Frequently Asked Questions

Most mixed items are made fresh at time of order or close to time of order.  These are natural products with very little use of preservatives or additional chemical components that support lengthy shelf-life, they are meant to be used upon receiving them and I create them as freshly as possible.

The integrity of this principle means that creation of your product could take up to a week, because these are not sitting around on a shelf, getting old, they are mostly made just for you, unless a previous similar order yielded additional units that are still fresh.

To enjoy the natural and healthy essence of these items, please try to order ahead of time before you completely run out, to leave time for me to mix them for you and ship (if shipping is available for that item).

You may refer to email sent to your inbox when you placed your order.  If you created a user/account, you may login on the website.  You are always welcome to email or call with questions about your order.

Natural products mostly do not use any preservatives or synthetic ingredients in order to maintain the integrity of their natural attributes.  Therefore, they are intended to be used and not sit on a shelf or in a drawer for months and months.  However, proper storage can give them longer life for the full use of the product.

I admit that the oils belong in dark bottles to protect them from sunlight and some unnatural lighting that can increase the speed of breakdown of the oils.  I chose instead to allow you to see the beautiful oils in pretty or clear bottles, to enjoy their natural beauty and to be attractive on your bathroom counters, bedroom tables, or kitchen shelves.  They need to be kept away from direct sunlight and should avoid extended exposure to artificial lighting.  You may keep them on your bathroom counter if no sunlight falls on them and the lights are off when you are not in the bathroom.  Otherwise, they should be somewhere in shade or covered.

No natural products should be overheated.  This can compromise the texture and sometimes the chemistry.  Many natural products last longer if kept in the fridge, although who wants to go the fridge when you just want some lotion?  But do keep no hotter than room temperature or you will lose the product faster than you should or it may even be completely ruined.  Culinary oils may sit at no warmer than room temperature and also the fridge for longest life (but may need to sit out for awhile prior to use to soften cooled solidity).

Dried herbs/teas may store anywhere that is not overly humid or moist, but should also remain out of direct exposure to sunlight.

No natural product should ever be microwaved, as this can affect the medicinal qualities of the ingredients.  Teas should always be made with a heat method unrelated to microwaving.

Each product will have some guidance on best storage with it.

I utilize various brands of oils and ingredients, but I always look for high quality, non-GMO, and organic, if possible.  Many of my main herbal ingredients are grown on my land or foraged and harvested/processed by me personally.  Any ingredients I cannot or do not grow myself, I source from highly praised companies that support natural products and processes.  I try to buy American, but if foreign soil produces a superior plant or ingredients, I will use the best possible quality from wherever that may be.

Should I run low on homegrown ingredients, I will source only the highest quality, non-GMO temporary replacements, using organic as much as possible, until I may resume growing/harvest/processing from my land again.

I highly and heavily favor Plant Therapy carrier oils and essential oils, but I also use NOW and Handcraft Blends, among others.  Castor Oil is Plant Therapy and Organic.  Nearly all of my homemade infusions are with Grapeseed Oil, 100% natural, cold pressed, unrefined.  My shae butter is organic, unrefined, raw African and the mango butter is organic, unrefined, raw, cold pressed from artisinal sources in India.

I cannot ignore pricing.  I offer the best and healthiest possible ingredients while still observing what can be affordable for me and for you.  Natural products are already more expensive than cheap commercial products at Walmart, but I want regular people like us to be able to use them, so I still have a limit to what I may utilize vs cost, but the more successful my endeavors are, I will be able to perhaps offer an ultra quality niche line.

All that being said, I am always testing and trying new brands and sources, even growing new plants in my garden, to continue improving and providing the best and healthiest products and recipes for my family--and now YOU.  I will not offer you anything less than I make for my own home and loved ones.

I only have two products that use a chemical preservative and those are the Fairy Cream and the Skin Nourishing Cream (Dad's).  These two products include some distilled water and distilled though it may be, and very little, where there is water, there is life, and I want you to be able to use all the product before life takes over.

I use a very small amount of Leucidal SF Max (lactobacillus ferment).

These products are meant for human use.  But what happens if a pet accidentally gets into your lotion jar and licks it clean or your drop some herbs on the floor? So, a little about that...

There are two products that ARE NOT SAFE FOR DOGS!  Those are both of the tooth powders, as they include Xylitol, which is dangerous and toxic for dogs.  They are marked as such on the jar.

As for everything else, I am not a veterinarian, but I do acknowledge that some essential oils and herbs may be dangerous or toxic for some animals, however, I do not know all of what those may be and related to which animal.  Most culnary herbs are standard kitchen fare that I am sure have been dropped a million times on the floor for all kinds of pets to lick, but I cannot say that I have done enough research about parsley and dogs to give an official answer here.  Things like mint and anise hyssop are less common in kitchens, so for particular concerns, one should look into it a bit more.  Natural products may be safer than commercial ones for accidential ingestion, but I will say that dogs often do not do well with too much fat, so it can be that some of the herbs are fine, but the just nature of the oils and butters themselves is not a great idea for animals to eat.

I will say that these products are ONLY FOR USE WITH HUMANS and not for animals and should be kept away from animals, and anything for TOPICAL use should NOT be ingested by any human or animal and anything for consumption should not be rubbed on topically.

All products list their ingredients, if you are concerned about the safety of your pets and home with these products, please read about the ingredients and your pets prior to purchase or using the products.  If you email me and inquire with specifics, I am happy to assist you.

Nobody special, I just wanted to make my home and loved ones safer in this crazy "advanced" world.  I admit I am no expert and I do not have years and years of hippie living or experience to offer this endeavor; in fact, I am a cookie cutter of most of us, GenX, grew up last century with rock 'n' roll, worked regular jobs, watched the world get super weird this century while I'm trying to raise kids, and now I am looking around and wondering why I feel like crap all the time.  One of the things I did was start looking at our food and medicine.  I am not a doctor or a dietician, but I decided I can read, I can get a couple acres of beautiful bare land and grow, like our early families did, make treatments for ailments like we used to, and fight fear to learn something new, which turns out to be, in fact, very old.

I am way behind, clear back from believing natural living was kind of eye-rolly and maybe a little gross, farm animals are ew, and digging in the dirt was, well, dirty -- to now, where I have great respect and love for all of these ideas and believe they are, in fact, necessary for our health, wellness, happiness, and even survival, in a personal way.  

So I have learned new things, done lots of experimentation, and I am no expert, but these things have helped me, my home and family, and their friends, too, and I just want to share them with others, now, too.  I'm still learning and I'm still improving the recipes and creating new ones.

Here is what I have that can be proven:  I am a licensed esthetician in the state of Idaho.  I am not a chemist, but I do have some skin education, anatomy, and hands-on experience.  I have access to chemists, if needed, for consultation.  I am also a certified Reiki practictioner and energy worker, which I implement with my holistic offerings.  I had successful businesses with both practices and I apply both of these experiences to my herbalism and products. As I go along, I imagine I will have some online certifications in herbalism to show off, too.

I am still working out the weight of all the products including their vessels and packaging.  But mostly, I am concerned about the proper integrity of the product once it reaches you.  If they get too hot, they may be compromised, and I am concerned about the quality of the product as it moves through the shipping process.  Up until now, everything has been local, handed to people in person, so shipping processes/time had not yet been an issue.  This will be a work-in-progress, as I navigate what I can safely ship to new customers.

I do offer shipping for family, friends, and loved ones, those with whom I have had a conversation akin to, "If you want it, I'll ship it to you, but, like, I do not know what it will end up like when you get it.  I can help instruct you how to re-treat it if it's super funky, but I don't know..." and this will be a big part of experimentation here.  Also, figuring the additional shipping cost will be fairly custom (until all the data is collected and input), the cost of which will likely be shared/paid via text or email, not professionally via the website--just yet.  This will become available soon.

*If you know me personally and require shipping and you are okay with the risks to your products (some are lower risk, some higher, for temperature issues), place your order for pick-up, then shoot me an email, we will work it out!*