Our founder Jill used to be an essential oil junkie. She actually used to go around to her kids' rooms at night and rub straight essential oils on their feet when they needed immune support. She diffused heavy amounts of them in diffusers around the house on a daily basis.
When she started making skincare some years later, it seemed the obvious next step would be to revisit essential oils and add them into her products. Then she started doing deeper some research.
What we have found at Honeybee Hippie is when essential oils are added into skincare products, two things happen:
1. The full spectrum of benefits of the plants and herbs are not fully harnessed in just the oil. Essential oils are only one isolated component of a plant, specifically the volatile aromatic compounds that give a plant its strong scent or aroma. But plants are made up of so much more than that. They contain vitamins, minerals, flavonoids, antioxidants, plant waxes, and other naturally occurring compounds that work together in the way nature intended.
Plants contain many naturally occurring compounds that work together synergistically and we want all of that plant magic to benefit our skin. When we herbal infuse our oils slowly over time, we are able to extract a broader spectrum of the plant’s beneficial properties instead of just one isolated fraction. It’s a gentler, more traditional approach that allows the whole herb to shine. We believe the magic is in the synergy of the entire plant, not just the strongest smelling part of it.
2. Essential oils are incredibly potent and reactive. It can take pounds and pounds of plant material to create a tiny bottle of essential oil, which means they are far more concentrated than most people realize. While they smell amazing and certainly have their place, that level of concentration can be too aggressive for sensitive skin or children. Many essential oils are also highly reactive and can even oxidize or become irritating when exposed to heat or sunlight. We want to be able to use our products in the sun and heat with no hesitations over time so we found that herbal infusions created a much calmer, more nourishing experience without the sensitivity or disruption that can sometimes come with essential oils.
At the end of the day, we believe essential oils still have a place in the medicine cabinet or in our homes, but not on our delicate skin. Our founder
Jill now only uses a small amount of them in her cleaning products. At Honeybee Hippie we choose the slow way of using the whole entire plant.