Frequently asked questions

1. Where are you laboratories? Our current laboratories are located in California, Oregon, and Washington. We only work with small laboratories that work with USDA organic ingredients, allow sourced ingredients, and preserve products without harmful ingredients such as parabens.

2. Where do you ship from? All of our shipments come from Los Angeles, California and are mailed by our shipping manager on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

3. Who formulates your products? We work with a very large team of chemists and, Ayurvedic practitioners, and dermatologists in the USA and Italy who develop formulas with Brigitte Tolson, our founding medical esthetician. Our cosmetic chemists finalize and perfect all of our formulas.

4. Are your ingredients certified USDA organic? Yes, however, we only work with farms and laboratories that use no pesticides, it takes 3 years for a source or farm to become USDA certified organic, and the cost is very prohibitive for most small farms. If one ingredient in our products is not certified organic, we cannot label it as such. In many cases, there is a higher quality standard ingredient available over certified organic, and we will use that. We can, however, label individual ingredient that is organic, which we do on each product, and each product page.

5. Are you involved with other causes beyond bee conservation? We donate supplies every month to LA Heroines, have volunteered for LA Pride since 1998, and continually sponsor events that support social and environmental justice organizations. Beyond direct contributions, we only work with sustainable, ethical laboratories that never have tested on animals, and the majority of our chemists are women of color, as our founder is a woman, and women of color are disproportionately under represented in the sciences. We are always eager to collaborate with new non-profits, and would love to hear from you if you are affiliated with an organization.

6. Are your products pregnancy safe? Though many botanical products claim to be safe for pregnancy, we work closely with a team of medical doctors, and it’s their informed opinion that certain botanicals, such as willow bark, which is a blood thinner, or lavender, can pose a risk to pregnant women. Most crucial, it’s imperative to consult your own doctor if you are pregnant with the full ingredient list of a product before using it, rather than consulting internet sources. Each pregnancy is individual, and plant ingredients can pose specific risks. It’s not responsible or accurate to state that a product is definitively pregnancy safe.

7. How long do your products last? Our products last one year after being opened, or two years if refrigerated. It is recommended to keep your products away from heat and light, which is why we only package in double-walled tinted glass.

8. Do you offer refills? Unfortunately, legal regulations prohibit skin care companies from refilling their jars after they have left the distributor, as we cannot guarantee stability and sanitation. Though we would love to ship our products in a compostable package to you to refill, the risk of decomposing and contamination makes this impossible at this time, but we are working on feasible options for the future. All of our components are 100% recyclable and reusable.

9. Do you ship outside of the USA? We are working on being able to ship to multiple countries, but currently ship to the USA only. Labeling requirements vary country to country, and we choose to comply with that. However, we are working towards this daily and you should contact us to be updated as we may be able to ship to your country.