I recently ran out of a few different deodorant labels, so I'm ordering more. As always when reprinting I think, is there anything I need to change? There's often just one little tweak that misses the final round when they are printed. This time there wasn't really, but then I got to thinking about the almond oil I use.
When I first started making and formulating deodorants, I tried a lot of things out, following recipes found online. I didn't have much experience with the ingredients, and almond oil was widely used in do-it-yourself recipes. I was just trying to make things work rather than really thinking through the choices I made. What did I know? If they said almond oil then most probably there was a reason.
My deodorants underwent a bunch of recipe changes. It started out one way then went another, and it evolved in much the same way I like to cook, my husband would say haphazardly...I prefer to call it "freestyle". I tweaked the recipes, added a little of this, a bit more of that, tried different ratios, and eventually added almond oil as a liquid oil to balance the solid coconut oil and shea butters that made it too hard in the winter. In retrospect I used almond because I knew about it, and DIDN'T know much about other potential options..and you go with what you know, right? I have to admit I didn't give it much thought.
Fast forward a year or so, and I've been through a couple of label reprints and even a redesign. I know far more about the wonderful wide world of carrier oils and importantly a LOT more about the effect almond farming is having on the environment. It got me thinking...surely another more eco friendly oil would work too? Yes almond is fantastic in terms of its use in skin applications, but there are so many alternative options with fabulous attributes that are way less wasteful to produce. What is the point of a product that avoids plastic waste but contains an ingredient that is responsible for degradation of the environment another way.
As my knowledge has evolved so too has my desire to build a brand that really thinks through all its resources, ingredients and systems ensuring things are done ethically and sustainably. So now I'm on a mission to change up that dependence on an oil that sucks water, kills bees and wrecks ecosystems.
So i've decided it's time to move to an oil that works just as well (perhaps even better!?) and doesn't wreak havoc with the environment. I sense more freestyling coming up and yes, I will be tweaking those labels this time 😉