MADE SAFE is thrilled to announce new certified BODY STONES from Kate McLeod! Kate McLeod’s innovative moisturizers come in the shape of a stone within their very own gorgeous reusable bamboo canisters. When the time comes, order a refill only, which cuts back on packaging. Each BODY STONE is comprised of five core ingredients and melt on contact with the skin, transforming applying your moisturizer into a self-care ritual.
To hear more about their innovative design and company, Made Safe connected with co-founders Kate McLeod and Nichola Gray.
Made Safe: Why are you excited to work with Made Safe?
Kate & Nichola: We are excited and extremely proud to work with Made Safe because we both share the same core values. Our BODY STONES are proudly made from scratch, using ingredients so safe that you can find them in your kitchen. We wanted to work with a hands-on organization that would help guide and shape our approach to nontoxic formulation and manufacturing, particularly as we grew our business out of Kate’s home kitchen and into our Butter Atelier in Brooklyn.
We knew that Made Safe was the right fit for us after our first meeting with Made Safe founder Amy Ziff – she was so passionate and knowledgeable about the important work Made Safe is driving. We’ve continued to be impressed by the rigor Made Safe has applied to evaluating our ingredients. It makes us feel really good to have a third-party certification organization that is even more knowledgeable and nitpicky about ingredient safety than we are!
Made Safe: How are your products different from other, more conventional, products in the space?
Kate & Nichola: Most body moisturizers are liquid, diluted with 85-90 percent water, and come swathed in plastic packaging. They also typically have a long list of ingredients that are unpronounceable.
BODY STONES are a whole new category of moisturizer:
- They are solid and shaped like a stone.
- They are made from scratch and use only five core ingredients: cocoa butter, sweet almond oil, apricot kernel oil, avocado oil, and fractionated coconut oil.
- They don’t have any added water, which means that they offer highly concentrated nourishment. You only have to use the BODY STONE a few times a week to achieve the same results as a traditional lotion – and they last anywhere from 4-6 weeks.
- When you wear your BODY STONE down to a little piece, you can throw it in a hot bath for a luxurious, moisturizing soak – no unusable product stuck at the bottom of a bottle.
- Finally, we’re proudly plastic-free – we use sustainably farmed, reusable bamboo canisters and a refill system so there’s no waste, ever.
Made Safe: What do you wish shoppers understood about the kind of products you make?
Kate & Nichola: We still hand pour each batch – this is important to us. Few founders in the beauty industry know exactly what goes into their products. They often use contract manufacturers, consultants, and stock formulas to make “versions of the same.” We believe that knowing how to make things yourself is the greatest pledge of quality you can give to your customer. And, as we’ve learned, making your own products by hand forces you to be truly innovative in your product design and formula.
Made Safe: What got you started in the realm of safer products?
Kate: My sister-in-law Deb grabbed a lotion bottle out of my hands and threw it in the trash, demanding “What are you putting on your skin?” Before that moment, I had honestly never thought to question that a product I’d bought from the drugstore might have ingredients that were bad or unsafe for me.
In exchange for the lotion bottle, Deb handed me a tin of raw, rock-hard cocoa butter shards and said “Go get to know your body.” I remember rolling my eyes. I had no idea what she meant. I tried warming the cocoa butter in my hands. It didn’t melt and it tugged at my skin but slowly I was able to work it into my body. Scales and flakes healed, bumps and irritations calmed, and my dry yogi feet felt nourished. It was the best moisturizer I had ever used – and it was so much simpler and safer. There just had to be an easier, more luxurious way to apply it.
As a former bakery owner and pastry chef, I didn’t know skincare, but I knew food. I brought the cocoa butter into my kitchen and dug into my pantry. I blended in my favorite base oils: sweet almond, apricot kernel, avocado, and fractionated coconut. And I learned that cocoa butter is an incredible natural preservative (hence no moldy chocolate) and that these moisturizers don’t need added preservatives, synthetics, or chemicals. Once I discovered this, I never looked back… I spent the past year developing BODY STONES – naturally, simply, and safely in my kitchen.
Made Safe: What is your favorite self-care ritual?
Kate: Our society is increasingly focused on taking care of our bodies: through diet, exercise, the products we apply. Yet I am constantly surprised by how many people have lost touch with their bodies: the physical feeling of skin beneath their fingers. The quiet, mindful moments that can come from spending time touching, feeling, and knowing your body’s surface. When you take time to feel your skin, touch your body, and know yourself, you feel better: about yourself, your body, and your life.
BODY STONES are truly my daily ritual, my self-care practice, and I am so excited to share them with the world. Applying a BODY STONE is like putting on armor, a self-care body shield. It’s magic. Confidence boosting, power-fueling magic. And that’s what this is all about.
Certified Products from Kate McLeod: