We are different

COVID-19 has put victims of domestic violence in further peril. We want to help them whilst helping keep our new family business afloat.⁠ ⁠ As you all know, Whitfords launched just before Christmas after years of hard work developing our formulas and finding the right ingredients and plastic-free packaging for those who don’t want to compromise their values when it comes to skincare. ⁠ ⁠ The current COVID-19 pandemic started only a couple of weeks after we launched and it’s now impacting our new business in a way we could not have anticipated.⁠ ⁠ We are worried about many things, the future of our business is obviously one of them but also the present situation of all those who are now living in lockdown with a violent partner. Women’s Aid is the national charity working to end domestic abuse against women and children. Their services save lives and they urgently need to raise money to keep these services running during this crisis. ⁠ ⁠ So we came up with this idea to help us both. We’ll raise as much money as possible and donate half to Women’s Aid as soon as the fundraiser ends. Then we’ll buy ingredients and get to work to manufacture a cream for very dry skin – we’ll all need it after so much soap and alcohol-based sanitising gel! It’ll obviously be vegan, plastic-free, cruelty-free and super high quality, like all Whitfords products. ⁠ ⁠ So by supporting this campaign (link in bio), you help us keep going during the COVID-19 crisis and at the same time help Women's Aid bring more women and children to safety.⁠ ⁠ Thanks for all your support!⁠ ⁠ Paula & Bertie ⁠ ⁠ .⁠ #covid19 #domesticabuse #notalone #supportsurvivors @womens_aid

You might have read in the news yesterday that hand sanitisers containing glutural - also known as glutaraldehyde- an ingredient banned for humans six years ago were seized in Birmingham, UK. Some of the bottles were not even labelled! We've also noticed in the past few weeks lots of DIY suggestions on how to make hand sanitiser at home and even brands selling "natural" hand sanitiser based on essential oils and vodka. ⁠ ⁠ We feel a responsibility to clarify the scientific and regulatory requirements that apply to hand sanitisers to make them efficacious, legal and safe to be sold in the EU (the rest of the world has different regulations in place so you need to check).⁠ ⁠ The science first. Some essential oils and botanical extracts can be effective against certain microorganisms but they don't provide broad spectrum protection and can also be irritating to the skin. You need at least 60% alcohol (either ethanol or Isopropyl alcohol), which is a broad-spectrum sanitising ingredient, in order to formulate a hand sanitiser. Vodka and other spirits usually contain 40% alcohol at most and this is just not enough to provide broad spectrum protection.⁠ ⁠ In terms of EU regulations, if the function of the product is to clean and/or moisturise hands whilst providing a secondary antimicrobial effect, then the product can be classed as a cosmetic. But if the only purpose of the product is to kill germs, disinfect or sanitise hands or prevent cross contamination, then the product is a biocide. It could even be classed as a medicine if it's presented as principally preventing or treating a disease or adverse condition. As you can see, there are lots of considerations and hoops to jump through in order to protect consumers.⁠ ⁠ [..] (post continues in comments. See below) ⤵️

The current COVID-19 crisis has turned the world upside-down and reminded us of our very own fragility as humans. For this post we want to focus on the positive because there's plenty. We just need to know where to look and what to focus on. ⁠ ⁠ * We are seeing neighbours checking on each other and helping the elderly, the immunocompromised and the self-isolated by buying groceries/medicines, chatting on the phone;⁠ ⁠ * Projects like @thebeautybanks @salihughes raising thousands of pounds in record time to make sure people across the UK can have access to personal hygiene products - the link to donate is in our bio; ⁠ ⁠ * Small businesses like @microdistillery using some of their ingredients to manufacture hand sanitiser and giving it to the local community in exchange for a donation to charity;⁠ ⁠ We could go on. Humans have a huge capacity for compassion and kindness and we'll cross this bridge together but we must make peace with the natural world surrounding us.

We’ve taken the best botanical ingredients that have proven efficacy – almost 40 of them! - and packed them in this little jar to get to work on the delicate area around your eyes. It absorbs rapidly, it’s a pleasure to apply and, best of all some might say, it goes beautifully under makeup!⁠ ⁠ And while all those amazing ingredients work on your skin 24/7, restoring, replenishing and tackling puffiness and fine lines, the formula also contains pomegranate carbohydrates that create a film on the skin resulting in a temporary but noticeable lifting effect.⁠ ⁠ No added fragrance or essential oils, just the gentle scent of the botanical ingredients in the formula.⁠ ⁠ What’s not to love about our Fruits & Seeds Eye Cream? Try it today: whitfords.co.uk

Ingredient Focus. Wasabi Extract. At Whitfords, we don’t use petroleum-derived preservatives for sustainability reasons and instead, we choose to work with weak salts and acids. Some people might call these “natural preservation systems”. ⁠ ⁠ Working with these milder preservatives requires extra help so we often pair them with ingredients that have a dual purpose – sometimes called “boosters”. For example, a certain ingredient can have moisturising properties and at the same time help preserve the final product. Wasabi extract is a great example of a booster. ⁠ ⁠ It’s produced by macerating and fermenting the roots of the indigenous Japanese plant Wasabia japonica with Lactobacillus. It’s a powerful antioxidant for the skin – it protects DNA against damage caused by free radicals while promoting the activity of other antioxidants - and it also shows significant antimicrobial activity at very low concentrations in the formula – so we don’t need add loads to benefit from its properties. ⁠ ⁠ And don’t worry, the extract doesn’t smell! ⁠ ⁠ Find this wonderful multifunctional ingredient in our: Hemp & Algae Face Cream, Fruits & Seeds Eye Cream.⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ #MyValuesMySkincare #WhitfordsSkincare #whitfordslondon #indiebeauty #wasabi #botanicalskincare #plasticfreeskincare #petroleumfreeskincare #plasticfreeliving #plasticfree #sustainable #sustainability #reusable #consciousliving #greenbeauty #nopetroleum #naturalskincare #sustainablebeauty #veganproducts #SkincareWithoutPlastic #ethicallymade #ethicallifestyle #veganskincare #veganism #veganlifestyle #crueltyfreeskincare #noplastic #veganbeauty #beauty #crueltyfree

Where we stand: Petroleum⁠ ⁠ Hand in hand with our pledge not to use plastics for sustainability reasons, comes our decision not to use petroleum-derived ingredients. They are not necessarily bad for your skin but petroleum is not renewable, therefore not sustainable. Thousands of plant-derived cosmetic ingredients exist and there is absolutely no good reason to incorporate petroleum into our skincare routines.⁠ ⁠ You might be wondering how can you possibly know if an ingredient is petroleum-derived? All skincare/cosmetic products in the EU must, by law, list all their ingredients on the labels in descending order (the ingredient at the top of the list is the one with the highest concentration within that product). We recommend you make it a habit to read these labels – we know it’s daunting but some ingredients are easy to spot and the more you do it, the more you’ll be able to make informed decisions about what you put on your skin. Here’s a short list of ingredients that are petroleum-derived: ⁠ ⁠ * Mineral oil⁠ * Petroleum jelly⁠ * Carbomer (present in most gels! That's why our exfoliator and gel serum are so amazing and petroleum-free!)⁠ * Paraffin wax⁠ * PEGs (polyethylene glycols)⁠ * SLS/SLES (sodium lauryl sulfate / sodium laureth sulfate)⁠ * Anything with DEA (diethanolamine) or MEA (ethanolamine)⁠ * Phenoxyethanol⁠ * Parfum/Fragrance (fragrances are protected secrets and lots of them use petroleum-derived ingredients)⁠ ⁠ And you can be safe in the knowledge that at Whitfords we will never use any of these ingredients. ⁠ ⁠ Now you know where we stand!⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ #MyValuesMySkincare #WhitfordsSkincare #whitfordslondon #indiebeauty #botanicalskincare #plasticfreeskincare #petroleumfreeskincare #plasticfreeliving #plasticfree #sustainable #sustainability #reusable #consciousliving #greenbeauty #nopetroleum #naturalskincare #sustainablebeauty #veganproducts #SkincareWithoutPlastic #ethicallymade #ethicallifestyle #veganskincare #veganism #veganlifestyle #crueltyfreeskincare #noplastic #veganbeauty #beauty