FAQ

Good spotting!

That's right - we purposefully choose not to use the term 'organic' in our marketing.

Before our brand launched we completed market research and asked customers what 'organic' meant to them and the answers varied drastically. Given 'organic' means different things to different people we don't use it in our marketing.

Here is all the information about our ingredients so you can make an informed choice based on what is most important to you.

Jojoba - Sourced direct from Australian farms in NSW. The plants are grown & manufactured without the use of chemicals/pesticides. The plant is then cold pressed to extract the wax ester. There are no farms in Australia we can source certified organic Jojoba from (nearly all certified organic Jojoba available in Australia comes from overseas)

Camellia Oil - There are no Camellia farms in Australia anymore sadly, so we have no choice but to source overseas. We choose to use Australian Certified Organic (ACO) Camellia oil from China

Calendula extract - our Australian supplier infuses Calendula (from Victoria) with Jojoba oil to make an "oil infusion'. It is grown chemical/pesticide free

Natural Vitamin E - there isn't any certified organic Vitamin E on the market (if you find one let us know!). Our Vitamin E is Mixed Tocopherol from China & is certified non-GMO (derived from soy beans). Most often the trace oil base is soya oil, however we have chosen one with trace amounts of sunflower oil given soy is a known food allergen

The cold pressed oil ingredients are 100% natural, although Natural Vitamin E is not 100% natural (it is 'naturally derived' - it undergoes significant processing to extract the concentrated Vitamin E from the plant botanicals).

Given this, we are not allowed to claim 100% natural in our marketing.

No - while it is formulated specifically for dry, sensitive skin for little ones, all ages can use it.

Our customers have used it with their little ones of all ages as an alternative to moisturiser.

We have even had mums use it as a belly oil given it has incredibly nourishing plant botanicals to moisturise and nourish growing bellies.

Expert Tip - our founder Nadine uses it daily as an all body moisturiser & hand cream as well as a face oil

We will be honest - we aren't really sure what you mean by 'nasties'.

Our products are natural & all ingredients are plant based.

We intentionally choose not to add essential oils or scent to our products. It isn't a necessary ingredient for baby skin (some essential oils can be irritants to baby skin).

They don't contain parabens, PEGs, sulfates (SLS/SLES), GMOs, mineral oils, petrolatum or synthetic colours or fragrances.

Parabens aren't a necessary ingredient in oil based products to preserve the formula. We choose Natural Vitamin E to act as an antioxidant to lengthen the time our formulas oxidise.

Preservatives are needed in water based formulas however. This ensures no mould or bacteria grows in your skincare. It would be unsafe to formulate a product like this without one - there are natural alternatives to parabens in this case.

In fact, some parabens have been deemed to be safe (despite the fearmongering in the skincare industry), while others are not allowed to be used due to known safety risks.

Overall, as a brand, using parabens or mineral oils doesn't fit with our ethos or values - we highly value a more natural approach to skincare.

The Baby Oil was specifically formulated without using food or nut oils. It contains plant based ingredients. It is safe for bebes with Cows Milk Protein Intolerance/Allergy (CMPI/CMPA). Natural Vitamin E always includes a base oil. We use a Vitamin E that has traces of sunflower seed oil. If your baby is intolerant or allergic to any of the ingredients do not use.

We encourage you to read ingredient lists thoroughly for all products if your baby has a food allergy.

Common food based oils found in skincare are:

• Almond Oil
• Apricot Kernel Oil
• Sesame Oil
• Macadamia Oil
• Avocado Oil
• Coconut Oil
• Olive Oil

Always patch test prior to use & consult your Medical Practitioner for guidance prior to use.

It depends on what you need.

If you need a medical treatment to cure the eczema - our products are not for you & we suggest you get advice from your Medical Practitioner. Our products are considered "cosmetic" and are not approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). This means it is illegal to claim that our products will cure or treat a skin issue such as eczema (although lots do!)

Eczema is a multifaceted skin condition that requires an approach that looks to the root of the issue (there is lots of evidence around supporting gut health).

While our products won't treat Eczema, they are suitable for sensitive skin and may reduce symptoms such as redness, itchiness, dryness and flaky skin.

The Baby Oil was specifically formulated for dry sensitive skin. Jojoba helps protect the skin barrier, Camellia oil deeply moisturises the skin, while Calendula calms the skin.

100% pure cold pressed oils are used in our formulas rather than refined oils which are commonly found in skincare products.

Cold pressed oils are minimally processed - usually by mechanical extraction +/- low temperature controlled conditions to extract the oil out of the nut/seed. It is then filtered to remove any significant solids/impurities from the oil.

This results in a high quality, nutrient rich, authentic to nature oil. No change to the scent, colour or viscosity of the oil occurs. This is why some cold pressed oils are quite thick, have a mild nutty smell and are quite golden (there are some exceptions to this).

Refined oils undergo further processing to the above to "remove impurities" in the oil. This process includes heat treatments, solvent treatments for deodorisation + bleaching to fade the colour and remove scent.

Refined oils have less active compounds as they have been stripped away during the process. This often means less beneficial vitamins + minerals for the skin. The benefits are they are usually less expensive + have a longer shelf life.

Cold pressed oils in our opinion are the closest to nature offering the highest quality nourishing vitamins + minerals which can deliver maximum benefits to the skin naturally. Yes they are often more expensive however we purposefully choose quality over cost in our products.

We have been humbled to have early & ongoing support from Tanya from Thrive Lactation who is a local Certified Baby Massage Instructor who is also a qualified Midwife / Maternal Child Health Nurse & a International Board Certified Lactation Consultant [IBCLC] - yes, you read that correctly. What a list of qualifications! This superwoman has been such a supporter of our "food free baby massage oil". You can find Tanya on IG @thrive_lactation or website

Penny - Paediatric Nurse & the founder of Sick Happens. Penny reviewed our oil that she purchased for her son - feel free to check out her rave review! Penny also loved that it was food free in line with ASCIA. We highly recommend you check Sick Happens out on IG @sick.happens or website

Luka McCabe - The founder of Boob to Food needs no introduction. Luka recently suggested her IG audience check out our brand after sharing the ASCIA recommendations to educate her audience on choosing baby skincare without food products. We are thrilled there are more people educating about this topic so close to our hearts. You can find Luka and her food resources on IG @boobtofood and website

Yes you can. Refined food based oils are safe to use in skincare, and in fact most skincare products utilise them. Some oils have a strong scent & may also not be the viscosity a formulator is looking for. Refined oils usually have a much longer shelf life. For these reasons a brand may choose to use a refined oil over a cold pressed oil.

During the refining process the oil is stripped of any impurities as well as eliminating any scent that might be overpowering. The refining process is also thought to reduce the allergenic protein of food based oils.

The refining of oils generally involves these steps to make it cleaner & more stable for use in cosmetics:

1) Degumming: First, water or acid is added to the oil to remove impurities like gums and proteins that make the oil cloudy.

2) Neutralizing: An alkaline substance (like lye) is added to remove free fatty acids, which can make the oil rancid. This also improves the taste and stability.

3) Bleaching: The oil is filtered through materials like clay to remove pigments, giving the oil a lighter color.

4) Deodorizing: The oil is heated under high temperatures and steam to remove any remaining odors or flavours/scent, making it more neutral.

Winterizing (optional): Sometimes, oils are cooled to remove waxes, so they don’t solidify in the fridge.

This process turns raw oil into a cleaner, more stable product, but it can also strip away some nutrients and flavors.

Cold-pressed oils avoid these steps to retain more of their natural qualities.

We're glad you asked. Our founder spent significant hours researching this and doing the deep dive. Here is everything we think you should know.

Natural Vitamin E is the common name for "Tocopherol". Vitamin E is incredibly nourishing to the skin and can be found in various plant botanicals (in incredibly high amounts in soy beans & sunflower seeds in particular). Vitamin E is not a preservative - it is an antioxidant. There are various types of Tocopherol & their use varies depending why it is being added to skincare. Most often it is added to products to extend the shelf life of a product (particularly if it is at the end of the ingredient list). In this case it is often used between 0.5-2%. It is one of the most used skincare ingredients worldwide and is deemed safe, even for babies (The European Commission monitors ingredients very strictly).

Cold pressed oils are usually prone to oxidising more easily than a refined oil. When a product comes into contact with heat, air or light, the formula is prone to oxidation (eg. every time you take the lid off your skincare product and use it). If a product has "oxidised" it can go rancid (it might change colour, smell strange, or feel different) and be unusable. Using a rancid product can be dangerous and isn't advised.

If you are making your products at home for immediate use you may not need to add Vitamin E given you are likely to use it immediately. However, given we are formulating for commercial sale, we have a duty of care to ensure that our products remain stable for use. To ensure our products have a shelf life of at least 12 months, we have formulated with Natural Vitamin E to ensure it stays stable for that timeframe for you to enjoy - safely.

Natural Vitamin E is a highly refined ingredient and is heavily processed to withdraw the concentrated amounts of Vitamin E (usually from soy beans or sunflower seeds). It is then added to a base to make it usable in skincare. We opt for a non-GMO Mixed Tocopherol in a base of trace amounts of sunflower seed oil [in a 100mL bottle of The Baby Oil this equates to between 0.125mL & 0.25mL]. It is also guaranteed to be cruelty free and not tested on animals.

We collaborated with leading Dermatologists & Paediatricians who recommended no concerns around this.

There are other natural alternatives to Vitamin E, including Rosemary extract. It can cause irritation to sensitive skin which is why it wasn't the right fit for our brand. Of course there are synthetic options, although again, they are not a good fit for us.

As we continue to innovate, in future if further testing proves the formula is stable without Natural Vitamin E we will remove it - less is more.

Our founder hopes this is helpful information for you to make an informed choice.

Our minimal approach to skincare means we live by the ethos 'less is more'.

Every ingredient is chosen for a specific reason and we pride ourselves on keeping our ingredient lists minimal.

The Baby Oil has a natural mild earthy scent as a result of the natural cold pressed oils.

No added scent or fragrance is included as, quite simply, baby skin doesn't need them.

It is important for babies to smell mum to form a secure attachment between mother-baby bonding. Some essential oils can be irritants to baby skin or those with highly sensitive skin. For all of these reasons we consciously leave them out.

We're glad you asked. Our founder is a stickler for being thorough and this was no exception. It made more sense to us to do the research first, then make the product - rather than making a product and then consulting with industry experts.

This is what we did. We consulted with:

- Paediatricians & Paediatric Dermatologists

- Infant Massage Information Service [IMIS] & International Association of Infant Massage [IAIM]. These are accredited providers for Baby Massage Instructors to obtain their qualification. They both recommended pesticide free cold pressed oils to ensure it is easily absorbed into the skin.

- ASCIA [Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology & Allergy] - recommending no food products on infant skin before they are introduced orally to the gut

Through our consultations and research from the ground up, the consensus was to choose cold pressed oils over refined, and avoid food products for baby skincare. So that's what we did!

We then consulted with our Cosmetic Chemists around the final formulation before receiving the tick of approval.

Before launching our brand we worked with Jen from Skincare Business Foundations to ensure we were compliant with all of the skincare regulations. This included understanding what marketing claims we could make, & ensuring our product boxes and labels were compliant. Jen is Australia's compliance queen for the skincare industry.

Our products are stability tested to ensure they remain stable.

Stability testing is not a mandatory requirement of the Australian skincare industry (and costs money and time to complete), although is highly recommended.

It is the seal of approval that gurantees products do what they are designed to do, for the duration of time we say they will - it gives a 'best before' or 'expiry' date for the product.

The Baby Oil has been tested to guarantee a shelf life of 2 years from date of manufacture if stored correctly.

If you aren't sure what the shelf life of a product is, the best before date will be located on the box or product itself. If not, we encourage you to contact brands directly who will be able to give you the information.

They are very different.

Shelf life is determined by cosmetic chemists completing stability testing. This is when the products are tested under various conditions, over a period of time. It will either pass or fail under these conditions, and shelf life is determined from there.

Shelf life is like a "best before" or expiry date.

A 2 year shelf life means it is best to use the product in 2 years from the date the product was made. If it is used after this date, the product is unlikely to be of high quality & may not do what is supposed to do.

All our products have the "best before" date on the bottom of the products.

PAO (Period After Opening) is different. Our products have a 6 month PAO. This means once you have opened the product, it is best used within 6 months of opening. This is to ensure the product remains highest in quality.

No - in Australia it is illegal for a product to be tested on animals. We value our cruelty free ethos & go one step further - we also guarantee that all the individual ingredients have not been tested on animals either. Our products have only been tested on Australian bebes (with informed consent by their parents!)

It is a huge part of our ethos that our products are environmentally friendly. We choose not to use a compostable mailer in addition to our mailing box to keep our packaging minimal.

COMPOSTABLE OR RECYCLABLE:

• Our products are shipped in kraft mailing boxes - when damp these can be added to curbside compost bins in most local Australian councils (as can the product box)
• Shipping Label - Australian made
• Packaging Tape - this water activated tape is made from FSC- certified materials, which means that the paper it is made from is sourced from a forest and supply chain that is managed responsibly and sustainably
• Thankyou coasters - Australian made and are certified Sustainable Green Print (SGP)
• Thankyou cards - made from 100% post consumer waste
• Tissue Paper - acid free and no printed ink

RECYCLABLE:

• Sticker securing tissue paper
• Glass bottle & plastic cap

Unfortunately the serum pump & bottle label cannot be recycled. We are a small company and our packaging will evolve over time although one thing will always remain - the decisions will always be considered with the environment front of mind.

We aim for our brand to be sustainable by minimising our carbon footprint & being conscious of the impact our business has on the environment. We do this by:

• Prioritising supporting Australian businesses from sourcing local ingredients & packaging suppliers. This minimises international freight by air travel
• Minimising use of plastics across the entire business
• Choosing natural plant based ingredients where quality and manufacturing processes are of high quality (chemical/pesticide free at a minimum & certified organic where possible). Jojoba is a plant that thrives in drought conditions, meaning frequent watering isn't required which is an added bonus to preserving this precious resource
• Prioritising packaging that can be recyclable or compostable
  

It is recommended to perform a patch test before incorporating a new product into your routine. This is a general guide to patch testing.

Patch testing prior to use is advised.

1) Apply a small amount of oil to clean skin

2) Observe how the skin reacts. If you start to notice any irritation when you’re applying the product (in the form of redness, heat, itching, stinging, etc.) remove it and cleanse the skin immediately. If you don’t, leave it on and watch how the skin reacts over the next 24 hours. You may like to wait a few days before commencing product use (this is just a guide).

3) If redness, itching/stinging, heat, severe irritation, hives, swelling of eyes and mouth, blistering, or difficulty breathing is observed at any stage, rinse off, cease use and consult a Medical Practitioner immediately.

4) If no reaction - enjoy!

Our products are initially formulated by our founder Nadine alongside industry experts & peak body consultation. We then work with qualified Cosmetic Formulators in Australia to finalise the formula. Human testing occurs throughout the process - only on real bebes.

Our business is proudly Australian owned & operated. Our products are made in small batches on the Surf Coast in Torquay, Victoria, Australia.