With all the cleansers, exfoliates, soaps and other body-care products, it can be hard to keep track of what you're putting in and on your body.
That's one of the main reasons Holly Cogburn and Brittanie Zwicker were making homemade lotion bars in February, when they were struck with inspiration.
"We got together to just have a day and make ourselves some lotion bars and balms to stock our medicine cabinets and got big ideas," Cogburn said. And HomeBody, Natural Body Care was born.
The two got to work on a line of body care products ranging from lip balms made with local beeswax base to detoxifying oatmeal bath soaks.
Their goal was to be ready to launch the company at the Four Corners Home and Garden show, which started on May 2. But interest spread so quickly among friends and through online marketing they had already sold out some of their products before the show, they said.
Their products gained attention among people with sensitive skin and allergies because each blend is very simple.
"The majority of body care products have so much stuff in them, they have people terrified," Cogburn said.
They work to make each product with fewer than five ingredients. The only product that violates that rule is the bug stick.
Made with candelilla wax, the bug stick is an alternative to sprays or creams, and it helps keeps small children from rubbing the products into their eyes. The bars are made with seven essential oils that specifically repel the bugs of the area, including biting flies, gnats and mosquitoes.
One of their most popular products is a pain bar made with peppermint oil and other essential oils. By using essential oils in a bar form, the two say it prevents side effects from overuse. For example, using too much peppermint oil can cause burns.
The two started paying close attention to the ingredients in body care products after they became parents.
"We're both moms that like to do things as natural as possible," Cogburn said.
The two also drew on that idea for the branding of the company.
"We decided we're both homebodies," Zwicker said.
The two plan to expand into an all-natural make-up line, all natural deodorant foot spray and wax melts, Zwicker said.
In the next month or so, they also plan to start distributing to local retail stores
mshinn@cortezjournal.com
