Frequently Asked Skin Care Questions:

Q. What purpose does the soy protein serve in the Lavender cream?
A, The soy acts as a natural emulsifier. We do not yet, have an organic source. Thank you for your support of USDA certified organic growers.

Q. For your Oil Free Skin Conditioning Serum you say that "Laminaria dries easily with amazing shrinkage" what does it mean?
A. It is a seaweed and when you take it out of the water and put it in a jar it dries, up to twenty years later you can reintroduce water to it and it will retain up to 200 times its own weight in water. Amazing....

Q.What do you recommend as far as sun protection. I read that you don't recommend titanium dioxide nor zinc oxide!
A. Dear Della, they both can be nanoparticles, which are thought to be potentially very dangerous. I use big brimmed hats, shade, helmets, etc. I also think a good dose of sun everyday can be very healthly, just of course, not over done. Have you tried our products or read the section in my book about the sun? Lily
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Q. Do any of your ingredients contain corn or corn byproducts or hemp?
From what does the vegetable glycerine come?
A. We dont use hemp or corn and the Vegetable glycerin comes from the by product of soap making. Lily's book is chock full of this kind of information.

Q. What is the real truth on Grapefruit seed extract?
A. I hear your pain. Yes, it is deliberately made confusing for the consumers so they cannot figure anything out and will just be happy with continued use of synthetic chemicals!!
The Grapefruit seed extract was created my a German born Dr. who was literally a rocket scientist. He came to America and came up with this process that uses ultraviolet light and grapefruit seeds along with vegetable glycerin that will usually preserve products for about 1 yr. I spoke to him on the phone back in the early 80's his English was difficult to understand over the phone.
A few years ago his US Patent expired and other companies could start making the grapefruit seed extract. This is where I think the confusion begins. There are a couple other companies that now manufacture the grapefruit seed extract and they may being something differently.
I however have a signed document by the owner of the original company with the US Patent who states they never use anything synthetic.
Unless you make your own products, some preservation precautions need to be taken, that is why we use the grapefruit seed extract. But what most people don't understand, is there are many natural preservatives that are effective, for one month or one year, but not for 25 years. Parabens, methyl glycol, urea, etc., will make products last your entire lifetime. Grapefruit seed extract is only good for about a year. If it had parabens in it, it would last 25 years. That is one way all of my customers know my products are truly natural, they go bad! We only guarantee them for one year. I hope that answers your questions. Our products are not only synthetic chemical free, they are made fresh weekly on our own organic farm! We make the best products in the world. Lily

Q. How do you obtain your essential oils?
A. We purchase our essential oils already distilled. We have over 100 suppliers.

Q. Why is there sometimes a sediment in your products?
A. Since our products are purely botanical, we make them with herbs, and strain them many times by hand, sometimes you will have residue sediment, frankly, that's a good sign and a indication of a purely natural product.

Q. Do Lily Products have a shelf life or do they need to be refrigerated?
A. We guarantee our products will have a one year shelf life to our stores. That means if they deteriorate, we will replace them for the store. Since we make our products up fresh every week, we recommend stores only purchase what they can sell in a month or so, that way you will always have fresh product. We want people to use our products up right away, you can keep them in a refrigerator for extra freshness, but if you buy them and use them, it should not be necessary.

Q. Where does the unusual scent of Lily Products come from?
A. All of the Lily Products are scented with pure 100% essential oils. Lavender and Ylang Ylang are my favorites so therefore, you will find many of them with those essential oils. The Oil of Kukui and Herbal Moisturizer are not scented at all, the scent of the Herbal Moisturizer is simply the natural scent of the blended herbs, and the Oil of Kukui is just the natural scent of the oil. The reason many people do not recognize the scents is because most of the scents these days are synthetic and most companies do not go to the trouble or expense of using pure oils.

Q. Are all of the herbs in Lily products grown organically?
A. No, I wish. While organically grown herbs are becoming more plentiful, they are still not widely and consistently available, we do not want to put "organically grown" on our products and then have trouble keeping that promise. However, we are 80% organic and have our own certified organic farm!

Q. What skin types are Lily products formulated for?
A. We have many products that are for specific skin types, but the American consumer does not seem to be ready for the concept that many natural products do not need to be limited to specific skin types. For example, Lavender historically has been used for oily skin and then again for dry skin, it has been used as an aphrodisiac and then again to remain chaste, the point is it is balancing. Herbs and essential oils are composed of the same chemical compounds as your body. Synthetic ingredients are designed by man to do one specific thing. For example, detergents are made to reduce surface tension and do so very effectively and part of that process is to strip dirt and oils. So, maybe you would use a detergent on oily skin, but never never on dry skin. Botanicals are not like that. Soapwort can be used on any skin type, but then it doesn't lather enough, and we have been cultured to believe that soaps should lather.

Q. What are the active ingredients in your products?
A. Every ingredient is an active ingredient in any product. Every ingredient you put into a product is going to change the chemical consistency of the product, whether you want it or not, whether you plan on it or not. So the question comes from a person who has bought into a commercialized mindset that doesn't believe that every ingredient is already active. You see, I am of the mind set that a product can not perform better than its ingredients.

Q. What make this product work? The fancy packaging, the big price, the cetyl alcohol, the parabens, the propylene glycol or what?
A. This is how I got started. I wanted to know the difference between Oil of Olay and Clinique. Is Clinique worth paying five times as much for? Does it work better? O.K., Why does it work better and what ingredient makes it an effective moisturizer, an effective treatment for acne? What specific ingredient in this jar makes it work? Every ingredient we put in every product not only is active, but is placed in the preparation for a specific purpose, to function as it has historically. For example, our mist contains seaweed to soothe and attract moisture, Lily because it helps reduce scares, Chamomile for its anti-inflammatory action, Calendula for its antispasmodic and skin relaxing action, Comfrey for its self proliferation properties. The Vegetable Glycerin helps the skin produce and retain moisture, Essential Oil of Lavender is antibacterial and balancing on your skin, Ylang Ylang is an antidepressant and the Grapefruit Seed Extract is high in Vitamin C and a preservative.

Q. Will Lily Organics products make my skin look better?
A. Yes, when you improve your general health two fold, by not putting toxic chemicals on your skin and add healthful, nourishing, healing, herbs and oils to the skin it will look radiant!

Q. Are all of your products pH Balanced?
A. We do not routinely do pH testing, we usually do it in developmental stages and as part of the overall testing in the beginning, prior to putting the product on the market. When you make a natural and clean product, a purely botanical product, you can not guarantee 100% consistency. You can only do that with synthetics. When you make fresh salsa or green chile, or vegetable soup, it is never identical. It depends on where the tomatoes are harvested, how much rain fall that year, how much care they had. Did they have a freeze that season? How much were they watered? What was the consistency of the soil? Were they grown in sunny California or overcast Michigan? What variety? When were they harvested? Are they Ripe? Did they ripen on the vine? In your refrigerator? Have they been in cold storage? For how long? Mother Nature has many variables, the synthetic manufactures do not, and that is why more people do not make pure products.

Q. Are your products non-comedogenic?
A. A product is only its ingredients. So, you would need to look down the ingredients list and independently decide what ingredients you think are safe.

Q. Why we do not have any "eye" products.
A. The FDA has strict regulations regarding any product with the word, "eye" on it. They have a list of powerful chemicals that must be in the product by law. It is against the law to make a synthetic chemical free eye product at this time. If it has the word, "eye" on it, by law it must have synthetic chemicals in it.

Q. How did you come up with the idea of using household items to create skin care products?
A. I came up with the idea to make my own plant based skin care, out of process of elimination. I had terrible acne and I could not find anything to work. I grew up on a farm so trying plants came naturally.

Q. What are the benefits to using organic and all-natural products on your skin that you make yourself?
A. Making your own is far superior, because you can control the ingredients. Most all commercial brands have synthetic chemicals that are downright harmful. You can be sure all ingredients are plant based and fresh. Plants have the best properties for wrinkles. For example, comfrey actually helps your skin grow and re knit.

Q. What makes the ingredients you are suggesting so beneficial? Why did you choose them over other ingredients?
A. In my book I outline about 20 different herbs and what exactly they are used for over hundreds of years to benefit the skin. For example, lavender has over 10,000 documented uses. Plants are truly healing. I pick each herb for each product based on its performance in the product. For example, many herbs are highly anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory. This is very important in making a skin care product. Often what makes us look older is puffiness or inflammation. Many herbs, like comfrey, are cell proliferants, that regrow or reknit the skin.

Not only do we make skin care products that benefit your skin, but we also make products that benefit Mother Earth, the soil, and the environment in general. You cannot get more green than being an organic grower!!

On the other hand, synthetic chemicals are not only often toxic to our bodies and harm our skin, but they also harm the environment. There is no lasting benefit to most mass produced skin care products. The ingredients are many times harmful to the skin and the planet. Look up the ingredients in your favorite skin care product and see for yourself, is what I recommend. A product cannot perform better than its ingredients!

Q. You are a seventh generation farmer, what is your best advice for women in regards to skincare? Sun protection?
A. Regarding sun protection, I recommend that you never wear sun screen unless you really need to. For example, if you are very fair skinned or you will be outside for long periods of time that is one thing, but most sun screens are highly toxic and harmful. Nano-particles are a new technology that breaks down ingredients so small they actually enter the blood stream and they are not even sure just how harmful they are yet, but they do know they wreck havoc on the body. I also recommend you wear a hat, super light weight organic cotton shirts, try to stay in shade, etc. The average American spends very little time in the sun, yet wears make up, etc. with sunscreen daily.