your stuff actually works and feels like real make-up). You are truly talented. Thank you and keep up the good work! And I love your book! 🙂
It’s so easy to want to share the things you’re excited about! I totally get it. I think most people do, really. I often try to refer back to the stereotypical vegan evangelist when deciding if a particular moment is a good time to exclaim over my love of DIY haha. If they’re exclaiming about something they love, maybe no, but if they are lamenting not being able to find a particular shade of lippie, maybe yes! I am definitely no social expert, though 😛 Thank you so much for reading, sharing, and buying my book 🙂
Excellent–We need too think of this in all aspects of our lives.
Thanks, Lynda!
Thank you Marie for inspiring me and for being you. this is an amazing article. I love a whole bunch of DIY stuff, mostly from you. homemade deodorant does not work for me. maybe it’s the medication I’m on, maybe it’s my skin, but I’ve tried it all and I get HUGE infections and redness and stinging in my pitts when I use it. Even store bought versions I didn’t make myself.
Thanks for being so inspiring. And ignore youtube commenters. they are just mean. 😛
Thanks, Allison! I really appreciate your sharing—I know baking soda deodorant really doesn’t work for a lot of people, but it seems to work for enough that those who can’t use it are left wondering why. It’s not surprising something with such a high pH would irritate sensitive skin over time.
I will try my best! Just the other day some dude accused me of being a beard hater because he made a bunch of assumptions about my facial expressions…?!?!
Such a great article! There is so much shaming and negativity out there. Personally, I am really worried about the whole ‘clean eating’ thing because it symbolises a culture where people make morality judgements about people’s choices and by inference say that you are a bad person because you eat a fast food burger – put crudely. I know this is somewhat exaggerated but the underlying notion is there. Why are we so negative when our life is good – comparatively speaking? I am much more of a slow food person – I like good ingredients because they are fun to cook with and taste good, best enjoyed with a group of nice people (slightly ott as in everyday life people struggle to do that but nevertheless it shows the positive mindset of the whole slow food idea). Enjoyment becomes the most important thing, but the environment benefits by trying to buy ethical and local. My approach to cosmetics is similar: it is fun to make cosmetics and I love interesting ingredients. I like that I can control what goes into my cosmetics, tend to go natural but also use things like silicones because they work for me. I also like that I can tailor my cosmetics to my very fickle skin without spending too much money (yes, throwing a £20 hypoallergic mascara in the bin because it set my eyes on fire really hurt). I really love your approach to cosmetics – making the best of lovely ingredients. Let’s put the emphasis on the positive and enjoy our wonderful ingredients – which tend to be natural but don’t have to be. Leave the haters to their misery!
Goodness, yes! All of this! You really need to read the Angry Chef book (check out the link to an interview with him at the bottom of this post). It’s SUCH a good book! And I love this: “enjoy our wonderful ingredients – which tend to be natural but don’t have to be”. PREACH! 😛
I am at the very beginning of my DIY journey and thought I would want everything to be all-natural, or as natural as possible!
But even I realise that there isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ answer but I think we have all had the notion that all-natural products are the holy grail etched in our minds that some people, no matter how much evidence you present to them, will not be persuaded otherwise.
Your blog was highly recommended as one of the top to follow, and even though I have a lot to learn about this, I think the unbiased information and help you give is fantastic, and I for one will continue to read and take into consideration what you have to say.
If others don’t like what they’re hearing from you, then all they have to do is unsubscribe and go elsewhere. I appreciate and value your honesty!
Thank you so much, Lu! You are so right about that all-natural holy grail thing—and I think most of us don’t even realize we think that way. It’s just such a persistent and prevalent notion in general society these days that we often think that way without ever critically examining it. Thanks so much for reading, and the best of luck in you DIY journey!
Marie, I just wanted to say that I wholeheartedly agree. Your article is perfect!
Thanks so much, Emma!
I agree with all of the above posts.
Marie you are doing a great job with DIY recipes and youtube.
I’m sorry people write such ugly comments about your choices of ingredients. It’s your choice, they can just go somewhere else.
I’ve followed you and your blog for a couple of years and I’ve definitely avoided the worst mistakes – thanks to you.
I have full confidence in you and your studies of ingredients. I also examine them myself. If I have reservations, I just use another ingredient or do something else.
Big hugs from Denmark – and remember to take care of yourself.
Marian
Thanks so much, Marian! I really appreciate your kind words, and thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and DIYing with me 🙂
Thank you marie! This is slowly what I’m working up to along my path of DIY skincare. Been on my mind a lot lately about the desire to keep things mostly natural but also SAFE and EFFECTIVE! This couldn’t have come at a better time. I appreciate you, your thoughts, your recipes, your sense of humor and everything else that makes you so dang good at all this! Keep doing it please! Xoxoxo
Thank you so much, Keriann! 🙂
Wow – what a great post! I’ve been making products for quite a long time and while I try to be as natural as possible – quite frankly I happen to love emulsifiers (have about 10 that I play with)and use SLSa all the time in facial cleansers and bath salts. There are a number of “organic & natural” companies out there that I feel are downright irresponsible – making water based, herbal toners with no preservatives at all! Or using “natural” preservatives like Leuconostoc that haven’t really been proven as effective as some of the older “man-made” preservatives. And don’t get me started on fragrance oils vs essential oils. People don’t realize that eo’s are very powerful – and yet, I don’t see any warnings on many organic manufactures of products that have say – jasmine in it – which can cause miscarriages if used improperly. I’ve also seen leave on products that have citrus, photo-sensitzsing eo’s in them. Bottom line – consumers need to get educated about what they are putting on their skin re safety and effectiveness in just the same way they educate themselves as to what foods are safe to eat. But they also need to understand that what they are putting on their hair and skin is a bit different than what they are putting in their mouths. Some of these so called organic-natural companies are literally selling fear – like everything you are putting on your skin is being directly absorbed into your bloodstream – and that is just not true.
Yes, THIS! Safety over perceived “natural-ness”! And, uggh, every time I hear something along the lines of “everything you are putting on your skin is being directly absorbed into your bloodstream” I’m at risk of spraining something from rolling my eyes so hard LOL. Thank you!
I second you, Marie, on the spraining something from excessive eye-rolling! I’m getting to the point of when I do a Google search regarding information on ingredients, etc…I start with page 4 or 5 so that I can hopefully bypass most of the fear mongering sites. It’s just nausating how many of them are out there.
That’s a good tip! I’m planning on writing an article on how to do good research and avoid fearmongering BS, it seems like a good idea as it seems the more research I do, the more “THIS WILL KILL YOU” type stuff I find. Now pardon me while I go ice my sprained eyeballs LOL.
Yes! Please! I am waiting patiently for that article! I’ve begun at page three on any search when I begin to search for new information. I have begun avoiding the .com personal blogs as well as it is just getting to the point where I just get sucked into an article because it is just so silly!
It’s really out of hand and makes me wish of the libraries of old.
Almost. But not quite.
Love this! So true and I’ve been loving your exploration of new ingredients!
Thanks so much, Joey!
Thanks so much Marie, for writing this article. I got upset with myself for not being able to use baking soda deodorant. I have very sensitive skin and even using the pit toner didn’t help. I am proud to say that most things I make are your recipes and I am not afraid to use any of your ingredients. What bothers me is that anyone would judge you or demean you for using something not all natural. I trust your research and it spurs me on to do my own. I appreciate your hard work in the field and dearly love the products. Thanks again
Thanks, Lin! You are far from the only person for whom baking soda deodorant doesn’t work, and it’s really not surprising—there’s nothing natural about baking soda and the skin! I’m not sure how it’s become such a darling of the crunchy/natural movement *shrugs* Thank you so much for your kind words and for reading!
Thanks so much for being that way :)! I’m just starting to explore the DIY beauty products universe, and it’s sooo easy to get lost in there!!
I too have always had issues with acne (although at 42 it’s easier to control… now that I’ve started to worry about wrinkling and sagging, lol!) so I’m very pleased to be able to follow what you teach and learn by your trial and errors ;)!
The reason I want to go more natural is because I’m getting closer to nature in many ways lately (Organic gardening, appreciating my rural area, going outside more, etc.) Also, I also love good quality at a good price: I can’t bring myself to fork 70-100$ for a face cream, knowing I’m paying a big part of the price just for the brand name and the (over) packaging… I’m looking for a simpler list of ingredients, reusable containers, and faisable recipes. I think I found a great place to start. And I don’t mind if some of those ingredients are not edible ;)!
I’m definitely with you on the good quality for a low price thing! That is a huge part of what got me into DIYing, rather than the all-natural thing… I’m cheap, haha. And, once you know how to read the labels, those super expensive face creams are often revealed to be nothing but marketing BS. Some of them do have some really neat technology in them, but so many of them aren’t even as high tech as Cerave, but 10x the price *eye roll*. We know better! 😛
Bang on, Marie. Your articles prove your credibility over and over again. You are an important voice in the DIY beauty realm.
Thank you so much, Colleen! I’m hoping I can spark some discussion 🙂
You hit the nail on the head with this post!!! There is entirely too much shaming of all sorts in the bath/body/soaping communities. Some people love micas/some hate them; some don’t agree with surfactants while others are loving those bubbles and the gentle cleansing. Some people are cat people. Some people are dog people. But, collectively, all of those people are pet lovers and appreciate the love of their pets. How is it that we all love what we’re doing and making but can’t address this community similarly to the dinner table? I mean, seriously, not everyone adores broccoli as much as I do but I’m not going to shame them for it. Not everyone has to be on the gluten free diet that I am on due to autoimmune issues; yet I’m able to realize this and provide “real” crackers at the party too and would never shame anyone for not eating like I do (although I will sit slightly in jealously as I nibble a tasteless rice cracker). Providing information is awesome; as long as it’s with love and care and leaving it up to others whether or not they decide to follow your advice. How is it that 10 year olds can act with more care and understanding than an entire community of crafters?
Thank you, Carrie! I completely agree—if somebody wants to stick to super crunchy-ness, that’s fine with me, but I want my choice to not be crunchy to be fine with them, too! And I mostly mean fine in the sense of “I don’t care because it’s none of my business” lol 😛
I have just recently bought your book .. and I love it .. have been reading up on your choice of ingredients and from reading this post .. I trust your judgement and will be purchasing the ones I dont already have in stock .. so I can be true to your recipes .. thank you for producing such a wonderful resource ..
Susey ..
xxx
Thank you so much, Susey! Happy making and a big extra thanks for buying my book 🙂
Very good article, Good bless you, Marie, keep it that way!
Thanks, Ana!
I love that you use interesting ingredients! and the rise of coconut oil is disturbing considering it’s highly comedogenic; I never use it in face/lip balms as it breaks me out. I worry about all these people making formulations without the appropriate preservatives in particular–for months I made face creams with only vit E/lavender from ignorance and recipes from this ‘natural’ book (which nonetheless used emulsifying wax). They eventually developed visible mould but idk how long I’d been using it when it was ‘off’ but not visibly off. And mineral oil is so fantastic! I definitely prefer your approach to use ingredients that work and not those that fit the natural hype or greenwashing.
Thank you, Aster! I’m often baffled by the ingredients that become super popular, but coconut oil is definitely up there in the “huh?” department. It’s not a bad ingredient by any means, but it’s far from being the holy grail of beauty (or diet!). I’ve also been having fun experimenting with some petroleum based products. After years of not using them, the petroleum jelly type feel/occlusiveness is really noticeable to me, and it is completely unlike anything natural. It’s pretty cool!
Common sense seems like such a simple concept, but it so hard in practice! How can a person be willing to DIY, but unwilling to do any research on their own? Googling is so much easier than a trip to the library to wrestle with the card catalog! (oops!! just dated myself!) Unfortunately, we have to make allowances for the different beliefs of others who are not willing to return the favor.
I started on the DIY path because of a general unhappiness with my skin and too many half used bottles of stuff that didn’t make things better. I was lucky enough to find your blog at the beginning and I will be forever grateful. I love your sensible, down-to-earth approach and your endless patience. Everything useful I’ve learned, I learned right here. Thank you.
I do sometimes wonder if the ease of googling, and the ease of getting content to pop on on google, is part of the problem. These days anybody can start up a website full of articles on toxins and sudden death and scary statements that are presented as fact, and it can be hard to sort the wheat from the chaff. Hmm… sounds like another blog post, haha. Thank you so much for reading and DIYing with me!
I look forward to reading it!
I love this article and agree with it all! People need to stop it with the green-all-natural-washing-slash-shaming. I’m so sorry people feel the need to tear all your work and choices down!
Thank you for your site and inspirational tutorials!
Thanks so much, Shannon! I couldn’t agree more 🙂
I saw someone try to shame you last night on your puppy YouTube video. “Older dogs are best” or something like that.
Where I live, puppy’s are tossed out car windows into ditches in coyote, bobcat and bear country. Think on that, puppy shamers!
Shaming is daily.
Shame on suv owners! Shame on coal burning electric car owners!
Shame on meat eaters! Shame on meat eaters who don’t hunt for their food! Shame on wearing leather!
Shame on you for losing the battle against insect and fungal infestations in your garden and using non organic sprays!
Shame on you for vaccinating your child! Shame on you for not vaccinating your child!
Shame on working mom’s! Shame on non working mom’s! Shame on mom’s for overpopulating the earth!
Shame on climate change non believers! Shame on climate change believers!
Shame on you for using bleach! Phosphates! Deodorant!
Shame on feeding your kids a box of Mac n cheese! Don’t you know that after all you do in a day, making all foods from scratch, all the time, is best?
Shame on Republicans! Shame on Democrats! Shame on corporations! Shame on …………smokers! Drinkers! Public schooling! Private schooling!
Just leave me the hell alone, world.
lol, good one 🙂
Yup, pretty much. We can’t make everybody happy, so why fuss with it? Thanks, Cristie 🙂
Brilliant – the best read of all 🙂 and the comments
Thanks, Linda! 🙂
Recently saw a bit of shaming on a FB soaping site, person disagreed on “what is natural” from competition. In my products, I try to be as natural as possible, but some things need to be used ie. lye in soapmaking (not playing with wood ashes), striving for mostly organic ingredients, palm free (this is a hard one, let me tell you). But yes, I went to the doc for my poison ivy as while my salves helped, still needed a bit more help. Still need emulsifier in anything with water, better than fungus. Until making my own eyeshadow, I couldn’t wear it. So, I feel good about making my products as natural as possible and that is the typical verbage I use, as organic and natural as possible.
I like that verbage—to strive for, and to choose natural first, but understand there are limits to its abilities and performance 🙂 I’ve always found the stodgy all-natural soapers thing odd as a key ingredient they all work with (lye!) is synthesized, but there seems to be a great big blind spot there for some reason.
Thank you, Marie, for commenting on something that has always make me chuckle. So many naturalistas are up in arms over “un-natural” ingredients (we want “chemical free”!!), and what not, and yet lye most definitely falls into the lab manufactured chemical realm. And OMG!! It’s a DRAIN CLEANER!!! THE HORROR!!!!
Ahahahahha, so correct! I love the dichotomy of “be careful with lye, it’s a dangerous chemical, but safe when handled correctly” and “OMG butylene glycol is pure evil, it’s derived from petroleum!!!” Sigh.
My sister is a chemist and she debunks the “chemical free” lifestyle all the time; chemicals are all around us in the air we breathe and the food we consume. As with anything, moderation is the key. I have difficulty getting a skincare regimen, natural or otherwise, to work long term, so I have to switch products often. I make lotions that are nice, but after awhile, they don’t have the same effect. My skin gets used to something and quits; it demands variety! Although I make a lot of my own stuff, there are definitely certain products on the market that work much better for me. I’m a vegetarian, for example, because of my genetically high cholesterol, not because I fault people for eating meat. Life is all about choices; do what’s right for you!
I stumbled upon this article to explain the role of chemicals in our daily lives: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/the-truth-about-the-chemicals-you-breathe-eat-and-drink-10215591.html
Thanks, Michelle! I’m really looking forward to reading that article 🙂 I’m also vegetarian, mostly for environmental reasons, but as you do, I recognize it’s my own choice. That, and I don’t want to be one of those sitcom veggies who harass meat eaters… that’s just douchey lol.
Marie,
You were the first sane DIY enthusiast I found on the internet! And you were also the first one to recommend other great folks in this area (like Susan, Lisa Lise, and now this cool dude f.c.). Before I found you, I was too taking my inspiration from Pinterest* and tried to make recipes of several DIY bloggers, but I’ve met too much contradiction in what I’ve read on their blogs. And these people didn’t really want to participate in a conversation where their views are at stake.
You, on the other hand, do so much reading and researching, that you leave almost no place for questions 🙂 I also love the “Awesome things I read” section in your newsletter. The way I see it, you grow everyday by learning new stuff, acquiring new skills, and analyzing yourself. And we grow with you, as a society.
Thank you, Marie!
Thank you so much, Totoro! 😀 The self-examining isn’t always comfortable, but I can’t stand that nagging feeling that I’m dismissing something because I think it’ll challenge me, so I usually end up going over and kicking that stone and seeing what’s under it, sometimes stubbing my toe in the process, lol. Thanks so much for reading and for your kind words!
Thank you for this! I appreciate all of the hard work and expense you have put into both this well written post, as well as, the beautifully formulated recipes you share.
Thanks so much, Lisben!
What an amazingly articulate article! So many of us are feeling the same way. I call it #isurvivedgreenbeauty lol!
🙂 ditto
Thank you! I really enjoyed your IG post on the topic, and I’m hoping we’re at a bit of a tipping point of people starting to put up their hands and admit all natural doesn’t do everything all the time so more people can feel comfortable admitting it, and then we can have a bit of a snowball effect!
Thank you for this article! About a year ago, I started to shift into a lifestyle that was lower waste and more minimal. My “why won’t this work for me??” product was natural deodorant. I tried all the DIY’s, I tried several natural brands, and still I ended up rashy and/or smelly. I have never been so preoccupied with my armpits before! Finally, a month or so ago, I faced it and switched back to my old antiperspirant and it felt like such a relief to finally admit it was ok that the natural route wasn’t working for me. I whole heartedly agree that there is a oddly similar preoccupation and shame as EDs, and can lead to unsustainable and unhealthy expectations. Balance and listening to yourself is key! This past year, I’ve slowly been making the journey to what’s reasonable or right for me, and better at parsing through misinformation.
On a pretty different note (sorry, for some reason I couldn’t comment on your post about preservatives), I have a question! I recently made a face cleanser of honey, aloe vera gel, and jojoba oil. I was so excited about it, until (luckily) stumbling onto info about preservatives (how I found you!). It popped my new honey lovin’ bubble. Does the combination, in fact, need a preservative? Would it still if the aloe vera wasn’t included or was replaced with a small amount of castile soap? I watched your youtube video on preservatives myths, which was awesome, but I think I am just holding out hope, though I think I already know the answer. While I’ve considered making products for others, right now I really just like the idea of simplified/less waste products, so not sure buying preservatives is for me yet.
Thanks and I’m excited to have your site as a new resource!
I’m definitely noticing a common thread with the baking soda deodorant—ouch! And I definitely agree that it is best to prioritize having non-ragey armpits than trying to stick to “all natural” with a vengeance!
That combo DEFINITELY needs a preservative. Aloe vera gel is almost entirely water, and honey creates an even larger need for a preservative as it is delicious bug food (the jojoba oil in there means you need an emulsifier, too). Soap is a bit of a trickier thing as its high pH often means it is self preserving, but liquid soap is diluted much more than bar soap, and all that extra water starts to compromise its ability to self-preserve things that are typically very hard to preserve (you can put food puree, honey, clay, etc. in bar soap in amounts that would be impossible to preserve in anything else). That, and I can’t recommend using castile soap on your face anymore—read this for why 🙂
Thanks for your thorough reply! I’ve been binging through your site since my comment, and now realize all the problematic combos!
I saw your post about baking soda and alkaline soaps and it was really informative! I was curious your thoughts on using bar soaps on the rest of the body? I assume maybe it still acts similarly as the skin on our face, but was curious if it was less of a concern. Thanks again!
From all my research the cumulative damage to the acid mantle seems to be caused by very frequent use; if you’re only using soap on your body a couple times a week (instead of 2x a day), it should be fine. So, I still use soap on my body (when I’m not testing something else, at least!).
I know everyone’s experience is different but one natural deodorant I love is Schmidt’s. Lime Bergamont is my favorite and I’ve never had problems with it irritating me. Whole Foods carries it.
I do sometimes react to products so I totally understand what it is like to have a reaction. I can at seemingly random time have sensitive skin. Tried a face cleanser one time and was glad it was at night time as my face got super hot and red. I washed the product off quickly. Mostly my skin is fine but once in awhile it just says no.
Love this! Last year I stopped making my Bug Spray because the truth was…I wasn’t using it on my kids. We live in New England and tics are everywhere! Believe me, DEET is far less bad for a child than Lyme disease. I had customers who were angry with my decision but I said that my products need to be as natural as possible AND efficient. Otherwise I’m doing a disservice to my customers.
Thanks for sharing, Gwyneth! This is SUCH a good point—in some instances, DIY bug spray can be like DIY sunscreen, when the risk of contracting something from an insect is substantial. I’m definitely pretty darn scared of lymes after knowing a few people who’ve had it, and I’ll take DEET over that any day.
Oh my Gods! I love this! I’ve recently become quite obsessed with your blog and recipes… I’m learning so much, about ingredients, how they work, and about scary ingredients. I just ordered a preservative and I feel very fancy and professional. But I did have that question, is it bad to use something I can’t buy at the supermarket? No, it’s not! I want to DIY because it’s fun and will save me money, but I also want products that work and won’t go off in a few days.
Thank you so much. Keep it coming!
Thanks so much, Samantha! 🙂
Hi Marie, I just wanted to ask, if i could repost this blog, as, i have wanted to write something similar, and i cant get the wording correct, it just sounds like im ranting, im not the most literate of writers, i know what i want to say in my head, but translating them onto the blog, doesnt happen sometimes. So when i read this post, it says everything i want to say and in a light but serious way, i thought it was worth asking your permission, if you say no i totally understand and i will give you full acknowledgement. Thank you for your time.
Hey! Thank you for the compliment, but that’s a definite no. If you would like to share it with a preface to the effect of what you’ve written you are more than welcome to do that, but you must link to this page for people to read it. I spent hours and hours writing this, and as I’m sure you can appreciate, after all that effort I want people to read it here! Thanks for asking 🙂
Excellent post! Articulated a lot of my own thoughts and gave me a lot more to think about! Thank you!
Thanks for reading! 🙂
I love your article! Very well said! I never comment here, but I read a lot of your recipes and would just like to say that you’re doing an amazing job, discovering so many different options and ways to make cool products. I agree that it’s not easy to be 100% natural and that’s completely ok, we just have to be moderate in everything we use and consume. And you should never beat yourself down for silly reasons, you know what’s best for yourself and no one should have a problem with that 🙂 just keep doing amazing work here, I honestly think you are incredibly creative and capable of great things! Cheers 🙂
Thank you so much, Marina! Your kind words have put a big smile on my face 🙂
Thanks for the article!
Being an inquisitive person I love finding someone promotes research on ingredients as you do. I started delving into diy solutions because I’ve always had terrible hair; I remember my first evil chemical: SLS. It was ruining my hair, causing cancer, kicking puppies and stealing old ladies’ purses. But I’ve always been a “why” kid, so after a bit of research I found the chemistry behind how it works was quite interesting and it wasn’t the boogeyman everybody wanted me to believe. I personally decided to go for a SLS and silicone free regime for my hair, but I understand that for others these two ingredients work pretty well.
Although I do like the idea of making all natural products, I can’t deny that sometimes the products I want to make are out of my skill set. One example is sunscreen. When I started diying I decided that sunscreen was best left to the pros, but blog after blog of telling me how wonderful their diy sunscreens were was beginning to chip away at my resolve. I’ll always be thankful to you for reminding me not to go that way.
So thank you for what you do. 🙂
Thanks, Lydia! Funnily enough, my aversion to SLS came from discovering that it breaks me out—the only place it still existed in my life was in my toothpaste, and when I switched to a SLS free toothpaste a year ago I discovered the SLS had been giving me chin zits (along with kicking puppies, lol). That was both a “yay!” and a “really, it took this long?!” discovery haha.
And a big YES on the no DIY sunscreen thing! It’s alarming how common recipes for it are.
Interesting perspective and I appreciate your thoughts. One thing I read all the time on blogs is how many people extol the virtues of naturally-derived products yet they fail to talk about a product’s toxicity. Many products are PEG and ethoxylated when making them into emulsifiers and solubilizers; polysorbate 20,60 is an example. The product may use coconut oil but the final product is nothing close of its raw state and it has been contaminated with well-known carcinogens rendering them toxic to our bodies and our environment (seach: Dirty Dozens). It is a shame because it feels like the information is so well-hidden that unless you have a chemistry background it can be so hard to decipher what is benign and what is not. I would like to see more of a science-based approach to beauty blogs. I don’t really want to read something that has been copied and pasted from another blogger. There are many research-based article that are available online. In short – show me the science and evidence!!!I know of only one blog that quotes and refers its readers to journals and it is my go to for all concerns and queries. That’s just my humble opinion.
Yes, “naturally derived” is pretty much meaningless. Even plastic could be called “naturally derived” if you want to go all the way back to the prehistoric plant matter that eventually became oil! There’s definitely much more research that needs to be done beyond “naturally derived” as those words can disguise quite a lot. I haven’t found that information to be well hidden, though—it’s pretty easy to find it you actually look for it. I do find that there’s a lot of fear mongering, though, so what is hard to find is information on just what the risks are, and how big of a concern they are. Everything is toxic if you consume enough of it, yet I frequently find infographics circulating Facebook stating the dangers of something that you’d need to consume or be exposed to a completely impractical amount of it to actually pose a danger.
In regards to 1,4 dioxane (assuming that’s one of the potential contaminants you are referencing): it does not remain in the body, isn’t conclusively a carcinogen from what I can find from reputable sources, and it looks like you would need to be exposed to quite a lot of it for it to be problematic. This report is quite interesting read. The gist of it is that it “may be present as a trace contaminant” and that we aren’t certain of many of its effects on humans. If we use the food guidelines of 10ppm as a rough guide, and consider most of the listed ingredients are used at concentrations of 10% or less in most concoctions, any potential exposure is likely to be insignificant. Personally, I’d be more concerned about eating processed meat regularly as far as risk goes, and even then, if I ate meat, I don’t think I’d be actively avoiding processed meats because I’d be that concerned about the cancer risk. I’m still much more likely to die in a car accident 😛
What a great article, thank you for sharing.
I get so much inspiration from your recipes. I want to make everything I see.
I would be lost without your site, you and Bramble Berry are where I get my recipes. I thank the heavenly stars for you & people like you who are willing to share there recipes.
I love the “substitutions” part of your recipes. What a great idea, I bet it helps with the substitutions part of the comments as well.
I can not believe people actually shame you for what you put in your recipes. They are yours, if they don’t like it; they can go somewhere else. I can see, “I don’t have this, can I use this instead” or something on those lines. I have done that myself.
Please do not feel bad for anything you put in your recipes. If I don’t have it or have never heard of it, I look it up. I see it as a learning experience.
Thank you for all the time you put into your web site. I know it is time consuming. Making products & labels, is hard enough. Let alone the time it takes to take pictures, and put them on the web as well.
Thanks so much, Ginny—I really appreciate your kind words 🙂 I definitely find the more I branch out ingredients-wise, the more push-back I get from people who have been exposed to a ton of baseless fear mongering (it’s everywhere!). Hopefully we can help fight back against those who are determined to make us afraid of everything!
Amen, sista! You must have read my mind! I just ran across this article and can totally relate. Appreciate your work so much.
Thanks so much, Sonia! 🙂
Wow, I love to learn and grow, and I love to see others grow as they learn too! Thank you for this brutal honesty about yourself and your journey so far. It’s a rare quality in the world today. We should all be so lucky to be able to make an honest assessment of our own lives. I’m late to this game, looking for a good recipe to keep my beard conditioned, and I’m thankful I stumbled onto your YouTube channel and this blog. You might not get many interactions with men on your site, but I still like to have healthy skin and hair, and I know I can learn a few things from you.
Hey Bart,
Your a rock star! I look forward to hearing your results in the comments from all the beard oil and beard maintenance recipes Marie has posted over the years! I don’t have many friends with beards so it’ll be great to hear of some results second hand!
Happy making!
Barb
This was a thought provoking read. I leaned toward natural ingredients out of familiarity and simplicity. If I can solve a problem with less fuss and complication, then that would make me very happy. I suffer from very dry skin. Even after applying the fortified body cream for very dry skin, it still feels like a temporary fix, that my skin is cracking. I made my own body butter and it helped, but only if I applied it immediately after the shower. Otherwise I felt like I was coating myself in oil. While I like the feeling of a lotion better than a body butter, I wonder if they actually help, since they’re mostly water. I’ve also read that emulsifiers and glycerin can dry out your skin after washing them off. And I don’t know enough about synthetic ingredients so when you mention them in your recipes, I feel that I’d rather avoid them both because I don’t know what they are and what they do, and also because I don’t want to buy a ton of different ingredients that are going to expire unused. If it were a small capsule of safe synthetic ingredients I’d be happy to try it. But I don’t want this hobby and interest to become a money drain. Simplicity is important to me and as for efficacy, many products are ineffective, both natural and synthetic. I hope to learn more by reading more of your posts and watching your videos.
Keren,
I so know where you are coming from! AND those of us who have been around for a longerish period of time were in exactly the same boat as you. Especially when you speak of a lotion bar fresh out of the shower. What you are doing there, is locking the moisture into your skin and sealing it with a butter and/or wax depending on your formula. Let me try to find you a formula that is amazing for dry skin that is something quite easy.
This formula is this one, and I ended up making it into this recipe with some swappings:
52g distilled water
10g aloe juice
2g panthenol
1g glycerine
8g Ewax NF
15g cocoa butter
12g wheat germ oil
+preservative and fragrance of choice.
When my skin gets super duper gross and dry, I will swap out the cocoa butter and use shea butter. This is a tried tested and true formula based on the link provided. And it is simple with oodles of yummies! Hope this helps!
Happy making
Barb
Hello again, Marie!
I just wanted to say that I am so very impressed with your article. Not only was it incredibly well written, it was also thoughtful, truthful, and REAL! You managed to address many aspects of the “all natural or nothing” argument in a way that was compassionate, and that is part of why the article is so inspiring, (as well as educational.) There was no hint of blame (just the opposite!) in your writing….well done! That can be hard to achieve, but I think you did it well! I also identified keenly with the mention of an eating disorder. I applaud you for being able to work your way through such a difficult time in your life. I am not quite there yet, but I have pushed through my ‘black and white’ thinking. Having said that, I think having the ability to see the “grey areas” in life has helped me to see that DIY skin care/ soap making etc does not have to be an “all natural or nothing” approach. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, insights and your heart. It has benefited me in more than one way. So, thanks again, and happy DIY-ing!
Thank you so much, Lisa ❤️ I’m so glad you enjoyed this piece and that it resonated with you so much. I spent a really long time thinking through it and working on it to try & get it just right, and I’m so glad it paid off 🙂 Happy making!