Jojoba Oil

Jojoba oil is the liquid wax produced in the seed of the jojoba plant. Jojoba plants are prevalent in the Southwest United States, and much jojoba oil comes from that region.

blue duckling loves what jojoba oil does for our lip balm. It is a plant oil that adds a great texture, plus it has the added benefit of being softening and moisturizing. Before we stumbled upon jojoba oil, bd balm didn't have the "glide" that we love so much. Now, our customers constantly comment on the amazing smoothness of our bd balm. Jojoba oil is Alex's favorite of the oils that we use, and it was his brilliant idea to put it in the lip balm.

The beginning of blue duckling

blue duckling got its start one cold weekend in December of last year. It's hard to pinpoint just what led Paris to start this venture, but there were a few factors we're sure of that converged to give rise to this fledgling company. One of those is a desire to be more "green" and simple. There are so many harsh chemicals in just about every single product we find and use. Since we're not convinced that these chemicals are necessary, or better, or even safe, we thought that maybe we could do better.

Experiences with other simple, pure products also convinced Paris that she could do this. Arbonne doesn't use mineral oil or parabens, and Paris learned about Arbonne's terrific products from a friend. Inspiration was also drawn from smaller companies that make remarkably simple products, such as Honey House and Lemongrass Spa.

Disappointment with other "natural" products also led to blue duckling. We always knew that "natural" could mean just about anything, and if you pay attention, you'll find that "natural" is truly a subjective term. Picking up "natural" deodorants at Sunflower Farmer's Market in Boulder was quite a surprise, as most contain propylene glycol. Propylene glycol is a petroleum product, and as a variant of mineral oil clogs pores. Several that I picked up also contained alcohol and things like Soyethyl Morpholinium Ethosulfate. Just having a long name doesn't make an ingredient bad, but I have no idea what that is! It's true that the aluminum present in just about all anti-perspirants is the most unnatural, icky ingredient that many of us seek to avoid. But some of these so-called "natural" products aren't as pure as we'd like, either. blue duckling was borne of an attempt to make products with ingredients we could understand and explain, with as few synthetic ingredients as possible (it's not possible to be chemical-free...even water and air are chemicals). When we do use things that are synthetic, we do our best to explain what they are and why.

Many cosmetic products we all use are unnecessarily complex. Paris figured she could take just a few ingredients and make something truly high quality. It started with some beeswax, shea butter, vitamin e, and sweet almond oil in the kitchen. Our solid lotion bars (bd bars) contain a few more ingredients now, but each one of them is in there for a reason (to read more about what we use and why, click here). Paris and Alex both love using and selling blue duckling products, because we take so much pride in the recipes that we've devised, and we think that they produce real results.

Deciding to market blue duckling's products was a natural step, because Paris has always wanted to run her own small business. She got into direct sales, but simply re-selling someone else's product didn't feel entrepreneurial enough. She wanted to create and market the product. blue duckling allows her to do just that. Now we're available online, and at Four Eighteen in Crested Butte. We exhibit at craft fairs, and we're expanding into more retail markets very soon! We hope that you'll find our products to be useful, of uncompromising quality, and just all-around awesome!

Propylene Glycol

Propylene glycol is another ingredient that you won't find in blue duckling products. It is a form of mineral oil, which means that it is a petroleum product. Propylene glycol is one of several cheap, low-quality, petroleum-derived things that you'll find in a ton of cosmetics. It is typically used in cosmetics because of its moisturizing and humescent (draws moisture from the air) properties.

Propylene glycol is a major ingredient in automotive anti-freeze and airplane de-icer. Because of its moisturizing properties, it is used in many cosmetics, from lotions to soaps to hand sanitizer to toothpaste. It is a major component of most deodorants and a whole host of other cosmetic and non-cosmetic products.

We don't use propylene glycol because there are far better-quality ingredients that can be used as moisturizers. Rather than gunk up our skin with a variation on mineral oil (which just clogs pores and doesn't have much real beneficial effect), we use things like shea butter and sweet almond oil.

Avoiding propylene glycol has the added benefit of avoiding support of the petroleum industry, which is another blue duckling goal.

bd bars: blue duckling's lusciously pure solid lotion bars

bd bars are a signature blue duckling product. blue duckling was born with just bd bars and bd balm in December 2009.

A bd bar is a solid lotion bar made from shea butter, beeswax, sweet almond oil, apricot kernel oil, lanolin, and vitamin e. It is a very moisturizing, soothing lotion with great lasting power.

About the ingredients in bd bars:
Shea butter is extracted from shea nuts, traditionally in Africa. It is an exceedingly moisturizing natural butter that has been reputed to aid with stretchmarks, wrinkles, burns, rashes, and scar tissue. blue duckling uses refined shea butter (to reduce the natural impurities found in a nut extract), and our shea butter retains most of the naturally occurring vitamins, including A and E.

Beeswax is used to make bd bars solid. It is a humectant, which means it helps your skin draw moisture from the air. Beeswax is not absorbed by the skin, so it creates a protective barrier that prevents skin from drying out. It is further known for having soothing and softening properties, and it contains the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory vitamin a.

Sweet almond oil is extracted from almonds. It is a wonderful emollient and is easily absorbed by the skin. Almond oil is moisturizing, soothing, nourishing, and conditioning.

Apricot kernel oil is extracted from, you guessed it, apricot kernels. Like almond oil, apricot kernel oil is easily absorbed, which means that your skin is not left feeling greasy. It is used to treat inflamed skin, and has been reputed to slow down the aging process.

Lanolin is derived from sheep's wool. We use medical grade lanolin, which is effective in healing sore, cracked skin. It is a soothing emollient that quickly penetrates the skin.

Vitamin e is an antioxidant, which aids in the prevention of rancidity in natural oils. Using vitamin e in our bd bars eliminates the need to use preservatives. By using this effective antioxidant, bd bars can be expected to last a year or more (as opposed to just weeks or a couple of months without it).

Uses for bd bars:
bd bars make a terrific hand lotion that can be kept in a drawer, on the counter, or in your purse. bd bars are also great for dry feet. Just rub the bar on before bed, put on a pair of socks, and marvel at your soft feet in the morning.
Try rubbing a bd bar on especially dry patches of skin, such as elbows and heels, for a jolt of intense moisture.
bd bars are perfect for travel because they are solid, which means you don't have to worry about the number of ounces, or running out of space in your allotted quart-sized bag of 3-oz liquids.

As with all blue duckling products, bd bars can be purchased on our website at www.blueducklingproducts.com. If you've tried our signature solid lotion bar, tell others what you think by leaving us a comment!

Parabens

blue duckling is committed to avoiding the use of parabens - methylparaben, propylparaben, ethylparaben, and butylparaben in our products. These chemicals are the most widely used preservatives in cosmetic products.

The Environmental Protection Agency (the EPA) has reported that parabens display "estrogenic activity," which means that they are endocrine disruptors that simulate the body's own hormones. The negative effects of endocrine disruptors include a correlation to an increased incidence of breast cancer, thyroid disruption, and other interference with the endocrine system. Parabens are absorbed through the skin, and accumulate in our water sources.

Parabens are very cheap and are highly effective preservatives, which is why they have come to be so widely used. They are found in lotions, shampoos, cleansers, toothpaste, and other beauty products. As with many "toxic" product additives, the safety of parabens has been declared acceptable by the Food and Drug Administration. However, because of the estrogen-mimicking properties, many consumers have decided to avoid the purchase and use of products containing them.

We blue duckling elves are among those individuals, and we are proud to offer products that do not contain any parabens. In the few products we do produce that require the use of a preservative (only our sea salt scrub as of February 2010), we use a preservative containing phenoxyethanol, which has a much lower toxicity rating (by the Environmental Working Group) and is not considered an endocrine disruptor. The product we use, Optiphen Plus, combines phenoxyethanol with sorbic acid (anti-fungal, anti-mold) and caprylyl glycol (an emollient) to further reduce its potential to irritate sensitive skin.

Welcome to the blue duckling blog!

blue duckling's blog will offer tips on lusciously pure living, anecdotes about the blue duckling elves, detailed information about blue duckling products, and other random tidbits. Subscribe, bookmark us, Follow us, or do whatever it is you do with the blogs you adore! (Pretty please?)

The elves are always available for questions/concerns/gripes/kudos at blueducklingproducts [at] gmail [dot] com. We'd love to hear from you. Welcome to the family.