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A lotion bar is basically lotion without the water.  Lotions are typically emulsions of oil and water.  Since oil and water don't mix, it's necessary to add certain chemicals to force the oil and water to mix, and these chemicals aren't really great for our bodies or the environment.   Also, a bottle is required to contain it all, since lotions are fluids.  By eliminating the water, lotion bars eliminate the need for the extra chemicals, and for the bottle.  Lotion bars are also easier to apply, because we don't have to rub our skin forever to create friction to get the water to dissolve, so we don't feel wet.  Lotion bars are a great bulk way to soothe our skin, because you can use the same container forever, and put a new lotion bar in there when you run out. 

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• Beeswax or Candelilla Wax.  These waxes are used to harden the bars.  Without a little hardening, the bars would be more of a paste and would require a tub of some sort.  The wax enables us to make a zero-waste bar that can be wrapped in paper.  The beeswax is our original wax, and we have added candelilla wax bars as an option to serve vegan preferences.  We are currently using local beeswax from local bee hives, and although the owners of the hives don’t use toxic chemicals in their yard, there is no guarantee that the neighbors also grow organic, so we consider this wax “partly” organic.   The candelilla wax is currently not organic.  Both waxes are natural, beeswax is rendered from honeycombs and candelilla wax from candelilla plants, grown in the southwestern U.S..

• Shea Butter.  Organic.  From West Africa.  Natural, rendered from shea nuts.

• Coconut Oil.  Organic.  From The Phillipines.  Natural, rendered from meat of coconuts.

• Olive Oil.  Organic.  From Spain.  Natural, rendered from olives.

• Hemp Seed Oil.  Organic.  From Canada.  Natural, rendered from hemp seeds.

• Vitamin E Oil.  Organic.  From China.  Natural, a blend of rendered plant oils.

• Tea Tree Oil.  Organic.  From China.  Natural, rendered from tea tree leaves.

• Essential Oils for Scent.  The specific essential oils used for scent in Aspire lotion bars are all organic.  All the essential oils come from other countries at this time, and we continue to search for sources of essential oils from the U.S.A. or at least the America’s.  Essential oils are natural oils rendered from plant parts.

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• Water.  Conventional lotion is an emulsion of various oils and water.  These emulsions are liquids, so a bottle of some sort is required to contain it.  Also, oil and water don’t like each other, so in order to maintain a consistent emulsion of oil and water, some sort of emulsifier is required.  This naturally means more complex formulations and chemicals.  Finally, when we rub lotion on ourselves, we usually have to rub for a while to get the water to evaporate, so we’re not left with a “wet” feeling on our skin.  Our main goal with lotion is to get the moisturizing oils rubbed into our skin.  So, with all that, why have water in the lotion in the first place?  A lotion bar contains only the oils, blended into a bar with a solid consistency, that melts into the skin, without the water.  Lotion bars are solid, so a bottle is not required.  You can get a bar wrapped in paper, and store it in your own re-used container when you take it home.  Like a bar of soap.  Only it's lotion.  Without the water.

• Pentylene Glycol.  Pentylene glycol is typically synthesized from petroleum, but it can also come from plants.  If it’s from plants, it’s not really a problem from an environmental standpoint.  It’s used as a humectant to help oils soak further into the skin.  At Aspire, we feel it is an unnecessary ingredient that simply adds complexity and propriety to the product, so we don’t use it.  Another useless ingredient made from petroleum is hydroquinone, used as a skin-lightening agent.  Are you kidding me?

• Sorbitol.  Sorbitol is used in cosmetics and personal care products as a flavoring agent, and to prevent moisture loss. Sorbitol is a naturally occurring sugar-like alcohol. This is another harmless, but unnecessary, ingredient.  The vegetable oils in Aspire lotion bars prevent moisture loss just fine.

• Siloxanes, or silicones, such as cyclopentasiloxane, dimethicone, or dimethiconol.  These are typically used to improve the texture of formulations, helping products to glide on smoothly and evenly, as well as moisturize the skin.  These are horrible for the environment, and extremely toxic to aquatic life.  The natural oils on our skin with the vegetable oils in Aspire lotion bars are enough to protect our skin without yet more unnecessary nasty chemicals.

• Plant-based emulsifiers, such as sodium lauryl sulfate, behenyl alcohol, cetyl alcohol, glyceryl stearate or stearic acid.  Aspire lotion bars don’t need this, because the product doesn’t contain water.  These emulsifiers are usually just soaps or alcohols, the last things we want to see in lotion.  After all, aren’t we using lotion to moisturize our skin with penetrating oils?  If so, then why would we put soap in the lotion, when soap is meant to clean oil off the skin?  This is a huge benefit of lotion bars, they contain only oils, no water, so no need for soap.

• Disodium EDTA.  This is a chelant that is used to keep insoluble salts in solution.  It's a synthetic ingredient from ethylenediamine and formaldehyde, which are petroleum products, and sodium cyanide.  It's also completely unneccessary in lotion bars.

• Petroleum By-Products, such as propylene glycol, mineral oil or sodium polyacrylate.  They’re used as moisturizers, thickeners and for texture in lotions.  Propylene glycol has been found to cause severe neurological symptoms and seizures.  There have also been cases of nausea and vertigo.  Mineral oil is composed mainly of alkanes and cycloalkanes, related to petroleum jelly.  Aspire lotion bars contain vegetable oils, to serve the same purpose much more responsibly.

• Propylene Carbonate.  Used as a dispenser and disperser, a similar purpose as emulsifiers, which aren’t needed in Aspire lotion bars.  Made from petroleum.

• Triethanolamine.  Triethanolamine is used to stabilize and increase the pH of products to improve the way they feel on the skin.  Triethanolamine is a mild skin and eye irritant.  It is made from ethylene oxide, a fossil fuel, and ammonia.  Just another unnecessary nasty chemical that Aspire will never use.  Who would want this on their skin?

• Synthetic Preservatives, such as quaternium-15.  Quaternium-15 is an allergen, and can cause contact dermatitis in susceptible individuals.  Quaternium-15 is a known human skin toxicant and allergen and possible eye irritant. It is also a formaldehyde-releasing preservative.  It is made from fossil fuels.  Aspire uses a mild natural preservative, tee tree oil, instead.  And, in reality, lotion bars don’t really need a preservative, because with no water in the formula, it’s impossible for organisms to live there, anyway.  Just keep your lotion bar reasonably clean, dry and covered, and it will be just fine.

• Fragrance, Perfume, Parfum.  If you see these words on a label, it should immediately raise suspicions about the product and the integrity of the manufacture.  Why?  Basically, the very usage of the term “fragrance” on a product label is the manufacturer’s way of making their product special or proprietary, so that they can sell more, take more market share, charge more for the product, or so the product can’t be duplicated by another manufacturer.  While these purposes can all be considered somewhat reasonable, the problem is that the "fragrances" that they are hiding from you, the consumer, are often synthetic organic carbons, typically made from fossil fuels.  And, many are extremely toxic to wildlife, meaning they kill at extremely low concentrations in water.  And, to make matters worse, because they are synthetic and complicated, they are difficult to treat in a conventional wastewater treatment plant, so they often pass into receiving rivers and streams in an untreated or partially treated state.  That is extremely unfair to the fish and wildlife that depend on these water sources to thrive, and a big reason that we’ve managed to kill off more than 50% of our fish and wildlife in just the past few decades.  Of course, there are processes that can be added to conventional wastewater plants to remove these complex chemicals prior to release into receiving waters, but these cost more money to build and operate, consume more energy, and of course that means more cost to the consumer.  So, I ask you, what is your preference?  Paying three times as much for your wastewater treatment, or avoid the use of products that have “fragrances” in them?  We have chosen the latter, simpler way to keep fish and wildlife safe, and Aspire products offer responsible choices for the consumer, that don’t contain “fragrances”.