I am a walking injury. Clumsiness runs in my genes; as a child, it wasn’t so bad, but the older I get the more I can relate to my father’s numerous bruises and occasional yelps of pain while doing things around the house. He always had banged-up shins, presumably from running into things with them. The evidence of my own personal klutziness tends to show up not on my shins, but on my forearms. I have this nasty habit of burning myself on my left forearm whenever I reach into our oven to retrieve something I’ve cooked or baked, which is often. As a result, my left arm bears several burn marks at any given time, all of them in varying stages of healing and disappearing. When one fades away, another will inevitably take its place. My scars are like guppies that way.
So, I’m constantly looking for things to put on these scars that will help with the healing process, as well as take away the initial sting. Last month I was sent samples from a company called Climb On!, whose three core products are based around a similar recipe, and come in the form of a bar, a creme, and a lip lube. The company makes other products in addition to these, but I really wanted to try the bar and the creme, the latter in particular. Climb On!’s Creme is made of the same ingredients as their bar, with the addition of certified organic aloe vera and unrefined shea butter, both of which I desired for my many burns. The full list of ingredients for Climb On!’s Creme are as follows:
INGREDIENTS: Unrefined Texas Beeswax, Apricot Kernel Oil, Grapeseed Oil, Unrefined Wheatgerm Oil, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Shea Butter, Organic Aloe Vera Gel, and Climb On!’s Proprietary Blend of Essential Oils.
You might notice that only one of the creme’s ingredients is certified organic, and I wondered why. When I posed the question to company co-founder Amy Reynolds, she explained that the company’s blends created by her sister Polly, co-founder and Clinical Aromatherapist, contain such large quantities of the oils that using organic would drive the cost up significantly. The two sisters had decided to keep the costs of the products reasonable in order to sell a higher volume, so they opted to use high-quality food-grade base oils and therapeutic-grade essential oils instead of certified organic oils.*
I’m not sure if these oils are pesticide-free, I’ll have to email Amy again to find out. I do know that what goes onto your skin gets absorbed into your system, though I’m not sure of the degree to which topical products are absorbed through the skin (more information forthcoming). So, if you choose to use these products, you should weigh the options and decide what feels comfortable for you. Personally, I do wish the products were organic, but I use the creme on such a regular basis that if the price increased greatly I’m not sure I would continue to use it. I think this is exactly why the company decided not to go organic, which makes it a good business decision. From what I’ve read so far, the jury’s still out on the validity of their decision in terms of health.
Certifications aside, I can tell you that the creme works as promised. I’ve been using it on my burn marks, as well as my heels, elbows, under my eyes… Pretty much everywhere. I have also used the bar, which is kind of like a tiny bundt cake for your skin. I like using this thicker formula on the roughest parts of my skin, but I hate the act of scraping off bits of product with my fingernails. That’s due to a personal dislike of things being lodged under my nails, though I’m sure the less-clumsy of you wouldn’t have this problem. For now, I’ll stick with the creme.
See that rock? I’d probably hurt myself on it.
Oh, I forgot to mention the scent of the creme. It’s like part aloe, part earth, part flower… Overall, I love the way the creme smells. Another thing to note about this product is its name. Climb On! is named for its origins. I already mentioned the co-founders, sisters Amy and Polly Reynolds. Here’s the short version, as I understand it: Amy, an avid rock climber, was experiencing severely chapped hands, and turned to her sister for help, and Climb On! was born. When I first heard about the company, I’ll admit to being more than a little intimidated by the name and climbing culture surrounding it. Though I’m pretty active, I’m no rock climber, mainly because I’d just end up hurting myself (See beginning of post). But I had nothing to fear, because these products could be beneficial to virtually anyone, and now Climb On! Creme has a special place in my medicine cabinet. And in my hiking backpack. And in my purse. And my car. And in the bag of dog medicines I carry around, you know, just in case.
*UPDATE: After I put this post up, I received some emails from Amy Reynolds. She wanted me to further highlight some of the product’s benefits, such as the fact that it doesn’t contain any parabens, propylene glycol, petrochemicals, fillers, or any other synthetic chemicals. The product is also 100% biodegradable. However, Amy’s further assertion that her product is 100% organic because all of its ingredients are carbon-based is false, according to USDA organic certification standards. Read this post to see how I responded to her claims.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
amy reynolds 07.11.07 at 1:57 pm
You have a very serious error in information in your review of Climb On! Products. You say, “…I think this is exactly why the company decided not to go organic, which makes it a good business decision. From what I’ve read so far, the jury’s still out on the validity of their decision in terms of health.”
All of Climb On! Products are 100% organic, meaning there are no synthetic chemicals in the formulation. Every ingredient is carbon based,natural and organic making them all organic ingredients. You are using the word organic when you mean Certified Organic. Just because a skin care product does not use all Certified Organic ingredients can in no way categorize it as a health risk. To insinuate this is negligent and borderline libel. Please be more careful in your language when you are writing about these issues. Kind regards, Amy Reynolds, Vice President, Climb On! Products, Inc.
Ted 07.11.07 at 3:33 pm
Whoa – it seems like someone has a certified organic complex. To say your products are 100% organic but not certified is much more on the side of negligent and libel than questioning the purity of what you put on your skin. You should see what the USDA thinks about calling these products 100% organic…
To be clear – the skin is our largest organ, and not just by a little bit. It is responsible for many, many things, including absorption and synthesis of liquids and vitamins B&D. Many studies – google it – are now showing that what goes on your skin can in some cases be more powerful than what goes in through your mouth. Think about it – if you eat something, it has to travel through many layers of digestive processes that break it down before it is absorbed. When you put it on your skin, it goes directly in and can have very good, or very bad effects. While this is all early research, it is worth considering the origins and processing of what you put on your body.
Going further, certified organic is a very important claim. These products may not have any added synthetics, etc (this is a very good thing), but how they are grown is very, very important to some people. Conventional agriculture can put all sorts of things into the plant (or animal). I tend to think of it like our skin – what goes in the soil or feed goes into the end product. Most of us choose organic because we don’t want the chemicals or pesticides in our bodies passed on from what we consume. If the skin is our largest organ, why would we want to put those things on our skin?
To be fair, certified organic can be a bit of a stretch in some cases. Excessive costs of certification and regulation, and inflated prices from producers make some certified organic products unaccessible. I totally understand this from a business perspective. However, I think companies like Climb On! that make a choice to not include them should call it for what it is rather than getting all defensive about their choices. I read this review and found it to be pretty positive of the product. I think all that was happening was a question was asked about putting something on your skin if it was grown conventionally. To say it is organic because it is carbon based is technically correct but confusing. Who knows what was used in the production of the original source material? It is great that nothing is added, but that is simply after the fact.
I think going forward we will see many more situations like this. “Certified” organic is being tested, much like natural was some years back. Marketers are making all sorts of positioning statements today and with very little regulation. I believe the companies that are willing to be transparent about their sources, and honest are the ones that will come out ahead.
P.S. – I would say the same thing to Garden of Life in the chocolate post. Saying your chocolate is 100% natural is completely meaningless. You might as well not say anything at all. It would be better if they said, “here is our producer, look at what they do. They cannot afford certification right now, but we are working on it.” This would mean something to me.
Kerry Robb 07.12.07 at 11:43 am
That’s funny, Amy, I counted the word “certified” or “certification” in my post FOUR TIMES, all in relation to something being/not being certified organic. I think the only “serious error” here is your overreaction to my review.
Beckye 07.12.07 at 1:52 pm
All of that aside, I was very glad to read your review on this product since I currently have a pretty nice burn on my left forearm from stirfrying … even though I’m right-handed! (I can relate to that Klutz thing.)
This creme sounds like it might be a good thing. Is it really better than just aloe vera?
I’m sorry Amy reacted so; it kind of caused a negative slant on her product. But, being a woman with some serious hormone issues, I can grant her grace fairly easily!!
David 07.14.07 at 8:46 pm
Silly rabbit… tricks are for mainstream companies trying to water-down organic standards.
Certified Organic is a meaningless designation with respect to body care, as there are no official organic standards for this category. All more important that organic mean something.
Would arsenic be organic since it is naturally occurring?
Also, with respect to burns and cuts one can make a very effective salve by warming over very low heat: beeswax, rosehip seed oil, pure aloe and a propolis tincture. *Propolis had been proven to be as effective as silver Sulfadiazine on burns.
I must say I do not like proprietary anything listed on ingredients labels. I have every right to know what essential oils and preservative methodologies are used in the creation of any product I use. I may have a philosophical aversion to products sourced from certain areas. I could have a damn allergy!
* Reference: Scott R. Gregory, Nelson Piccolo, Maria T. Piccolo, Monica S. Piccolo, John P. Heggers. 2002