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Where do you buy the best food for you and your family? The best tasting and most nutritious food comes fresh and local, direct from the farmer, right? Why would shopping for the best natural skin care ingredients be any different?
When you look at the source of cosmetic ingredients, they come from all over the 
globe. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for fair trade and I source from all over the world…when a local option is unavailable. Let’s face it, some things just don’t grow very well in the Great Pacific Northwest, for example, Shea butter. My ingredient buying strategy is to first look as close to home as possible. And here’s why. It's all about freshness, quality, and supporting the community.
Most oils have a shelf-life of 1-2 years. Think about oils shipped by boat to the US. How much time is lost to logistics and paperwork? By the time the oil arrives at a port in the US, gets processed, repackaged and ready for resale how many months have passed? Probably not as fresh as oil bought directly from a local farm.
Consider, too, the lower standards for pesticide use in some countries. Many pesticides that are outlawed in the US as health hazards are still commonly used elsewhere. In fact, China has been exporting adulterated agricultural products containing unhealthy amounts of heavy metals to the US for years.
When ingredients are sourced locally it gives us the opportunity to understand the growing, harvesting and production practices. We can visit the farm and ask the producers questions about their products. And yay! for having a smaller carbon footprint from shipping shorter distances!
Purchases of products made with locally sourced raw materials is a vote with your dollars to support small businesses and farms in our region. It's a win-win.
In view of all of this, why purchase imported skincare ingredients if a fresher, higher quality product is available locally?
I buy as many of my natural skincare ingredients fresh from farms in the Pacific Northwest, for example, olive oil (California), camelina oil (Oregon), meadowfoam oil (Oregon), essential oils of lavender (Washington), clary sage (Oregon), cedarwood (Oregon), and peppermint (Washington). The high quality and freshness are driving factors. Click this link to read about my trip to a lavender farm in Washington State's Olympic Penninsula.
Don't feed your skin any less.
Wishing you health,
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