By Angela Clifton, founder of Edenwild
Quick answer: Edenwild builds its formulas around whole botanicals slow-infused at a gentle concentration instead of around essential oil blends. Essential oils are highly concentrated and among the more common triggers for reactive skin. We still use some sparingly as supporting notes. Alpenglow is now fully essential-oil-free.
If you've looked closely at an Edenwild ingredient list, you may have noticed something. Most of our formulas aren't built around an essential oil blend. That's intentional. It's a choice that's become even more deliberate as we've sharpened our focus on sensitive, reactive skin for every generation in a household. Babies, adults and mothers alike.
We haven't eliminated essential oils entirely. Some, like frankincense, helichrysum and neroli, still show up in select formulas. We use them sparingly and for specific reasons. But we don't design a product around an essential oil blend the way much of the skincare industry does. Here's why.
skincare rooted in transparency
Ancestral Formulas, Made for Modern Families
Every Edenwild formula starts with a question: would we put this on our daughters' skin? If the answer is no, it doesn't make the cut. Formulated near Yellowstone.
If our philosophy resonates with you, you'll want to join the Collective, where we dive deep into ingredients and offer exclusive surprises and discounts.
two different ways of extracting from a plant
Essential oils and whole botanical infusions both come from plants. But they're very different extraction methods, and that difference matters more than it might seem.
An essential oil is a highly concentrated, distilled extract. It's usually pulled from a plant through steam distillation, which isolates its aromatic compounds into a very potent liquid. It takes a large amount of plant material to make a small amount of essential oil. That's part of why they're so concentrated. You're getting a narrow slice of the plant's most volatile compounds without the rest of the plant.
A whole botanical infusion works differently. Instead of distilling out a concentrated fraction, we slow-infuse the whole botanical over a long stretch of time. Think calendula, chamomile and marshmallow root. Most of our infusions are made in jojoba oil, and some go directly into grass-fed and finished tallow from suet. This draws out a broader range of the plant's compounds gradually and at a much gentler concentration.
Neither method is better in the abstract. They're suited to different goals. Our goal is a sensitive-skin standard that works for a baby, an adult and a mother in the same home. For that goal, the two methods carry different tradeoffs.
why we don't build around essential oil blends
Because essential oils are so concentrated, they're also among the more common triggers for reactive skin. That includes some widely considered gentle. Tea tree is popular in natural skincare, but it's also a known source of contact sensitization for some people. That means repeated exposure can make a reaction more likely over time. It's a recognized pattern with several common essential oils, not just tea tree.
Our brand is built around one question: would we put this on our daughters' skin? We formulate for every age and skin type in a family, so that tradeoff matters. A formula built around a strong essential oil blend might smell wonderful and work well for a lot of people. But it adds a real risk for reactive skin that a whole botanical infusion generally doesn't carry at the same level, because infusions extract at a far lower concentration.
No ingredient is right for every single person. Calendula, chamomile and yarrow belong to the daisy family, so anyone with a known sensitivity to those plants should check our ingredient lists first.
This is part of why we've been reworking existing formulas instead of starting from scratch. Morning Dew used to include tea tree essential oil. We've since removed it and added myrrh resin, which has its own long history of traditional skin use. Alpenglow went even further. It's now fully essential-oil-free, with yarrow added to its whole botanical infusion alongside myrrh resin.
where we still use essential oils, and why
None of this means essential oils are always the wrong choice. Some of our formulas still include specific essential oils. We use them in a targeted, sparing way and never as the backbone of the formula.
Here's the distinction we draw. An essential oil used as one supporting note in a botanical-infusion-based formula is very different from a formula built mainly around an essential oil blend. The first is a small, deliberate addition we can stand behind at low usage levels. The second is a much bigger gamble across the range of skin types and ages we formulate for.
Frankincense oil in particular has centuries of traditional use behind it. Where we use it, it sits alongside frankincense resin instead of serving as the formula's central structure. The resin does the heavier lifting and the oil plays a smaller, supporting role.
Myrrh, frankincense's longtime companion along ancient trade routes, follows the same thinking. In Morning Dew and Alpenglow we use myrrh as a resin instead of an essential oil. In Alpenglow it's slow-infused right alongside calendula, chamomile, marshmallow root and yarrow, so it comes in at the same gentle concentration as the rest of the botanicals.
which Edenwild products contain essential oils
Here's where every essential oil in our line lives. If a product isn't scented with essential oils, it says so here.
| Product | Essential oils | Why they're there |
|---|---|---|
| Happy Baby Balm | None | Made for the most sensitive skin in the family, so it's scented only by its slow-infused botanicals. |
| Happy Baby Soap Bar | None | A gentle everyday wash for little ones and anyone with reactive skin. |
| Alpenglow Face Serum | None | Fully reformulated without essential oils. Myrrh resin is slow-infused with the botanicals instead. |
| Bare Shampoo Bar | None | Our simplest shampoo bar for sensitive scalps. |
| Golden Root Antioxidant Balm | Frankincense | A supporting note alongside slow-infused frankincense resin, which does the heavier lifting. |
| Nectar Face Serum | Helichrysum | A small amount for its long history in traditional skincare. |
| Morning Dew Balm | Neroli, bergamot (bergaptene-free) | A soft scent at a low usage level. Tea tree was removed in our latest reformulation. |
| Creamsicle Tallow Lip Balm | Sweet orange, styrax benzoin | The creamsicle scent and flavor. An essential-oil-free lip balm is in the works. |
| Aire Conditioner Bar | Grapefruit, bergamot | A light aroma while you rinse in a rinse-off product. |
Every product page lists its full ingredients, so you can always check before you buy.
what this looks like in practice
This is an ongoing shift across our line, not something that happened all at once. As we reformulate, the pattern stays the same. Whole botanicals slow-infused are the default foundation. Essential oils are saved for specific, limited uses where we've decided the tradeoff is worth it. And more and more, we're moving away from even that when a whole botanical can do the job.
It's a slower, more deliberate way to formulate than reaching for a pre-made essential oil blend. But our standard is what we'd put on our own daughters' skin, and now on our own skin and our mothers' skin too. Deliberate is the point.
Visit our ingredient glossary to learn more about every ingredient in our formulas, and our Never List to see what we've chosen to leave out.
read more
- pufas in skincare: why we limit high pufa oils in our skincare
- what is grass-fed tallow and why is it so good for skin?
- bakuchiol vs. retinol: why this ancient plant compound is the gentler choice
-
frankincense for skin: why most brands are using the wrong form of this ancient ingredient
shop Edenwild
- sensitive skin: for little ones and sensitive skin
- renewal: a complete routine for little ones
- everyday essentials: lightweight everyday balm for all skin types
- bundles: bundle + save
0 comments