"Why don't you color your products?" A question I have had quite frequently lately. A quick answer: most coloring agents are not natural, and we want to keep our products as natural and pure as possible. Made with love and care, the purity of our products are not only gentle on your skin but they also provide numerous nourishing properties.
Being our top selling product, I thought I would brag a little about goat milk soap. Goat milk soap is packed with natural goodness that can transform your skincare routine. Unlike regular soaps, it contains a high concentration of vitamins and minerals, including vitamin A, which provides beautiful, long lasting results. The lactic acid present in goat milk acts as a natural exfoliant, gently removing dead skin cells and revealing a smoother complexion.
Why should you choose our Products?
When it comes to skincare, local and small business products are always a better choice. By making our own products, we have full control over the ingredients used, ensuring that no harmful chemicals or additives are present. At The Hope's Dragonfly Acres, we take pride in crafting the finest homemade products. Our products are made exclusively with ingredients from the US, and are all products with names we can pronounce! We use only natural ingredients, free from harsh chemicals and artificial fragrances.
With that said, it brings me to the title of this blog: Why We Don't Use Colorants in Our Products. While it is true that some of our products have color, these colors come from natural substances safe for skin use such as herbs, spices, dehydrated flowers, fruit peels and coffee. A lot of "natural" skin care products with color use a colorant called Mica powder. While Mica is "of the earth," which is the very definition of "natural," Mica powders aren't all that natural.
There are two types of Mica: naturally mined Mica and synthetically made Mica. When using a natural mineral like Mica, one big concern is the presence of other minerals like lead, arsenic & mercury. These can be very dangerous and many companies opt for synthetic Mica to avoid the presence of unwanted minerals. In my research, I was deeply disturbed to find that the largest deposits of Mica in the world come from India, more specifically impoverished states of Jharkand and Bihar. They call this area the "Mica belt." Sadly, the Mica mining industry in these areas are worked by illegal child labor. Working conditions are dangerous and even fatal. :(
In order to avoid other dangerous trace minerals so we can achieve a nice even shimmer, many cosmetic and personal care companies have started using Fluorphlogopite, or synthetic fluorine substituted Mica. Synthetic Mica is composed of magnesium aluminum silicate sheets (which weighs down the mineral in its natural form); then weakly bound together by potassium and produced at extremely high temperatures (1100°).
For both natural & synthetic Mica, I still have not discussed how it is colored. This may be the most shocking part of all of my research. What if I told you that the same dyes you have been trying to avoid (Yellow 10, Blue 1, Red 28 etc.) are the exact same dyes in the bath bombs you've been soaking in, but you thought it was natural Mica? Unfortunately, this is most likely the case.
Mica is dyed to produce bright, sought after colors. Mica in its natural color ranges in earthy shades of silver, gold, even gray, brown, green, rose, and white. To produce all of the colors you see on the market, Mica is dyed with either Ultramarines, Iron Oxides or Dyes. Therefore, there are no colored Micas on the market that are 100% natural.
So there you go! Now you know my reasoning behind not having brightly colored products.
Don't miss out on the opportunity to enhance your skincare routine with a variety of our products. Visit our website and explore our range of handmade products, each crafted with love and care. To purchase our natural products, click here and experience the magic of natural skincare.