Let’s talk about ingredients.

We often read the ingredients of foods we buy, but how often do we read the ingredients of our skin products? One of the reasons we don’t bother reading our skin products’ ingredient lists is that most of us aren’t scientists. We may not recognize many of the items in the ingredient list. 

In this article we will discuss:

• WATER
• body butter vs. lotion
• risks of bacteria, mold and contamination with water-based products
• shelf-life of products
• healing ingredients versus additives and preservatives 

Let’s keep it simple for now: let’s talk about WATER. Water is the first ingredient on many skin care products’ list, which means it is the ingredient contained in the product that weighs the most. Lotions can contain over 50% water - and typically as much as 70-80%. When any skin product uses water, an emulsifier and preservatives must be added to help blend the water and oil, and to prevent mold growth and bacteria caused by using water. These added ingredients do not offer nutrients to the skin itself, but only add to the product’s shelf life.

Water thins the lotion for a lighter consistency; however, water also lessons the product’s lasting ability to moisturize, which is found in the products’ oils. And as we mentioned earlier, it is water that increases the risk of bacteria growth or contamination in skin products.

Body butter on the other hand does not contain water so it does not require emulsifiers or preservatives, nor it is as vulnerable to bacteria and mold. This means the shelf life of body butters is much longer than lotions too if the body butter is kept covered and generally free of water. Since body butter does not water-down the nourishing healing butter and oil ingredients, it is a thicker, richer, more hydrating product to use on your skin. 

Be aware that some products - even expensive, beautifully-packaged ones -  called body butters surprisingly list water as the first ingredient! These products are not in fact body butters, and should be considered lotion.

Every ingredient in Branch & Vine’s healing body butters are all-natural, and almost all of the ingredients are sustainably sourced and organic (we are working towards 100%!). There are no emulsifiers, preservatives or water in our products. Every ingredient has been carefully selected for its unique healing property so that there is nothing in the body butters than isn’t food for your skin.

While we love water, we love getting it from the shower or bath for “free” and then using our rich, nourishing, healing whipped body butter on our skin. Not only is the shelf life longer than lotion, but we can rest more assured that we will not be exposed to mold, bacteria or any other contaminants so that our skin may heal and be beautifully nourished.