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!