Carley's Night time Exotic Butter Moisturizer

We use only the freshest, highest quality ingredients we can find.

Reverse Osmosis Purified Water: When looking at other skin care products I always want to know how the water they use is purified(if at all). Is it filtered? How small a filter? Ozonated? Often the devil is in the details. We use only Reverse Osmosis purified water. Reverse Osmosis purified water is the gold standard for being clean and pure. So if we are talking microscopic differences why is it important? Reverse Osmosis water, we’ve found, works better than any other water to maximize the potential of the precious ingredients we use. It’s expensive, but we believe anything else is purely just cutting corners.

Jojoba Oil (pronounced ho ho ba): (Simmondsia chinensis) Jojoba oil consists of pure esters extracted from organic Jojoba seeds. We use a farm grown variety grown in Arizona. Pesticide free and first pressing from the finest seeds produced. First pressing means this is sort of like Extra Virgin. The very best we can find. The importance of Jojoba esters derives from their similarity to the natural restorative esters produced by the sebaceous glands in the dermal layers in the human skin.

Mango Butter: (Mangifera indica) A luxurious Butter imported from India made from the seeds of the Mango Fruit tree. We use this butter purely for it’s luxurious feel and absorbency. It seems to help carry the other oils deep into the skin. You’ll only find this is the quality stuff and rarely a primary ingredient.

Kukui Nut Oil: (Aleurites moluccana) Kukui nut oil, brought to Hawaii by early Polynesian settlers, is quickly absorbed into the skin. Kukui nut oil is high in linoleic and linolenic essential fatty acids. Excellent for skin conditioning after sun exposure, as well as for acne, eczema, psoriasis, hemorrhoids, dry/wrinkled skin and offers good protection for outdoor sports. It offers just the right amount of lubrication without leaving a greasy feeling. Excellent for chapped skin and may prevent scarring. It is very expensive, but makes our moisturizer extra special. We use the good stuff too from Hawaii (at about $140 gallon, it has to kept under lock and key). To show you how far we go to find the best products, here is an example. This Kukui Nut oil is also available from other countries at about half the price, but it is solvent extracted (if at all possible, we don’t use solvent extracted ingredients, just expeller pressed products, except some of the essences are only available that way). Instead of a light sweet smell, like the good stuff from Hawaii, it has a heavy chemical odor. We won’t touch it.

Macadamia Nut Oil: (Macadamia integrifolia) This tree is native to Australia. Also known as Queensland nut oil, this cold pressed oil is high in palmitoleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid that acts as an antioxidant, preventing deterioration of cell membranes. For mature skin it is hydrating and gentle. It is a skin lubricant and is easily absorbed by the skin, sometimes described as a “vanishing oil.” Helpful in cases of sunburn and wound healing.

Shea Butter; (Butyrospermum parkii) World renown for many incredible healing properties, but not commonly used here in the USA. The Shea tree grows in the wooded savannahs in west Africa (Ghana, Mali and Burkina Faso). The fruit is harvested by the natives and hand processed to the finished butter product. This is how we buy it. Often times though you’ll find it as a minor ingredient in some supposedly high quality moisturizers. We use a special natural variety. Most Shea Butter used here in the USA is commercially processed to remove the natural color and odor, or industrially extracted with hexane solvent (a carcinogen). Traces of hexane can be in the resulting Shea Butter. Hexane extraction yields more butter, but it is odorless and white and quite frankly about as good mineral oil. Which as far as we are concerned, is no good! You can also feel good about using this ingredient, because income from Shea helps poor women in West Africa who hand make it in a complicated process involving boiling in water.

Hemp Seed Oil: (Cannabis sativa) This is one of the more effective skin-care oils with a wonderful nutty smell. Hemp seed oil is derived from the seed of the plant Cannabis sativa, best known as the marijuana plant, and least known for its many productive uses. It is dark and thick and gives our product it’s slightly green cast. Hemp seed oil has none of the intoxicating properties of the leaves. Since hemp cannot be legally grown in the U.S., the supply of its oil is low and the price high. Hemp seeds produce a vegetable oil that is high in protein and can be used within a variety of foods and cosmetics. Alpha linolenic, linoleic and oleic acids–the essential fatty acids known as the omegas–make up 88% of the total fatty-acid content. Its moisturizing properties when used in proper strengths are absolutely magical.

Apricot Kernal Oil: (Armeniaca vulgaris, Prunis armeniaca) Apricot Kernel is a light but rich oil which is especially good for sensitive skin, as well as for and skin that is inflamed or dry. It can be used alone or in massage and is used quite often in lip balms and creams. It is particularly helpful for dehydrated, delicate, mature or sensitive skin. It has a high vitamin A content.

Vegetable Glycerin; is a humectant. This means it has the ability to draw water right from the air and bring it closer to your skin. We use a Kosher Variety made only from vegetables. Yes some companies use an Animal based product made from Animal Fat.

Emulsifying wax NF; This is a vegetable based product that helps bind the oils together into a pleasing emulsion.

Vegetable Stearic Acid; OK if you read labels, you’ll find this ingredient in many cosmetics. It is really essential to help bind oils and waters together. Unfortunately most companies use a product made from Animals. Yes most likely cows or pigs. YUP! And because most moisturizers use just mineral oil they need a lot of this stuff to make it thick. Plus they have to use a lot of fragrances, because that stuff stinks. We use a Kosher variety made strictly from vegetables. I’d like to tell you it’s a lot more expensive, but it’s really about the same price, just a little more. I don’t know why they use that stuff. REALLY! Maybe it works better with Mineral oil. Who knows? I guess if you sell a million jars, a nickel really adds up.

Citric Acid; natural preservative plus it balances the PH.

We also use 2 special non-paraben preservatives(which are vegetable derived): Diazolidinyl Urea and Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate they are insurance against mold and bacteria growth. We like these preservatives because they work in extremely small quantities. Much less than 1% (actually it’s .2%) And they don’t have the side effects in some people that preservatives like Methylparaben or Propylparaben have when absorbed into the skin.

Real Natural Essences of Lavender, Ylang Ylang, Bergamot, Rosemary, Sandalwood, Jasmine. Why not use an artificial fragrance like ALL the other moisturizers’ use? For one thing fragrances are cheaper than real essences (that can’t be a good sign). Fragrances also have alcohol in them and hundreds of other unknown ingredients, and quite frankly I personally can’t handle fragrances. I guess I am allergic to them (and that means others are too!). But I’m not allergic or sensitive to essences. I love them! And just a little goes a long way. Not overpowering either.

We make this product fresh on an as needed basis. We don’t make 100’s of thousands of jars ahead of time, and then store it for years at a time as most moisturizers are made to save money. I like to say there is a bit of the art in making this product. It can only be made in small batches of 200 Jars or bottles. It is hand made and mixed with care by our master moisturizer maker. Each ingredient must be added in a certain order and with the proper temperature in mind. That’s why our competition hasn’t figured it out yet. (They all use thickeners which aren’t true moisturizers.) Put this together wrong, even using all the right ingredients and it will be a useless glop. We are so picky that about 1 out of 5 batches has to be destroyed, because they just don’t meet our standards.

Does it feel greasy? No it is luxurious and creamy. We use absorbing oils and butters. Not mineral oil.

Why do WE use exotic oils and butters? The real question everyone should be asking is: Why are they not used more often? They have absolutely wonderful properties and the longer you use them the better your skin feels. But they are harder to work with on a larger scale. And they do vary in consistency. So more supervision is needed. It’s easy to have a minimum wage worker just pour in a bucket of mineral oil. Cook it with waxes and binders. Load up on a bunch of commercial artificial preservatives so it can sit on a shelf for 3 or 4 years until someone comes along and likes the pretty jar well enough to buy it ‘On Sale’.

FRESH MADE Our moisturizer is always shipped fresh. Even though our preservatives are powerful enough, we don’t want you to guess how long ago it was made.