Materials Matter
Stacey started making her own candles after she learned that paraffin wax, a common wax used in mass market candles, is made from petroleum and coal. She was also shocked to learn that many candles sold in stores have scents that contain formaldehyde!
That is why all of our products are handmade in small batches. They are all natural, non-toxic, vegan, and cruelty free. We believe in being 100% transparent about our ingredients because you deserve to know what you are putting on your body and in the air that you breathe! We don’t put anything in our products that we don’t want the people we love breathing in, rolling on their skin, or taking a bath in.
Candle Ingredients
All of our candles are made with 100% soy wax.
The soybeans used in the wax are grown and refined in the USA.
- 100% Soy Wax, USA grown.
- Fragrance oils that are phalate free, paraben free, sulfate free and manufactured in FDA-registered facilities in the United States.
- Vegan and Cruelty Free
- Crystals from suppliers that ethically source.
- 100% natural essential oils.
- Vessels and jars that are Prop 65 compliant, free of lead and other carcinogens.
- Herbs and flowers that are organically grown in our own back yard!
- Other herbs & flowers that are from small businesses and growers in the USA.
The Deets:
100% Soy Wax
Soy is a natural, edible ingredient. It does not release toxins into the air the way coal and petroleum based waxes do. To produce soy wax, soybean oil is refined and impurities are removed. The soy in our 100% soy wax is grown and processed in the USA.
Our free gift with purchase tea lights are a soy-coconut wax with a small amount of paraffin in them. This is due to an error when ordering, we accidentally ordered a wax that we were not initially aware contains a “smidgen” of paraffin according to the manufacturer. We decided that rather than throw the wax away which will lead to it going to a landfill, we would use as the free gift with purchase wax until it is used up.
Natural & Non-toxic Fragrance Oil
We use essential oils in our candles for the herbal support but we also use fragrance oils. Fragrance oils provide the stronger scent that is what we are used to in scented candles. All of the fragrance oils in our candles are phalate free, paraben free, sulfate free, vegan, and cruelty free. If you’re curious, here’s why we don’t use only essential oils.
Stacey did extensive research before choosing a fragrance oil supplier. The fragrance oils in our candles are are blended by master IFRA perfumers and manufactured in FDA-registered facilities in the United States. The facilities use Current Good Manufacturing Practices as required by the FDA. That means testing for purity to ensure that raw aromatic ingredients and finished scents are free from harmful bacteria, toxins, or dangerous chemical contamination. Facilities must use up-to-date equipment, modern technology, and advanced scientific methods rather than outdated manufacturing systems and every ingredient used is traceable. You can learn more about CGMP at the FDA’s website.
If you are still concerned about fragrance oils, or are scent-sensitive, you will be happy to hear that all of our candles are available fragrance oil free! We will happily custom make you any of our candles without fragrance oils and also without essential oils if you prefer. Most of our essential oils come from Eden’s Garden, where Stacey has been buying essential oils for personal use for over a decade.
Vegan & Cruelty Free
We are animal lovers. In fact, Stacey named her tie dye business 3 Short Dogs after her dogs! 3 Short Dogs donates a portion of all sales to animal rescues. Stacey has been a vegetarian for nearly 20 years and has been against animal testing since she knew it existed. Because of this, every single ingredient in every single product we offer has been researched to be sure that it is vegan and cruelty free. If a fragrance, wax, salt, or herb could not be verified to be cruelty free and vegan, we picked a different supplier.
Lead-free, Prop 65 compliant Vessels
This one was tough, because almost all of the most popular candle supply stores make or source their jars in China. They don’t specify that their vessels are CA prop 65 compatible, which means that likely, they are not. Stacey was thrilled when she happened upon vessels that said up front that they are prop 65 compatible! It’s just one more way we can be sure that when you bring our candles into your home, they’re as non-toxic as possible.
Please note that for upcycled items such as candles made in vintage mugs, sugar bowls, glassware, etc that we have tested them for lead. Only items that are lead free will only be filled with wax and sold, however vintage items may contain other things that we are unable to test for. More than likely, your upcycled candle is still much less toxic than a candle you would buy at a discount or mass-market retailer.
Crystals from suppliers who ethically source
Ethical sourcing of crystals is a big issue in the crystal and gemstone industry. It is very difficult to know with certainty that crystals have been mined in safe conditions using paid adult laborers, not child or slave labor. We do our best to work with suppliers that do their due diligence in making sure their sources for crystals are obtaining them ethically. Our intention candle and spell candle crystals come from New Moon Beginnings, Kheops International, Fire Mountain Gems, and Tree of Life Gems. Special collection crystals such as Sabbat and holiday candles may include different gems, so if you have questions, please feel free to reach out to us!
Herbs Grown In Our Back Yard
Because we make small batch items in our home studio, we don’t have to buy huge quantities of herbs and flowers. Whenever possible, the herbs and flowers in our products were grown organically right here in our back yard where we use absolutely no pesticides or miracle-gro. For herbs and flowers that we can’t grow here, we source everything organically whenever possible and from suppliers who specialize in ceremonial and food-grade herbs. Our herbs come from suppliers like: Ritualcravt, Mountain Rose Herbs, and LA Herb.
Bath & Body Ingredients
- Vegan & Cruelty Free
- Sweet almond and hemp seed oil. Infused oils are made right here in our home, often with organic herbs from our own back yard garden.
- 100% natural essential oils, no fragrance oils.
- Epsom Salt
- Herbs and flowers that are sourced from our back yard garden whenever possible.
- Other herbs & flowers that are from small businesses and growers in the USA.
- Mica for shimmer, Polysorbate-80 to emulsify oils.
The Deets:
Epsom Salts
One of the main ingredients in our bath bombs is epsom salts. It’s the same epsom salts your grandmother probably used in her bath! Epsom Salt is magnesium sulfate, eg salt (sulfate) with magnesium. Epsom salt is naturally found in mineral deposits and purified for human use. Learn more about Epsom Salts here.
Cornstarch
The very same stuff you buy in the grocery store to cook with. Cornstarch helps to hold the bath bomb together. When Stacey started testing our bath bomb formula, she used the same Pure Kroger brand cornstarch that she used when air-frying tofu. Now we buy in bulk but we still use food grade cornstarch that’s safe to eat* or bathe in!
Baking Soda
Just like the cornstarch, this is the same baking soda that you might use in baking or cleaning. Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate, and like epsom salts the salt in baking soda is a natural earth mineral.
Sweet Almond Oil and Hemp Seed Oil
Sweet almond oil is a common carrier oil. Sweet almond oil is made from the same type of almonds that we eat. It is great for your skin because it contains vitamin E, monounsaturated oleic acid, linoleic acid, and antioxidants. It absorbs into the skin quickly and easily which is why it’s often the choice of carrier oil for essential oil roll-ons and other applications. The sweet almond oil in our bath bombs is grown in the Mediterranean and cold pressed, just like good quality olive oil.
Hemp seed oil is another popular carrier oil. It is derived from hemp hearts, the seeds of the Cannabis Sativa plant. It also contains vitamin E, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, and gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), which make it nourishing for the skin. It is non-comedogenic, meaning it will not clog pores, and it is often used to soothe eczema, psoriasis, and dermatitis. The hemp seed oil we use is grown in the United Kingdom (UK) and is unrefined and cold pressed.
Essential Oils
While we do use fragrance oil in our candles, we opted to use only essential oils for our bath products. This gives them a light, natural scent and provides the aromatherapy benefits of the essential oils. We use a variety of essential oils in our products including clary sage, rosemary, cedarwood, lavender, frankincense, and sandalwood. We use only 100% pure essential oils sourced from Eden’s Garden, Majestic Pure, and Nature’s Oil.
Herbs & Flowers
As with our candles, many of the herbs and flowers in our bath & body products come from our own back yard garden. We grow organically with no pesticides or miracle-gro. For herbs and flowers that we can’t grow here, we source everything organically whenever possible and from suppliers who specialize in ceremonial and food-grade herbs. Our herbs come from suppliers like: Ritualcravt, Mountain Rose Herbs, and LA Herb.
Other Ingredients (Bath bombs only)
Mica – Our bath bombs use a small amount of cosmetic grade mica to add shimmer. Mica is commonly used in eye shadow and other cosmetics. Mica comes from rocks that are mined in places like India. To be FDA approved for cosmetic use, Mica must be tested and proven to be free from lead, arsenic, and mercury.
Polysorbate-80 – Polysorbate-80 is a common additive in foods, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. It’s derived from sources like fruit pits and vegetable oils but those ingredients (sorbitol and oleic acid) are chemically modified so it is technically not a natural ingredient. Polysorbate is an emulsifier, it’s what helps the oils in the bath bombs mix with the water rather than sitting on top of it. If you’ve ever made your own salad dressing, you know that oil and water do not mix! An oily tub is a dangerous tub and because of this, we made the decision that using a small amount of polysorbate-80 was safer than not. The risks of polysorbate-80 are mainly through ingestion, so please do not drink the bathwater after using a bath bomb! The amount of polysorbate-80 in one bath bomb is approximately 1/20th of a teaspoon. Even though polysorbate-80 is not 100% natural, we felt that using it was the right decision. Polysorbate-80 is food-safe, if you eat commercially available ice cream or jarred pasta sauce you have likely consumed it. Learn more about cosmetic use of polysorbate-80.
Our Values
If you have read the other sections, you already know a lot about our values! We want to be as natural; non-toxic; earth, person, and animal friendly as possible.
All of our labels, social media posts, and other art is made in Canva, without the use of AI. None of our website is made or written using AI. Holistically Stacey Apothecary is a small home-based business that is woman & queer owned. We like to support other small, woman, queer, and minority owned businesses whenever possible!
We try to limit our use of plastic as much as possible but it is necessary for water soluble items such as bath bombs.
Jon & Stacey at the Lehigh River in Jim Thorpe, PA.
Our 3 short dogs in their younger years!
From our family to yours!
If we wouldn’t trust a product or ingredient in our home, its not in our products. We had to test all our candles and bath products in our home, so we made sure that everything in them was safe in case any of our family members came into contact with them.
*While many of our products are food grade, they are not edible. Please do not ingest any ingredients in the candle or bath products. If a child or animal eats any part of a candle or bath product, please call poison control immediately or go to the emergency room.