When Loving ME! isn't enough

The purpose of this blog is twofold, its obviously a blog about spa parties which include elements of entertaining, health and beauty; but its also a forum for me to share my adventures in starting and running a mobile spa party business. So here is Blogary (blog + diary) entry numero uno.

I'm a DIYer when it comes to some things, one of which is body products. This is not to say I never buy commercial lotions and potions but I've been known to whip of a nice batch of shea butter from time to time. After getting turned on to Carol's Daughter more than a decade ago at summer street fairs I figured hey... I can do this. As I became more adept at making body oils, butters and sugar scrubs I learned a lot about the properties of the raw ingredients, uses for different essential oils etc. When I embarked on this journey to be a mobile spa owner, one of the first decisions I had to make was whether or not to create my own product line of body products or use ones that are commercially available.

As a stay-at-home mother of a 1-year old busy body, I decided I'd likely have my hands full managing the other aspects of the business and shouldn't bite off more than I can chew by committing myself to making all of the products to be used in our spa services. Making the decision to use other people's products also gives me the opportunity to build confidence in my business by using products people either know and love, have heard of and would love to try, or at least those which recieve rave reviews in googleland. In my search for the best spa quality products I've learned so much more about the ingredients (good & bad) that are often used in our cosmetics and bath products. See Pt. I of my Green Manicure blog post for information on the dangers of some of the chemicals we regularly slather on our bodies.

Being a mother, and knowing that my initial market would be children's parties, it was that much more important for me to find products that are paraben free, phalate free, and nut free because of the prevalance of tree nut allergies. Luckily, finding products free from harmful chemicals is not too difficult in today's educated marketplace. However, finding nut free products has become increasingly difficult. Two of the favorite oils used in many nourishing, quality, nautral body products are Sweet almond oil and shea butter (which is also derived from a nut). The fact that Hennergy's services include henna application adds another element because using an oily moisturizer would affect the chemistry involved with acheiving a good henna stain. Needless to say the search for the perfect products has been daunting.

When I came across ME! Bath Products I thought I may have found my solution. ME! Shower Sherbet (which I'll review more throughly in an upcoming post), passes all my tests as it is free from harmful chemicals and is glycerin rather than oil based. Their Body Icing (lotion), which would be a perfect completment to the Sherbet, is nice and light, hydrating and filled with vitamins, but contains shea butter. Finding another lotion is doable. The kicker is the ME! Bath Ice Cream, which I reviewed in my previous post.

The ME! Bath Ice Cream comes in a range of flavors that call to mind (or nose) exotic locales which fit in perfectly with my "Spa Parties with Spice" themes. I had planned on using the Bath Ice Cream in my Mommy & ME! series which is a set of three themed mother and daughter spa party experiences. I'm now wondering if I should abandon the ME! Bath Ice Cream all together or simply include a nut warning so that customers are aware. I wouldn't feel comfortable issuing nut warnings for the other parties b/c a party host may be unaware of the allergies that some of her daughter's guests suffer from. However, with the Mommy & ME! series each girl would be attending the spa experience with her mother which adds in a safe-gaurd for all parties involved.

I really think that most customers would really enjoy the Bath Ice Cream, and it has proven to be a top seller at other spas. I just wonder if issuing a warning is enough, or do I just look flaky on my no nut policy?

Please comment and tell me what you think.