The Beginning of On Hand Lotions
On Hand Lotions creates botanical skin care items by hand, from blossom to balm, using sustainably sourced and often locally grown ingredients. Owner and founder Hayna Humphries-Weems began formulating body care items because she wanted the best quality possible for her family and friends. Combining lifelong passions for natural living, science, and organic gardening, Hayna began making her first solid lotion bars in 2007 after experiencing extremely dry, sensitive skin from chemotherapy treatments. The bars proved helpful later, too: “When my children were born, our hands and faces were always chapped from frequent washing and outdoor play. Liquid lotions were messy and inconvenient to carry on our adventures and nothing was gentle enough for my babies’ eczema and sensitive skin.” Salves and balms made with homegrown flowers and beeswax from her father’s honeybees soon followed.
Hayna and her husband Benjamin launched On Hand Lotions from their home kitchen in early 2014. Folks fell in love with the products as well as Hayna and Ben’s dedication to sustainability. In 2015 On Hand Lotions moved to a small facility in Naples, NY where Hayna and a tightly knit team continue to carefully handcraft everything in small batches. This diverse line includes herbal facial cleansers, clay masks, frankincense chamomile serums, aluminum-free deodorants in compostable packaging, lip balms, salves and balms infused with homegrown botanicals, body scrubs, powders and cremes, a variety of naturally colored and scented cold process soap and shampoo bars, collaborations with local businesses, and of course, the namesake solid lotion bars. All items are free of synthetic flavors, fragrance oils, sweeteners, dyes, emulsifiers.
FAQ With The Maker
Hey there! Since we’re getting to know each other a bit, I thought I’d share the answers to our most frequently asked questions.
DOES IT REALLY WORK? While I can’t predict whether every item will be a great fit for you, I can tell you that thousands of folks around the world believe in our body and skin care. Each formula undergoes many trials and tests before we decide they’re worthy of our customers, and we are careful to follow the recommendations of leading aromatherapists, herbalists, and cosmetic chemists.
TELL ME WHAT YOU GROW! You’ll find a long list of homegrown and conscientiously foraged botanicals in our products including calendula, chamomile, arnica, fresh maple water, black cherry bark, plantain, red raspberry leaf, lilacs, cedarwood, elderflower, coreopsis, oak, indigo, lavender, sage, juniper, amaranth, sunflowers, cosmos, roses, white pine, yarrow, rosemary, borage, comfrey, stevia, lemon balm, fennel. What we can’t grow, we source from nearby farmers who honor organic farming practices.
WHAT ABOUT ALLERGENS? All items are free of dairy, mango and mango butter, and peanuts. Some products do contain coconut oil, sweet almond oil, organic wheat, and/or natural shea butter. Winter Orange Soap & Shampoo bars contain egg yolks from our own flock of chickens. From The Garden specialty lotion bars contain lanolin. Our Bugscreen Repellent contains a small amount of cold-pressed organic soybean and sunflower oils as they are excellent insect repellent carrier ingredients. Quick note: if you have anaphylactic-type reactions to any of the ingredients in any of our products, please consult a physician before purchasing or using products from us as we cannot guarantee against possible cross-contamination of individual ingredients.
DO YOU TEST ON ANIMALS? On Hand Lotions is committed to supporting a healthy planet, healthy living and kindness. As part of this promise, we never test on animals and do not source from companies that test on animals. All products are tested only by family and friends and third-party labs when necessary before they’re released to you.
DEDICATION TO SUSTAINABILITY: Our commitment to sustainability goes beyond using fair-trade, organically grown ingredients, extending into our company culture and defining many aspects of our lifestyle. Employees are treated as partners: empowered to grow, create, and define their roles based on need and interest and ability. Our personal and company goal is minimal waste: water, trash/refuse and energy. Anything that can be safely composted, recycled, reused or repurposed, is. Our shipping boxes are made from recycled fiber when possible, and most of our product and shipping packaging can be easily recycled. All of the air pillows, dissolvable packing peanuts and bubble wrap are on their second (or third!) lives, sourced from shipments received by friends and family. We do not use palm oil, conventional soybean oil or ingredients sourced from at-risk or endangered species.
DEDICATION TO COMMUNITY: On Hand Lotions donates regularly to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and several local-to-us organizations including homeless shelters and children’s programs. 2021-2022 giving recipients also include Foodlink, Metavivor, The Trevor Project, Rainforest Trust, Angel Flight East and The Xerces Society.
My goal is to provide you with convenient, functional, safe skin care products to keep your skin happy so you can focus on your adventures. Thank you so much for taking the time to learn about OHL. This is my passion and lifelong area of study, and I thank you for entrusting us with your skin care.
Hayna
Keep in touch with us on social media:
::: Facebook https://www.facebook.com/OnHandLotions
::: Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/OnHandLotionsInsiders/
::: Instagram http://instagram.com/onhandlotions
::: Twitter https://twitter.com/OnHandLotions
::: Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/OnHandLotions/