How Calendula Saved Our Skin
My mother and I have always shared very sensitive skin. We always tried to manage by using fragrance-free products, and cycling through different products every few weeks as our skin would become sensitized. When my second daughter was a toddler, she also began to get itchy rashes on her skin and at the same time I developed eczema on my hands. I began to wonder why it seemed that these issues with our skin seemed to be increasing with each generation even though I was so diligent about maintaining healthy diets, eating organic when we could, and minimizing chemical use in our home.
It must have been providence that at the same time I began growing calendula in our small vegetable garden. As I picked the beautiful orange flower petals to sprinkle on our salads, I noticed that the waxy resin helped to heal the painful cracks in my hands. Further study led me to learn from herbalist books how to bottle and share this relief with my daughter – and her growing circle of little friends with skin problems.
We were so alarmed as we became aware of the chemicals and potential allergens prevalent in commercial children’s skin care products, that an idea for a natural, gentle and safe line of skin care products was born: Buttercup and Jake. Early on we decided if we couldn’t eat the ingredient, it wasn’t safe enough for a child whose skin is 80% more absorbent than an adults. It took years of study and experimentation as we developed our products to find the best and most gentle natural ingredients. As much as possible, we use organic ingredients to avoid pesticide contamination, and we only use BPA free containers. We also have found that we can make a more sustainable product by working with local organic growers who produce our calendula and honey.
Although the creams and lip balms we make help to soothe the symptoms of children’s skin irritation, the issue of why these conditions are so prevalent is of tremendous concern. Through the work of organizations such as Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families and The Environmental Working Group, we have learned of subtle and almost sinister intrusions of toxic chemicals such as BPA and phthalates into nearly every aspect of a child’s life. The work these organizations are doing to promote the new legislation is vital to identifying and controlling the chemicals that are causing the nearly epidemic levels of allergies and health issues among children today. The current FDA labeling requirements for food and cosmetics are a great starting point, but it is little help that we can read a nutritional label on a food product to be aware of only primary ingredients, when a substance such as BPA could be leaching from the container into the food.
My decision to make my work about making a quality, sustainable product that helps children and my community brings my family and I great joy, and it continues to be a marvelous learning experience for all of us. I encourage the reader to not only support the efforts in congress to reform our outdated laws, but also to take action in their purchasing decisions. When educated consumers speak with their wallets by buying natural and organic products, they not only protect their own health, but more and more they are gaining the attention of our government and big industry.
Patricia Butter
Pleasantville, New York
For more information contact Patricia at info@buttercupnaturals.com
