A Simple Body’s philosophy is to make products with only the ingredients that your body can use, ingredients that make sense like cocoa butter, olive oil and vitamin e. We’ve left out all the artificial ingredients, fillers and harmful chemicals, leaving only what what’s good for you and your skin. These moisturizers are made with the simplest, high quality ingredients, and the simplest formulas so you can enjoy the long lasting softness that comes straight from nature.
I, Laura Dahl, am a fine artists with a degree in Photography. My photography focuses on making my own papers by mixing various light sensitive chemicals, and I took intense ceramics courses that involved mixing my own clay bodies and glazes. This understanding of chemistry and formulation lead me to developing my skin care products. I first made lotion bars and lip balm with my homeschool friends as a craft and we instantly fell in love with what we made. The lip balm was far better than anything I had bought in the stores, and the lotion bar soothed my itchy skin. I have spent the last year perfecting and testing my recipes, researching skin care and skin products, and loving the products that I’ve been making. I know that my product is ready for market when it has become my favorite. My challenge is to make products that use only the ingredients that your skin uses (plus fragrance because we love it), avoiding fillers and weird complicated ingredients that do nothing for your skin.
What inspired you to go into the craft business, do you still have a day job? My friend said, “we should go into business selling these things.” I said, “Yes!” She eventually decided that this wasn’t what she wanted to do, but I loved what I was making and became more and more committed to my philosophy of making products with ingredients that make sense. I have found new partners that are as enthusiastic about our products as I am; we love how well they work and how healthy they are. Combining our inspirations, we have worked through formulas, new products, packaging, promotion.
I still home school my children, one who’s in college, one in 4th grade, and one learning to crawl. I am committed to giving my kids the best education they can have and teaching them the things that make sense for them and their particular talents. My oldest son is a musician, my middle son is an amazing gymnast, and the baby is a terrible flirt and charms everyone who meets her. And I do have a wonderful husband who is very supportive of my new business venture.
Describe your creative process when designing/making your product line. Starting with two basic products that made my skin feel so much better then anything else I had, I wanted to continue the search for other products that worked as well to replace the things I buy at the store. I am disturbed by the ingredient lists on skin and hair care products from the store. I don’t know, nor do I want to know what half of these things are. I want to make products that work, with ingredients are understandable. Where do I start? With my own needs first. I need a better face wash, so we research the best way to care for skin and try different ways to wash. Many times we find that the best way to take care of your skin are ancient ways. Washing with oil is something the Roman’s did; they would soak in their warm baths, then cover themselves with oil to release the dirt. A Simple Body Face and Body Wash simplifies this process–no slaves or bath fees needed.
What’s the best thing about what you do? And the worst? I love the fact that I use very simple ingredients, and that by doing this the products work so well and have only what your skin needs. This is challenging to make formulas, and the way the product is used is often different than the lotions and washes that most people are used to using. So education is a huge part of what I do.
I am committed to clear language in how I promote my business. I want my ingredient list to be readable and understandable. I also avoid using meaningless buzz words like “all natural”, “non-comedogenic”, “bimolecular”, “nourishing”. Take a word like “microlift”: what does it mean? Does it mean that the lift that it gives your skin is microscopic? Nothing out there can truly promise that it’s take care of all your acne, make you look younger, or help you catch that man. But it is important to gently take care of your skin, to clean it twice daily and protect it from the elements and too much sun. It’s just that simple.