Burt's Bees, an East Coast-based company that specializes in making ecologically responsible, all-natural personal care products, began producing a special line of body lotions in 1999. These original lotions featured milk and sugar enzymes as the skin moisturizing agents. Since that time, Burt's Bees has expanded to produce a wide variety of lotions that contain no sulfates, phthalates or petrochemicals while incorporating many different combinations of natural skin-softening ingredients.
Dairy Powders
Many of Burt's Bees lotions contain milk or buttermilk powders. These powders are derived from the solids that are left when water is removed from the original milk product. According to Organicfacts.net, dairy products contain antimicrobial properties that can help cleanse and protect skin.
Honey
Like dairy products, honey applied to the skin is thought to protect against bacteria. Honey also keeps skin moist by trapping and retaining water, and is a powerful antioxidant that can help minimize the natural damage to skin cells caused by aging and sun exposure.
Aloe Vera
Many of Burt's Bees lotions contain the juice of the aloe vera plant. When you apply it to your skin, this juice is thought to act as an antibiotic. It is also an excellent moisturizer and can provide relief to sunburned or damaged skin.
Natural Oils
Natural oils--including carrot seed oil, sunflower seed oil, coconut oil, orange peel oil, anise oil, clove oil, macadamia nut oil and lemon peel oil--are used frequently in Burt's Bees lotions. These are lightweight oils that, if you apply them regularly, can help prevent wrinkles and keep skin soft and supple.
Natural Emulsifiers
All Burt's Bees lotions contain various natural emulsifiers, including stearic acid, beeswax, xanthan gum, sucrose stearate and sodium borate. Stearic acid is derived from a variety of both plant and animal fats and oils, while xanthan gum and sucrose stearate are derived from plant sugars. Sodium borate is made from the naturally occurring compound, boron.
As emulsifiers, these ingredients work to allow the various ingredients in the lotions to mix, stabilize and stay bound smoothly together.
Natural Preservatives
Glucose oxidase and lactoperoxidase are natural preservatives used in Burt's Bees lotions. Both are natural compounds whose antimicrobial and antibiotic properties help prevent bacteria from growing and flourishing within the lotion.
Flower Extracts
Many of the lotions contain extracts of flowers, including those from the vanilla plant, calendula, cornflower, linden flower, chamomile and St. John's wort. Flower extracts have skin-soothing properties that make them especially useful in lotions for inflamed or irritated skin.
Orange Peel Wax
Orange peel wax, the semi-solid wax found beneath the rind of oranges, is used in several of Burt's Bees lotions since it is thought to help protect and maintain skin moisture levels as well as acting as a mild sunscreen.
Natural Butters
Both shea butter, the fat collected from the karite tree fruit, and cocoa butter, the fatty acids taken from cacao beans, can prevent wrinkles by increasing the suppleness and elasticity of the skin.
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