As the summer continues with lots of sun and even more bugs, I’d like to take a minute to list a couple products that you won't be seeing for sale on my website:
🚫 bug spray/repellant
🚫 sunscreen/suncream
🚫 any sort of “healing” balms or salve
Well, I’m glad you asked cause I'm about to tell you why...
First: Bug Spray (also known as skin-applied pesticides or Minimal Risk Pesticides)
Bug spray/repellent/bug-off or whatever you want to call it is a pesticide in the United States and falls under the regulatory responsibility of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). You don't have to register your bug repellent with the EPA if it falls under what they call a "minimum risk pesticide" but there are some pretty clear and specific requirements if you want to go that route. "All-natural bug spray" definitely has more label appeal than "skin-applied pesticide", don't you think?
Making and selling a legal bug repellant is definitely do-able, but at this point I want to focus my time and energy on other products and things I enjoy making.
Second: Sunscreen
Sunscreen, sun balm, sun cream, it's all a drug to the FDA and requires FDA approval to sell. Hard stop. Anyone who is selling sunscreen without FDA approval is playing Russian roulette with their customers' skin, hoping they don't get skin cancer. A disclaimer saying it hasn’t been approved by the FDA doesn’t cut it.
To be honest, I have at least two Soap Box posts I'm working on dedicated to the topic of homemade sunscreen. I've done a LOT of research on this topic and just how dangerous homemade sunscreen is absolutely horrific. So until I'm ready to spend about $25,000 on FDA approval, I won't be selling it. (spoiler: I don't think that will ever happen but I can point you to some of my favorite sunscreens as a pale girl if you ask). Sun exposure, your skin, and skin cancer is something I take very seriously. Please be incredibly careful if you choose.
Third: Healing Balms of any kind
Anything "healing" anything is considered a drug as far as the FDA is concerned. The handmade beauty industry is absolutely rampant with miracle creams, balms, and salves claiming to cure everything from eczema to infertility. It's bad. And not only is it unethical, it's also highly illegal. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Soap only cleans and I'm not going to try to blow smoke up your rear about the magical properties of rubbing animal fat on your skin.
Now I'm not saying that government regulatory agencies know everything about everything BUT they are in charge of the rules. And just like if someone decides to drive their car on a public road they need to follow the rules regarding driving speed, etc. as a maker of products that are being sold to the public there is a legal obligation for makers such as myself to follow the laws for our products.
All this to say: Please just be an informed consumer and make smart decisions for your skin... and please stop asking me to make these things cause I'm not gonna.
- Marissa
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