moss Q and A

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Are your products pregnancy safe?

Depending on how conservative your ob/gyn is regarding ingredients like essential oils and willow bark extract, you might get different answers from different practitioners. This also depends on your body, your personal sensitivity to these ingredients, what risks are present or absent with the pregnancy, etc.

The truth is, little to no studies have been done in vivo since no woman wants to potentially endanger her baby for the sake of science.

moss’s founder Celestyna Higgins personally used all the moss products during her pregnancy (healthy full term baby) but if you have any doubts, it is advised to consult your doctor.

Please also note, the body goes through drastic hormonal changes during pregnancy and this manifests in different ways for different skins. Whether or not you use moss during pregnancy, be prepared for your skincare needs changing (often multiple times) during your pregnancy as well as your tolerance/preference for textures and scents.

More important than skincare, what we recommend (if at all possible), is to enjoy lots of rest and “empty” time during the pregnancy, building up reserves of energy and love. Pregnancy can be likened to the chrysalis stage in the life cycle of a butterfly, so stillness and inviting change, preparing for chance are highly recommended.

Why is there alcohol in your products? I heard it was drying for the skin.

The type of alcohols used in moss products are fatty alcohols. They are not the same thing as volatile alcohols. Examples of volatile alcohols include ethanol, vodka, rubbing alcohol, denatured alcohol, grain alcohol, etc.

Fatty alcohols are not a liquid – they are usually a creamy/waxy flake or pellet in appearance. They are included in our formulations as emulsifiers (helping to bind waters and oils into an emulsion like a cream/lotion) and/or as emollients (they help to hydrate and moisturize the skin). Examples of fatty alcohols include Cetyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Hydroxystearyl Alcohol, etc.

One reason you may see grain alcohol or denatured alcohol in skincare is because it is commonly used in plant extracts. Alcohol helps to extract both the fat soluble AND water soluble plant nutrition. Glycerin can be used in much the same way, resulting in an extract called a glycerite. At moss, we use glycerin rather than alcohol in our in-house extractions.

Usually, the alcohol present in skincare as part of a botanical extraction is not a very high percentage, 10% or less. Seeing alcohol in the ingredient list of a reputable, green skincare company is not necessarily a reason to avoid the skincare – we recommend sampling the skincare at first and making the choice based on what your skin tells you, NOT based on what the internet tells you.

Can you recommend a good sunscreen?

moss founder Celestyna personally uses and recommends demamiel Hydrating Nectar or Cotz Sunscreen Primer (this one does contain silicones just FYI).

Suntegrity and Mychelle also make sunscreens that are friendlier towards acne-prone skins.

We also recommend ALWAYS using antioxidant rich skincare in the am regardless of whether or not you are layering sunscreen over and/or planning to go outside.

Not all antioxidant skincare is created equal. Both moss’s Potentci Dermal Lifting Milk and AMBAR’s Daily Antioxidant Primer contain stable, powerful and (this is key) broad spectrum antioxidants that protect from oxygen and nitrogen free radicals as well as lipid peroxidation.