Quick chemistry reminder: you can’t mix oil and water. What you can do is make an emulsion, in which particles of oil are suspended in water (or vice versa) to produce a cream. Foods like milk and mayonnaise are common emulsions, for example.. In cosmetics, it can be difficult to make an emulsion that is both stable and safe. We use a product called emulsifying wax to help blend oil and water together. Purists will argue that this isn’t the most organic way to go, and they’re not totally wrong—if you want to keep things super crunchy, you might want to stick to products that keep oil and water separate.

However, we find that there are skin benefits to using emulsions. Have you ever tried to moisturize your hands using just oil? It’s pretty gross. And while there are rumored “natural” emulsifiers out there, we’ve found that they’re either not all that natural, or they they produce pretty icky and unstable results. The emulsifying wax we use is made from vegetable sources, and contains Cetearyl Alcohol and a sorbitol-based emulsifier called polysorbate. Its totally safe, non-toxic, and non-comedogenic (it won't clog your pores).