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Disclaimer & Warning
The information on this web site was gathered from various sources. It is in no way meant to prevent, cure, or diagnose any medical condition(s). Further, the products offered should not be used for purposes other than that for which they were intended. None of our products should be ingested or used internally. We accept no liability for the misuse of our products. Please do not rely on our products or information as a substitute for medical advice. If you have a medical problem, contact a medical doctor. Product statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. All items come from non-smoking pet-loving homes. Animals are not allowed in our work areas, however, if the occasional animal hair bothers you, please consider shopping elsewhere. Shipping We welcome customers from outside the US, and are happy to ship to you. Please include your e-mail address with your order and you will receive an updated shipping total. We usually ship once a week. Orders received before Friday at noon will generally be mailed on the following Tuesday. Please note our diapering supplies are shipped from a different address than our other products. PLEASE NOTE: When shipping our Body Butters in the warmer months or to warmer areas, we have discovered an issue with melting and/or leaking product. You now have the option of adding a small biodegradable ice pack to your box for just 35 cents. We GREATLY ENCOURAGE this option to ensure the product reaches you in the condition that it left us. If you choose not to purchase this option, we can't be responsible for damage or changes in the product due to exposure to excessive heat. Biodegradable Ice Packs Our Return/Refund Policy Special Requests Gifts
Our Soap Story The Recipe: The perfect soap starts with the perfect formula. Our vegan soaps begin their lives as a combination of food grade vegetable oils chosen for the special qualities that they lend to the finished bar. We choose Olive Oil for moisturizing and skin conditioning, Coconut and Palm Kernel Oil for a creamy rich lather. The next two ingredients are pure water and sodium hydroxide, commonly called lye. Lye is an essential part of converting oil into soap. When lye is dissolved in water, it is carried to all parts of the soap kettle to blend with the oil molecules. You cannot make soap without lye - don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Long ago the soap maker used potash leached from the ash of sea and land plants. Back then; soaps were harsh and quite unpleasant. Today's soap maker understands the science behind the chemical reaction that takes place in the soap kettle and soap mold. This knowledge assists the maker to create a balance between oils, water, and lye - so that the soap is not harsh - but mild and skin loving. Our favorite addition comes last but not least – hand stirred into the soap pot is fresh and pure essential or high-grade fragrance oil. These oils give the soap its wonderful aroma. The Process: We craft our gourmet soaps using the traditional old world cold-process method. Glycerin is a natural by-product of this process. Many soap making companies remove the glycerin and sell it to toiletry producers. Every drop of moisturizing glycerin remains in our soap where it belongs. In the last steps of the process, the soap is poured into hand crafted wooden molds and insulated with a heavy cloth. Inside the mold, the soap goes thru a metamorphosis of sorts. It turns into a clear gel and then into a hard slab of wonderfully soothing soap. The next day it is unmolded and sliced by hand into generous sized bath bars. From here it goes onto drying racks where it is aged to perfection. Unlike some hand-made soap, our bars have beveled edges that are smooth and easy on both hands and body. While heavier than most, our bars are not uncomfortable to hold like those with unfinished edges. The Testing: Our soaps are free of animal products, detergents, chemical hardeners or fillers. Like all of our products, they are never tested on animals; instead, we use very willing human testers! The Results: Our soap will not over strip your skin or leave it dry and taut like a store bought detergent bar will. Your skin will thank you for using a more natural alternative to “beauty bars”; pure soap that refreshes and restores. Our oils, along with the natural glycerin, result in a product so soothing that even people with the most sensitive of skin can use it. Using handmade, cold process soap is a great way to help with irritation and dry skin. It has been known to help with the symptoms of eczema, itchy, scaly or ashy skin and dryness. Our Wish: We hope that you will find delight in your fresh bar of handcrafted luxury soap. In our hurried world, stop and enjoy the creation of the kindhearted soap maker. Cautions: The usual common sense cautions apply – do not consume soap or get soap in your eyes. If you do happen to get soap in your eyes, flush with cool water. Contact your doctor if irritation persists. Should someone consume our soap, contact a poison control center or your doctor for instructions. African Black Soap Oils & Butters
Essential oils are the volatile, aromatic oils obtained by steam or hydro - distillation of botanicals. Most essential oils are composed of terpenes and their oxygenated derivatives. Different parts of the plants can be used to obtain essential oils; including the flowers, leaves, seeds, roots, stems, bark, and wood. We have listed the essential oils, and their place of origin, that are available for scenting our products. We use some essential oils purely for their specific therapeutic qualities, and do not make these available as scent choices. Fragrance oils are laboratory created versions of scents. The oils we choose are skin safe and selected for long lasting scent, with only a small amount needed. We use fragrance oils in products for adults only. If you have any scents you would like to see added, drop us an e-mail, we'll see what we can do. Shea Butter The traditional method for producing shea butter is as follows: The shea nuts are gathered, sorted, washed by hand, and dried in the sun. They are then shelled and pounded using traditional wood pestles. The crushed nuts are roasted in large metal pots and then ground. This yields a brownish paste, which is processed again between two granite stones, and then churned, (hand mixed and kneaded) with a bit of water for several hours. The result is a whitish paste - virgin raw (unrefined) shea butter. At this point, the butter can be filtered and poured into metal drums, this is known as virgin filtered (unrefined) shea butter. Or the butter can be placing it in cauldrons with water and heated to purify it, and then filtering and poured it into the drums; this is known as unrefined shea butter. Refined shea butter is usually not made in the traditional African way. Instead the shea nuts are shipped to other countries where the oil is extracted from them in factories using hexane or other petroleum solvents. The extracted oil is then heated to over 400°F with the addition of sodium hydroxide and antioxidants or preservatives such as BHA or BHT. The end result is an odorless white butter. Refined shea butter lacks the moisturizing, healing, and nutritive properties of traditional shea butter and can contain undesirable solvent residues. Generally, the mass-market shea butter you find in stores or as ingredients in store bought products is the refined type. The type of shea butter used by Kindhearted Women is virgin filtered (unrefined) shea butter. One of my suppliers writes:
"The Shea Butter that I supply is made using the traditional (by hand without chemicals) method by native women in Ghana, Africa. Shea Butter is a superior moisturizer and contains remarkable healing properties. The healing properties naturally occurring in the shea fruit is what sets it apart from all other fruit, vegetable and nut oils. Natural Unrefined Shea Butter has the highest percentage of these special natural ingredients and is ideal for healthier skin." And another supplier adds:
“Shea Butter is a natural product and will vary from batch to batch depending on current crop output. As with any naturally produced product, color and consistency cannot be controlled as Mother Nature cannot be controlled…This…shea butter uses only the highest quality hand selected shea nuts which yields a butter that is off white to pale yellow in color, with a wonderful nutty aroma and a softness rating of 9.” (Out of 10). Basically, there are three types of shea butter:
Kpangnan Butter (pronounced pie-nya) is a natural and unrefined fatty extract that comes from the kernels of the African Butter tree (Pentadesma butyracea) which grows in the rainforests and riverbanks in the west coast of Africa. The Butter Tree has very large flowers that are polinated only by bats. The butter we carry is produced in Togo, West Africa. First the fruits are gathered, then they are opened, the kernels removed, and the pulp washed away. The kernels are then dried in the sun. No chemicals are used in the production of this butter. Golden Shea is light to bright yellow in color and is quite different from our regular shea butter. While the fatty acid profiles of the two butters are quite similar, the non-fatty constituents differ. Kpangnan Butter has a slightly less creamy feel than Shea Butter, rather it feels more silky. Kpangnan Butter has a high fraction of a plant sterol called "stigmasterol". This substance is also found in plant fats such as the calabar bean, soybean and rape seed. Stigmasterol is used as a starting material in the manufacture of synthetic progesterone. Currently, research is being done to assess its ability to lower the risk of cancer, specificially ovarian cancer. This butter is a bit more pricey than our regular shea, due to the fact that it is still quite rare in the US. Supply may be limited.
Shealoe Butter Seamollient® Squalane: "Face Lift in a Bottle" The squalane used by Kindhearted Women is derived from pure olive oil. Olive oil has naturally occurring squalane in amounts from 0.1 to 0.7 percent. Squalane is a stable liquid that is odorless, tasteless and transparent. It is non-toxic, non-irritating, hypoallergenic and non-sensitizing. It is an ideal natural emollient, has an excellent compatibility with human skin and imparts an elegant non-greasy feel to the skin. Clays Kaolin Clay is also called White Cosmetic or China Clay. It is said to be first discovered on Mount Kaolin in the Kao-Ling region of China and brought to Europe in the 18th century. Kaolin is the mildest and least aggressive of all phyllitous clays. Its high aluminum content makes it the best product for tissue repair. The FDA recognizes Kaolin as safe and effective for the protection of the skin, and to reduce swelling, relieve discomfort, itching and inflammation. Externally, it can be used on wounds. It is a very gentle product and can be used on the most sensitive skin types of children and adults. DID YOU KNOW? · To meet the demand for disposable diapers in just the United States, approximately a quarter of a million trees, equivalent to 1.3 million tons of wood pulp, are required every year? · Disposable diapers make up the largest portion of Absorbent Hygiene Products in use in North America? · That according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, over 3.3 million tons of disposable diapers, including the untreated human waste contained therein, were sent to landfills in the year 2000? · That in Canada and the US more than 20,000,000,000 disposable diapers are discarded into our landfills each year? · Research suggests that one diaper can take up to 500 years to fully decompose? · That from birth to 30 months of age, the typical baby will go through over 5,000 disposable diapers, equaling a TON of landfill waste before being toilet trained. · The popular brands of disposable diapers contain a substance called "sodium polyacrylate" which, according to an Arch Environmental Health report in 1999, has been linked to childhood asthma. Use of this chemical has also been associated with diaper rash and bleeding of the perineal and scrotal tissues. · Problems reported to the Consumer Protection Agency regarding disposable diapers include; chemical burns, noxious chemical odors, babies pulling disposables apart and choking on tab papers and linings, plastic melting onto the skin, ink staining the skin, toxic shock syndrome and various allergic reactions. Materials We Use
We're Animal Friendly!
The Kindhearted Women do not use, sell, or promote the use of any of the above items - or the countless other "animal derived ingredients" available for use by the cosmetic industry.
Why We Use Preservatives in Some of Our Products The preservatives we use most often are LiquaPar Optima® and Germall Plus®. We use them at the absolute lowest dilution we can and still assure safety. Of course, care should still be taken not to expose our products to high temperatures (like the trunk of the car on a hot day) or to add anything to the products (like water). If you would like further information on either of our preservatives, please contact us, we will be glad to provide it to you. What's Wrong with Petroleum Products? Sensitivities & Reactions
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This product meets our standards in that it is biodegradable; 100% safe and non-toxic to humans, animals, and the environment (it's even used to ship food); and it won't leave your box wet if it does warm up (which we doubt, as it remains frozen a very long time)! It is cost effective to us, so it is low-cost to you. For just 35 cents you can now be assured that your products reach you in the very same condition that they left us. No more melted body butters! Simply choose the Priority Mail with Ice Pack option at check out if you are ordering temperature sensitive items (Body Butters in particular).
The benefits of Shea Butter (Butyrosperium Parkii) are found 
they can feel, and in fact, produce endorphins in response to pain. It takes over 4,000 cocoons to generate one pound of silk. Click 
bees must collect pollen from 2 million flowers. To accomplish this, they fly more than 55,000 miles! Bees are often killed, or their wings and legs torn off, by haphazard and rough collection of honey and wax. The keepers often leave no honey for the bees, not even the 60 pounds that the bees need to get through the winter. Instead, a cheap sugar substitute is left. This "replacement food" causes many bees to starve to death, as it is not as nourishing as the honey they worked all year to collect, produce, and store in preparation for winter. If the keeper considers it too costly to keep the bees alive through the winter, the hives are destroyed. Gasoline is dumped over them and they are set on fire.
- which sometimes eat the sheep alive. The males are castrated and all have their tails amputated without anesthesia. Sheep are sheared before they naturally shed their coats, so hundreds of thousands die of exposure every year. Unwanted lambs and sheep are sent to slaughter. Perhaps the worst wool of all is Karakul wool. Karakul wool is the tightly curled wool of an unborn lamb whose mother has been beaten on the stomach to abort it. Both mother and baby are killed in the process. Please remember that sheep produce their coats not for the benefit of humans, but for their own survival. For more information click 
The "oil" of both emus and ostriches is now being used in the soap and cosmetic industry. According to United Poultry Concerns "(The Emu and Ostrich industry)…want Americans to rub oil from slaughtered (birds) all over their skin as a miracle cure. Instead of snake oil, there's emu oil. But as the New York Times Magazine wrote on March 16, 1997: 'there's no convincing evidence that emu oil has medicinal value. Imagine saying to your wife, 'Here, stick this bird fat on your body'." (Jim Mjelde, Resource Economist - Texas A&M University). We at Kindhearted Women agree with Mr. Mjelde and United Poultry Concerns. We choose to rely on oils naturally extracted from plant sources. 
In addition to shark, emu, ostrich, bees, silk worms, and sheep, it is customary for some companies to add other animal "parts" and "products" to cosmetics and body care items. According to PETA, "Rendering plants process the bodies of millions of tons of dead animals every year, transforming decaying flesh and bones into profitable animal ingredients. The primary source of rendered animals is slaughterhouses, which provide the 'inedible' parts of all animals killed for food. The bodies of dogs and cats who are euthanized in animal shelters wind up at rendering plants, too."
Some "hidden" (and not so hidden) animal parts used in the body care industry include: Ambergris - from whale intestines. Arachidonic Acid - an unsaturated fatty acid that is found in the liver, brain, glands, and fat of animals. Cholesterol - a steroid alcohol in animal fat, nervous tissue, egg yolk, and blood. Collagen - fibrous protein in vertebrates. 
Cystine - an amino acid found in urine and horsehair. Elastin - protein found in the neck ligaments and aortas of cows. Fish Liver Oil, Fish oil and fish scales - from dead fish and other marine life. Gelatin (Gel) - protein obtained by boiling skin, tendons, ligaments, and/or the bones of dead cows, sheep and pigs. Hyaluronic Acid - protein found in the umbilical cords and the fluids around the joints. Keratin - protein from the ground-up horns, hooves, feathers, quills, and hair of various dead animals. Lactic Acid - found in blood and muscle tissue. Lanolin (Lanolin Acids, Wool Fat, Wool Wax) - a product of the oil glands of sheep, an allergen with no proven effectiveness in cosmetics. 
Mink Oil - fat from dead mink. Placenta, Placenta Polypeptides Protein - waste matter eliminated by the fetus, derived from the uterus of slaughtered animals. Royal Jelly - a secretion from the throat glands of the honeybee. Tallow - fat from dead cows. Turtle Oil - taken from the muscles and genitals of giant sea turtles. 
Alligator oil - newest and up-and-coming oil, fat from dead alligators. 