Tonight I’m sitting at the kitchen table, talking and half listening to NPR on the radio. I’m thinking about the process of anointing myself with oil, and what it means for my body.

Skin: It’s the largest organ in our bodies.

I’m talking with my partner; just the two of us are at the table, and I’m putting small amounts of a body butter on my arms and legs. A little at a time. As I do this I’m thinking for a moment about each part of my body. My ankles, and what they do for me everyday. How they carry me around. I’m thinking about ingredients. And how this Lavender is such a soothing thing to put on my feet. I’m thinking about my calf muscles. They get sore when I stand too long or when I sit too long. I’m enjoying the massage and the cool touch of Aloe in this particular cream. I’m using just pea sized amounts and spreading it out, a tiny bit at a time. I’m thinking about my knees. About a car accident when I was younger and the leftover ache. I’m thinking about my scars, and how much my body has been through over all these years. I’m grateful. I’m thinking about the pointy elbows that embarrassed me as a teenager. I’m thinking about all the times that these elbows took a hit so that some other part of me wouldn’t have to…

There’s something about skin. Maybe I’m thinking about it because I’m on a journey that loves my body, and I’m trying to mirror that Love. It covers every inch of us. When I think about skin, I thank everything that lies underneath of it. What a remarkable gift, to have a heart that beats and moves my blood without my conscious thought! To have cells that grow and duplicate and heal while I remain unknowing… But I do know that whatever I touch and whatever touches me, will meet my skin along the way.

Earlier today I was mixing up a batch of my Lavender Recovery Recipe, so that’s what I was using tonight. It’s my favorite thing when I really want to soothe and nurture… The aloe is so amazing. I keep mine in the fridge, on the top shelf, and it gets hard. I take it out whenever I think about using it, and within a couple hours it’s soft and whippy. But when I’m impatient, like tonight, I just wash my hands really well and then dig it out of the jar, melting the chunks in my hands…

Because of this particular cream, I’m thinking about Luauna, a woman who inspires me constantly. I’m thinking about sending her another jar. I don’t think the last one had the Lavender in it. She is a beautiful soul. I’m thinking about giving this product to people who really need it. Good thoughts, while I take in the scent of pretty purple flowers, ceremonial herbs and ancient trees that stand strong in changing waters…

When we care for our skin, we can take the opportunity to think about all the parts of our bodies that are protected by this beautiful covering. We can massage the parts that are sore, we can water the parts that are dry, we can feed the parts that are trying to heal themselves… When we take that few minutes to care for ourselves, we’re better equipped to care for our world.

And by the way, if you or someone you know is going through radiation treatments or chemotherapy, has severe skin damage or a serious skin condition, I believe they might benefit from this particular product. Contact me ( SheaByShay@gmail.com) and we’ll get them a Giving Jar. 

Spread the Skin Care Love & Enjoy your Day,

Shay Kelley

A friend of a friend mentioned a product she was using, and I looked it up. It’s the internet age, these things are two clicks away…. Right away I took a look at the ingredients list. I actually had to expand it, and then zoom out to fit it all on the screen for the shot.

Personally, this freaks me out. And they were charging $40 for less than 2oz of product. Here’s another example:

This is the back of a bottle of product I used to use on my face! Yikes! I checked some of the ingredients on this one. Here’s the verdict. Mineral Oil and Petrolatum are both petroleum byproducts that cannot be absorbed by the skin, they just sit on top of the surface. Practically useless. Cetyl palmitate is the ester derived from palmitic acid and cetyl alcohol. Cetyl Alcohol is an emulsifier, used to get the oil and the water to mix. Glycerin is essentially a byproduct of soap, and Glyceryl Hydroxytearate and Stearic Acid (which used to be harvested from the stomachs of farm animals and from the bodies of euthanized cats and dogs, but I think they’ve turned to more synthetic production methods) is also an emulsifier, used to make oil and water mix. I skipped down at this point because I was curious about that DMDM Hydantoin, and sure enough, it can potentially cause cancer and is rated a 7 out of 10 in toxicity (highly hazardous to health) by an environmental working group called Skin Deep. Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate is rated moderately hazardous because it can cause organ and tissue damage. The polymers haven’t been studied too much in America, but some production companies warn that repeated use can cause dermatitis. They are manufactured with Benzene, and some of that is proven to linger and be absorbed by the skin and into the blood, particularly in this specific polymer. Benzene is a known carcinogenic chemical, also found in our food. And our skin is the largest organ in our bodies.

Feel free to browse my ingredient list. Do some research. Make a decision that’s right for you. I’ve linked them all to websites that will assist you in getting more information, and some of them might even offer to sell you the ingredient or some other product. I don’t care! Buy it if you want it. My stuff is better for me. It uses all of these ingredients in combinations that heal, cleanse, moisturize and protect my skin in amazing ways. And they all come directly from the plants that have been healing us for eons. Ancient civilizations, indigenous cultures…

The root of all people grows in the earth where it was planted. Intuitively, people know what to do with these plants.

And I’m committed to learning. Every time you purchase one of my products, you are testing my intuitive sense of chemistry. It’s why I love feedback.

And I love these ingredients.

Unrefined, Raw Shea Butter. My primary ingredient. The foundation of my products. It has my name. It’s spectacular. Rich in vitamins A, E, D, F, and K. If you only read about one product, read about this one!

Raw Mango Butter. Found in two products, the Mango My Morning Cream and the Summer Day Skin Drink. Shea butter has more minerals and vitamins, but the absorption rate is faster with Mango, and it leaves a satin finish. There is no oily feeling, and it smells sweeter than Shea. They work fabulously together. Read More.

Aloe Vera Juice. Found in the Lavender Recovery Cream, the Summer Day Skin Drink, and the Royal Jelly & Aloe Eye Cream. From a plant that grows plentifully in our farm store, and is propagating at fantastic rates. You can find it for sale at most garden stores, and it’s a great plant to have at the house for a summer sunburn. Read More.

Coconut Oil. Avocado Oil. Sweet Almond Oil. Jojoba Oil. Apricot Kernel Seed Oil. Grapeseed Oil. Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Safflower Oil. Castor Oil. Sesame Seed Oil. Camellia Seed Oil. Evening Primrose Oil. Calendula Oil. Argan Oil. Emu Oil. Meadowfoam Oil. Raw Honey. Beeswax. Royal Jelly. Organic Comfrey Leaf. Vitamin E. Essential Oils & Absolutes

All of theses oils are cold-pressed and organic. If you have any other questions, feel free to email me.

SheaByShay@gmail.com