If an ingredient is available in certified organic form, that is how we will use it.  USDA certified organic ingredients are indicated with an asterisk in the list of ingredients on each product page.  At the moment, we are not organic certified as a company, but are in the process of choosing an organic certification standard.  If you have any questions, please feel free to email us.

Osmia soaps are made with organic oils, organic and natural plant butters, organic and wildcrafted herbs, organic milks, and organic or wildcrafted essential oils.

Osmia skin care products are made using organic and natural ingredients. Certain ingredients, while natural and plant-derived, are made in a laboratory, such as the emulsifiers cetearyl alcohol and glyceryl stearate.  Certain other ingredients are certified organic by European certifying bodies, but we do not mark those (with an asterisk) as organic. 

Here are the things we do not use:

• Ethoxylated ingredients (this includes “e-wax” or “emulsifying wax”, polysorbates, and things that end in “eth”, all used in many natural skin care products). The reason for this is that ethoxylation releases 1-4 dioxane (so yuck) into the water supply.
• Parabens and phthalates due to hormonal and endocrine side effect potential.
• Sodium lauryl sulfate (or other similar sulfates) due to high irritation potential.
• Petroleum-based ingredients because decreasing dependence on the petroleum industry would be good for this planet (see packaging section for why I do not give us an A+ in this department). Also, petroleum products have comedogenic (pore blocking) properties – our skin is an exchange organ, and products that block that exchange seem particularly unhealthy to me.
• Synthetic fragrance, including fragrance oils or fragrance based preservatives (Parfum, for example).  I avoid these because I, like many others, have a bad reaction to synthetic fragrance – headaches mostly – while I can wear natural perfume all day.
• Artificial colors – because nature gives us enough options.
• Ingredients that involve animal cruelty. I have been a vegetarian for 13 years, and teach my children that all animals are to be treated with kindness and respect. When my older daughter came home one day talking about “meat chickens”, I told her that there was no such thing – a chicken is a chicken. However, we do use some animal ingredients - organic beeswax, lanolin, and organic buttermilk. And, while some vegan friends may disagree, I do not believe that these ingredients, when attentively sourced, are the cause of cruelty to the animals that provide them.

Osmia perfumes are made in a base of organic oils or organic grape alcohol. Each scent comprises a unique combination of absolutes, CO2 extracts, concretes, and essential oils. While I will not use absolutes or concretes in my skin care products, I do use them in perfumes. They are solvent extracted, and I would not want to put them over a large area of my skin. However, used in tiny quantities of perfume applied to tiny pieces of skin, I do not object. It is nearly impossible to make a truly unique and exquisite scent without absolutes – the most precious florals are often extracted this way in order not to destroy the petals with steam. And while I do not need those complex scents in my skincare products, I feel that the absolutes make for a fuller palate of perfumery components.

And there you have it!