Loving the Coconut Oil

Ingredients matter - in baking, in cooking, and yes, in skin care. Choosing what goes into our Em & El products is one of our most important decisions. It's what sets us apart from the mass market skin care products that are essentially jars of chemicals and a lot of water.

Coconut oil - fair trade and organic, of course - is by far one of our most used ingredients. It's rich in medium-chain fatty acids, making it a great moisturizer and skin emollient. That's just a fancy word for saying it makes your skin super soft. Those fatty acids, notably lauric acid, also makes it anti-bacterial and anti-microbial.

Just like with olive oil, there are a lot of ways to manufacture coconut oil. We only use cold pressed, extra virgin oil in our Em & El products because it preserves the most nutrients from the coconuts. It also doesn't have the contaminants other methods have from chemical solvents that are used to strip the oil of its scent.

Why Fair Trade? As a small business, we do everything possible to carefully select our vendors, looking at working conditions and environment impacts. Buying Certified Fair Trade means a few really important things. Farmers get paid fairly for their goods. There are safe working conditions for the production of such goods. Environmental protections are in place to safeguard our planet. Overall, fair trade supports sustainable livelihoods and local community development.

For me, Em & El is so much more than just skin care products. It's about creating a better way of doing business, one that cares for people and our planet in sustainable ways.

xo,
Emily

p.s. A few weeks ago, I wrote about toxic ingredients in skin care to avoid (read it here if you missed it).