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Essential oils should be researched extensively before adding them to your products. As wonderful as they are, some essential oils are highly toxic, irritating, or sensitizing.
Request a material data sheet from a supplier if in doubt. You can never be too “safe” and it may encourage suppliers to add information on a product with every order or at least have it available on the supplier site.
Mortar and Pestle is an Alaska and Nevada based cottage industry dedicated to the development and use of natural products in and outside the home. We believe that everyone should benefit from natural toiletry products that are without question, far superior in quality and effectiveness, not to mention “safer” than most anything on the market today.
Our finished soaps are natural, hand-cut rectangular “salt” blocks crafted using the cold process method of soapmaking. Favored oils for soapmaking include Coconut, Palm, Palm Kernel, Olive, Jojoba, Sweet Almond, Avocado, Hazelnut, Castor, Canola, and Grapeseed with Cocoa, Shea, Mango, or Sal butters. We also frequently use additives including non-toxic Essential Oils, Rosemary Extract, Herbs, Honey, Goat Milk, Tea, Heavy Cream, Glycerine, Cranberry Seeds, and Oatmeal.
As we continue to experiment, dried herbs, herbal teas, floral waters and other natural ingredients will be incorporated into our soaps for natural coloring, texture and potential benefit(s) to skin and hair. Many of our soaps can be used effectively on hair and scalp. Some are more “conditioning”, some are more “cleansing, and some are better used in the bath, but we have never tried a bar of soap on hair that would result in a return to commercial shampoos.
We are not allowed by law or conscience to make any claims about our products. Everyone is different and what might be good for some, might not be good for others. However, those of you who have become concerned about what is topically applied to your skin, we encourage you to research the ingredients in commercial products and those in natural products. You’ll be surprised what you discover.
One of the most important goals of Mortar and Pestle is to ensure optimum health through preventative measures against the often debilitating conditions that are so common in this country. In addition to natural soapmaking, we are also working on expanding our business interests to include organically growing, harvesting and selling dried herbs to be used in all natural toiletries and other applications.
Soapmaking generally starts out as a hobby before it becomes a passion. Not only is it pretty exciting in itself to make a bar of soap that lathers beautifully, cleanses exceptionally well, smells great, and helps to soften and condition your skin, but most everyone who tries a bar, likes it too. Then you can’t help but study the ingredients required and their properties. You learn about essential fatty acids, gamma linolenic acids, oleic acids, alpha hydroxy acids, sufactants, emulsifiers, oxidation, fatty acid chains and much much more. That isn’t all. You learn that there are most often “un-natural” reasons you are no longer wearing your best “skin”. The worst news is that harmful chemicals that are topically applied are assimilated through your skin and into your system, so consequences are often more than “skin-deep”.
If you’re an internet surfer, you will undoubtedly run across one of the many sites that warn of the potential dangers of chemicals commonly used in commercially made products. Recently released news reports of studies conducted citing the “all too real dangers” of potentially harmful ingredients used in commercial cosmetics and toiletries has begun to raise the awareness in all of us and the race is on to look to nature for comfort and healing.
First and foremost, we’re committed to taking great measures to improve the health and well-being of our own large family and to study anatomy and nature’s way of ensuring the wellness of her children. It is turning out to be a long and interesting journey, but one we’ll continue to share on our site.
We hope you will return to our site for updates and to learn with us as we continue to reap the benefits of nature’s bounty.