ARE YOUR PRODUCTS CRUELTY FREE?
As huge animal lovers, our Thorn Ridge® products that are made for people are never tested on animals, only people, especially ourselves. However, at Thorn Ridge Ranch® we do manufacture an entire product line that is made specifically for horses. As breeders of Friesian and Barock Pinto horsesfor seventeen years through our company, Top Hat Friesians, these products have been created through trial and error trying to help our mare Zoey with her sweet itch problem. The products offered to the public are the ones that have helped Zoey and have proven effective on our other horses for sweet itch and wound care. We have never done anything that would be considered cruel while developing these products. The horse products all contain ingredients that are safe for people and we have used these products on ourselves as well.
WHAT ARE YOUR PRODUCT CONTENTS?
We list all of the ingredients in each product on the individual product page. We use natural, safe ingredients in lieu of chemicals.
DO YOU USE PERSERVATIVES?
We do use preservatives in any products that contain water or that will come into contact with water because water is the perfect environment for bacteria to grow in. We do everything we can to keep our customers safe. The last thing we would want to happen is for someone who has a compromised immune system (like our founder Jorge did) to use our products and then they get sick from bacteria that the naked eye couldn't see because we didn't use preservatives. Your health and safety is more important than anything else to us. So, if you're looking for preservative free products, and a lot of people are these days, we're unfortunately, not the company for you.
DO YOU OFFER FREE SAMPLES?
We currently are not offering free samples.
ARE YOUR PRODUCTS FORMULATED FOR SENSITIVE SKIN?
We do not formulate our products for any specific skin type. Some of our soaps and scrubs may contain ingredients to exfoliate the skin so please look at the ingredients prior to purchasing so you can determine if you think it will work for your skin type. It is important that you don't exfoliate too often which can be irritating to your skin.
DO YOUR PRODUCTS HAVE EXPIRATION DATES?
Our Thorn Ridge® and Thorn Ridge Ranch® products that we manufacture at our facility or have manufactured for us, are hand blended in small batches using natural preservatives. Since we do not use synthetic preservatives that the commercial companies use in order to have a two or three year shelf life, our products are created to be used within a shorter window of time. We use the period-after-opening (POA) standard symbol that indicates the useful lifetime of the product once it is opened for the first time. The symbol looks like a jar with an open lid and on the jar it will have a number and the letter M which stands for months. So if the product will be good for three months after opening you’ll see the symbol with 3M on the jar. For six months it will say 6M and so on. Once the product has been opened, it is exposed to dust, dirt, bacteria, yeast, molds, etc found in the air and on your fingers so you’ll want to make sure you use the product within the specified period of time. Many things can affect a product’s lifetime (touching it, not storing it properly, exposing it to direct sunlight, leaving the lid off, etc) so if the product becomes discolored, smells funny (some oils can become rancid if they start going bad), or looks weird, it should not be used and should be discarded. Also please note that the colors of handmade products can fade over time and essential oil fragrances will not last as long as commercial product fragrances. We'll often offer these items on clearance just to move them when they're getting close to their expiration date or if their color is starting to fade. That doesn't mean you can't use the product after that time frame, it just means that past that time, the fragrance may not be as strong or, if it's soap, it may not lather as much.
WILL YOUR PRODUCTS MELT IN THE SUMMER HEAT?
During warm weather some of our products may get soft or even melt if they’re left sitting in mailboxes, on the porch, or in a delivery vehicle. While we make every attempt to package our products in such a way that they don't get all over everything if this happens, we want you to know that the quality of the product and it’s functionality are not affected by melting. If you suspect the product has melted (give it a little shake to hear if it sounds like a liquid) before you open the package, just stick the product in the refrigerator for a while to let it reharden. If you open it right away and it has melted it could spill everywhere. For sugar scrubs and bath salts that get too hot, the oils can separate but if you put it in the fridge it will harden up and you can stir the oils back into the mixture.
CAN I USE YOUR PRODUCTS IF I'M PREGNANT?
We do not recommend the use of any brand of products with essential oils during pregnancy. Use at your own risk. Here's why: Emmenagogues are herbs which stimulate blood flow in the pelvic area and uterus; some can even stimulate menstruation and have been used for that purpose for thousands of years. Essential Oils can also affect the fetus and can even start contractions and you don't want to start having contractions until that sweet baby is ready to be born. While our handmade products use low concentrations of essential oils, and we tend to avoid using herbs in our products, we suggest that you wait on buying any essential oil products (from us or anyone else) until after you deliver a healthy baby! Then you'll have your hands full and will really enjoy our premium handmade personal grooming products. We also suggest that if you are using skin products or aromatherapy diffusers or misters from other companies that contain emmenagogues, that you consult with your healthcare provider about them. Or, better yet, just don't use them until you deliver. Your baby is the most important person right now as he or she is growing inside of you. Family always comes first. We'll be here after you deliver and will sell you any of our personal grooming products that you want then and you can purchase other things from us in the meantime like clothing, jewelry, or home goods if you'd like.
