FAQs

Our body butter is made with water; preservation is required when a product is made with water. Upwards of 90% of the ingredients used in our body butter products are naturally sourced. The remaining ingredients are naturally derived synthetic ingredients or FDA-approved synthetics essential for the product's stability and safety. 

Here is a list of products that use 100% naturally occurring ingredients:

• Face Masks
• Bar Soap
• Original Honey Body Scrub
• Winter Body Butter
• Body, Baby, and Facial Oils
• Lavender Flower Water
• Lip Gloss
• Honey Lip Balm
• Bath Soaks
• Massage Candles

The term “natural” in reference to product ingredients has become quite a buzzword. In many cases, synthetic ingredients that are formulated and produced in a laboratory setting are just as safe as natural ingredients; in some instances, natural ingredients have the potential to be incredibly damaging to one’s health (as is the case with tobacco, lead, ethanol, and formaldehyde). Some natural ingredients, like lemon juice and apricot kernel powder, can be very irritating to the skin.

The point is: dangerous, health-altering compounds can be found in man-made and naturally occurring ingredients. “Natural” should not be taken as a universal signifier of safety. “Synthetic” should also not be correlated with danger.

We believe in clean green chemistry.

That being said, the naturally-sourced and synthetic ingredients that we choose to use are proven safe for use topically. We would rather use a low percentage of an inert synthetic preservative system to ensure a product’s safety than go without it entirely for the sake of nomenclature.

No. We currently use no dyes whatsoever in our Honey, Artisanal Teas, or Honey Lollipops apart from beet and grape juices to color our Blueberry Honey Lollipops.

Yes and no. Almost all of our body products are entirely dye-free. The following products use mineral pigments (mica, iron, and/or titanium oxides) as colorants:

• Berry, Petal, Poppy, Posie, Sunflower, and Blossom Lip Tints
• Coffee Bar Soap
• Sea Salt & Black Clay Bar Soap

The following Lip Tints contain synthetic red pigments:

• Cranberry, Crimson, and Red Rose

The rest of our body products are entirely dye-free.

This varies. The fragrances used in many of our body products are blends of skin-safe essential oils, botanical extracts, and floral absolutes. Not all essential oils are safe for use on the skin, nor are they all shelf-stable. In some instances, we have chosen to use naturally-derived fragrance blends that are specifically formulated and tested for use in body products. All fragrances used are approved for use in body products. We add fragrance at no more than 1% and sometimes less than that.

We use phthalate-free, clean-burning fragrance oils in our candles; essential oils are not suitable for this type of product. In our massage candles we use a very low % of essential oils that have been tested for 10 years.

None of our lollipops contain nuts, but they are not certified as being nut-free. Honey does not contain gluten, but the bees sometimes fly through wheat fields. This is a product of nature, it is not certified gluten-free.

Our Honey Lip Balm is USDA Certified Organic. Upwards of 90% of the ingredients used in our other body products are naturally sourced. The remaining ingredients used are naturally-derived synthetic ingredients or FDA-approved synthetics that are essential for the stability and safety of the product. Organic components are always designated as such in the ingredients list of each product and in our ingredient declaration on every page; we provide % of natural and % of organic.

Our Honey is Star K Certified Kosher; our Honey Lollipops have Kosher Certification from the Orthodox Union. Our facility is inspected annually to ensure Kosher practices are met for these products.

Here is a list of food products that do NOT have Kosher Certification:

• Chocolate Dipped Honey Lollipops
• Raw Honeycomb
• Artisanal Teas

Yes, our 11 oz Honey, Honey Tasting Tower, and Honey Sticks are Star K Certified Kosher. Our Honey Lollipops are Certified Kosher by the Orthodox Union.

While our honey is 100% pure, raw, and unadulterated, it is not USDA Certified Organic. Securing Organic Certification for honey produced in the United States is no longer possible due to the scale of commercial farming across most of the country. While we can control where we place hives, we can’t control where the bees fly or what they choose to pollinate.

Our honey is sourced from beekeepers in the United States, many in the Mid-Atlantic. Wildflower, Buckwheat, Black Locust, Blueberry, and Bamboo are examples of varietals from the Mid-Atlantic region. Other varietals, such as Tupelo and Orange Blossom, are sourced from Florida, while Blackberry and Raspberry all come from the West Coast.

Our Spring and Autumn Honey are produced in our Kent Island apiary! 

No. Our candles are dye and phthalate-free.

We use 100% USA-grown soy wax, lead-free cotton wicks, and clean-burning fragrance oils in our candles. Essential oils do not always smell nice when burned, and they may not be safe to burn, so we use fragrance oils developed specifically for candles.

Yes! We only test products on ourselves, and on friends and family members. We perform no animal testing on any of our products. 

Our body products go through a rigorous stability and microbial testing process to ensure that they are shelf-stable. Food products, including Raw Honey, Honey Lollipops, and Artisanal Teas are processed and packaged in our labs that follow FDA guidelines.

All of our products are made in the United States, either at our Owings Mills, Maryland location or at a trusted domestic manufacturing partner facility.

Honey will burn faster than cane sugar and adds moisture to recipes. Because of this, if a recipe calls for more than one cup of sugar, limit honey replacement to one cup. Use up to a cup of honey and use organic and unprocessed sugar for amounts over one cup. Over one cup, replace each cup of sugar with 1/2 to 3/4 cup of honey, leaving some organic sugar in the recipe. In recipes using more than one cup of honey for sugar, reduce liquids by 1/4 cup per cup of honey. Learn more with these tips for baking with honey.

Our honey is 100% pure, raw, and unadulterated. It may revert from a liquid to a solid over time or when exposed to cold temperatures. This is completely normal and does not affect the safety or usability of the product. Grocery store honey may be diluted with corn syrup, which can prevent this. We do not add any syrups, dyes, flavors, or preservatives to our honey.

Here's some of the science behind this: honey is an "unstable" chemical solution that will attempt to reach a "stable" state. In the chemical makeup of honey, more sugar is dissolved into water than what is normally stable. These sugars, over time, begin to solidify until the honey has reached a stable baseline. 

Some varietals, including Sweet Clover, Holly, and Wildflower, crystallize faster than others. If you'd like to reconstitute your honey to a liquid state, place the jar into a pan of hot water and allow it to liquify. More on crystallized honey here.

Like anything produced in the natural world, honey is variable and subject to change. Most monofloral honey will be fairly consistent from batch to batch. Varietal honey, on the other hand, can change significantly depending on the time of year and location of harvest. Wildflower honey harvested in the Spring may be very light, whereas the honey from the same location that is harvested later in the Autumn can be very dark.

We do our best to update product listings when our supply of honey changes. We love how some varieties change - seeing what we get from our beekeepers is always a treat!

No. The ingredients in our Body Butter are too heavy for use on the face - we recommend using our Facial Creams and Oil instead. See our full line of face care products here and stay tuned for more.

Our body products are crafted by hand in small batches. Due to the nature of our ingredients and manufacturing processes, there can be slight variations in color and texture from one batch to the next; any changes in ingredients will be updated on the online product listing. 

Some ingredients, such as citrus oils, extracts of cocoa and vanilla, and tea powders, can cause harmless changes in the color of your Body Scrub or Body Butter over time. This does not affect the safety of your products. Also, as we use many naturally-derived ingredients in our products, there can be slight variations in batches from our suppliers.

Oils should be applied to the skin when it is visibly damp—just after cleansing your face or taking a shower. Do not apply oils to dry skin; this only seals in dryness. After you wet your skin with water or your regular moisturizer, face oil is the last step in your daytime or nighttime care.

Please use your body products within 3-6 months of opening. The shelf life of unopened, sealed products is two years.

Tea can be stored for several years if unopened; we recommend that you consume this product within a year of opening. Honey Lollipops should be consumed within 6 months of purchase.

Honey has an indefinite shelf life. Please keep it stored in a dark cabinet away from light, heat, and humidity. As long as water and external materials do not enter the jar, your Honey will be shelf-stable for many, many years (though it will be gone long before then!).

We make our products often throughout the year and utilize a lean manufacturing method, so they are as fresh as possible. Since our candles are made with 100% all-natural soy wax, we recommend burning our candles within one year of opening it from the original packaging to ensure the best fragrance quality.

As a general rule of thumb, our soy wax candles burn 5-7 hours per ounce. Our 6-ounce Jelly Jar candle burns for about 30-35 hours. Visit our candle FAQ page for more information and burning tips.

When first burning a candle, burn the candle for at least three hours to fully melt the top layer of wax, evenly to avoid tunneling. Tunneling happens when the first-burn is not long enough. A tunnel is a "memory ring" of wax in the center of the candle, leaving precious wasted wax in the vessel also often leads to an extinguished flame.

You should burn your candle for no more than 3 hours at a time. After burning candles for the recommended period, extinguish, allow to cool for at least a few hours and trim the wick to 1/4 inch before burning again.

Different wax and fragrance combinations yield different results. For instance, paraffin wax is petroleum-based and is known to release toxic compounds into your home. Some of these compounds are known carcinogens. They may also contribute to upper respiratory issues such as asthma and impact allergies.

We use only pure soy wax and clean-burning, phthalate-free fragrances that do not release harmful chemicals when burned.

If you burn a candle in glass for longer than the recommended time, you run the risk of broken hot candle glass. If you burn a candle for too long, carbon collects on the wick and makes the wick unstable. An unstable wick may burn unevenly, hotter, and smoke. When a candle smokes, it releases soot into the environment, and it also deposits on the candle glass and the area that surrounds the candle.

Candles left to burn for too long may (rarely) fracture their glass vessel.

There are a few reasons why a candle flame burns too high. The wick may be the wrong size for the selected vessel and wax. It could be that the fragrance load is too high for the wax and vessel size. It could be the kind of fragrance that used in candle making. If all else is perfect, check for a draft where you burned the candle. Drafty rooms can impact the size of the flame. Make sure to trim your wick to 1/4" before each burn, too.

Do not let a candle burn long enough to extinguish all wax in the container, leave at least 1/2 inch of wax on the bottom.

Please use common sense when burning any candle. We hope you enjoy your candle as much as we enjoyed making it for you. Candles are safe products and must be used safely and observed to avoid accidental fires. We urge our customers to be careful when burning candles.

When not used for long periods, trim the wick and store candles in a cool, dark and dry place. If dirt and dust accumulate on top of the candle, you can easily clean the surface with a damp paper towel.

Learn more about candle care here.

Our glass jars, tin lids, and cardboard boxes are all 100% recyclable. Our scrub and butter jars are #1 recyclable PET plastic. Our new Honey lip balm is 100% plastic-free. We are always searching for better options. We note recycling methods with each product as this is a complex topic and it has to be featured on each page with details.

Our glass jars, tin lids, and cardboard boxes are all 100% recyclable if clean and free from product residue. You may compost or recycle paper packaging, including hang tags, product boxes, and shipping boxes. We encourage the reuse of our muslin bags or boxes where applicable. 

We use #1 PET jars for our Body Butter and Body Scrub. Please refer to your local guidelines for recyclability on these products. We are gradually phasing out plastic packaging and will fully be moving into glass, tin, paper, or bioplastics for all of our products shortly.

No. This is a limitation of our website hosting platform. If you would like to send orders to multiple locations, you will need to place each order individually.

If you would like to send gift orders to a group of people, please contact us and we will be happy to assist you.

Yes! We donate to Vision Workshops annually and have funded an endowed scholarship at the Maryland Institute College of Art. We also partner with One Tree Planted—every jar of Wildflower Honey sold plants a tree!

Philanthropy is an important part of our brand mission. Please read more here on how we give back to multiple organizations. We are not accepting new donation requests at this time.

Please see the details of our return, refund, and discount code policy here.

No, we do not send out samples. Orders $75+ are eligible to receive a complimentary gift item, however.

Visit our site on Faire at https://faire.com/direct/beeinspired for a commission-free relationship with us and get 60 day same-as-cash payment terms. If you’ve not been on Faire to date, you may qualify for a $100 gift card and free shipping for a year, but you have to use our address for a “Faire Direct” relationship.

Maybe. Please send your pitch.