About Pure Nuff Stuff

 

What shops stock PNS?

 

Our Shop

We love our shop and so do our customers. Even the postman likes calling in because he says it “smells fab”. We were very lucky and managed to lease the whole of the ground floor here, our shop is on the right and our workshops (laboratoire Pure 'Nuff) on the left.  You can now come and see us making everything in the workshops here, it's a great opportunity to see how things are made and really get a feel for what we do, so if you're in the area, do pop in.

We are in the most amazing building, owned by the Landmark Trust, which is a tourist attraction in itself. The Egyptian House is pretty much the only one left in the country (OK, we know there’s a sort of one in Devonport, but it’s nowhere near as grand as ours).

If you’re on holiday in Cornwall, Penwith is one of the prettiest areas so come visit us. We’ve got dozens of gorgeous beaches within minutes of Penzance (we might even let you in on some of the secret ones!) and Land’s End is only eight miles away.

Our Ethical Policy

We would never test our products on animals and insist that all our raw materials have a fixed animal testing cut-off date of 1996. As stated elsewhere on the site, we only ever test our products on family and friends.

We've searched high and low for suppliers that support the same policies we do in terms of sustainability and fair-trade and we ensure that our own production is as environmentally sound as possible. You should see our recycling runs...  but it's worth it in our eyes.

Our packaging is kept to an absolute minimum. We use glass jars and HDPE plastic bottles (the most recyclable plastic available) and we urge all our customers to recycle all their packaging.

Our Ingredients

All our ingredients come from natural sources and through their life cycle do not hurt the environment. The word ‘natural’ is a slippery one as one person’s understanding of it isn’t the same as someone else’s – so here’s our definition. By natural sources we mean everything we use comes from vegetable, mineral or plant sources and not the petrochemical industry. We put the word ‘sources’ in because obviously most ingredients aren’t just found in hedgerows; they have to undergo some form of process to extract the bits we want. Does that mean they’re still natural? Well we think so. Cocoa Butter doesn’t exactly grow in convenient 1kg lumps but it’s still very natural and essential oils don’t drip off plants of their own accord, they need extracting, but they’re still very natural. See where we’re coming from?

Here’s a list of our most commonly used ingredients and the reasons we use them - but if you have any questions about any one of the others, then please drop us a line. We haven't listed them all as there are a gazillion and it would take too long....   and bore you...

Aloe vera. This famous gel is extracted from Aloe barbadensis and is widely known for its caring and protective properties, the gel is also cooling and helps sooth irritation.

Apricot Kernel Oil. The Apricot tree, Prunus armeniaca, originates from China where it was cultivated over 4000 years ago. This delicately fragranced oil is cold pressed from fruit stones. It is a light, mild, non-greasy oil which is quickly absorbed leaving the skin smooth. It benefits all types of skin, being emollient and nourishing. It is especially recommended for dry, sensitive, mature or ageing skin.

Beeswax. (Cera Flava) from honey-bees, cares and protects particularly sensitive skin. It protects without inhibiting the skin's breathing. We use a local supplier, a charming gentleman by the name of Lutz, he loves his bees and we love his wax.

Cocoa Butter. (Theobroma Cacao) a vegetable oil which becomes solid at room temperature; is pressed out of the seeds of the tropical cacao tree; cares for and protects tender skin against environmental influences.

Glycerine. During the process of saponifying vegetable oil, soap and glycerin are produced. When used in skin care it regulates the absorption and release of water in the skin and is also softening and smoothing on the skin.

Guar Gum. A swelling/gelling agent often used in foods. Obtained from the seeds of the Cyanopsis tetragonoloba bean.

Jojoba Oil. (Buxus chinensis) from Mexico, this precious liquid vegetable wax is obtained from the seeds of the evergreen desert bush. The liquid wax is remarkably stable against heat and ultra-violet rays. When used for skin care is very easily absorbed, has a moisture preserving effect and makes the skin soft as velvet. In toothpastes it improves appearance and texture. In hair care products vegetable oils act help replenish the hairs natural oils and in conditioners are a constituent of the emulsion.

Shea Butter (Butyrospermum Parkii) a precious vegetable oil obtained by cold pressing of the nuts of the African Sheabutter tree; is easily absorbed by the skin and has a smoothing and protecting effect and creates a velvety feeling of the skin.

Sweet Almond Oil. (Prunis dulcis) is pressed from the kernels of the sweet almond. This oil is especially mild, a gentle caring oil which keeps the skin supple. One of the least stimulating oils available and therefore tolerated by most skins.

Witch Hazel Distillate. (Hamamelis virginiana) from the leaves and twigs of the plant; it has an astringent and invigorating effect, and aids resistance of the skin to environmental influences.

Xanthan Gum. is a natural thickener produced by fermentation..

About Us

Here you will find everything you ever needed to know about us, the full who what & why. We aim to have a complete transparency policy about our products and ingredients so if there’s anything we’ve forgotten to include please call or email and we’ll put it right.


WHO WE ARE

We're Helen and Emily, a pair of quite ordinary, down-to-earth friends happily living and working in Cornwall. We got interested in skin care when we started doing our own research into what we were putting on our skin and frankly, got a bit frightened (around about the same time as we started becoming more aware of what chemicals were being put into our food, strangley).  Helen started making soap for her family in her kitchen about 8 years ago and our interest and expertise has just grown from there.  Helen's background as a quality control chemist and Emily's history in business management give us the skills to run a cosmetics business, but we still learn a huge amount from our customers - and always have done.

WHAT WE DO

We are committed to bringing you some of the most natural cosmetics and skincare around and at a price that means you can use them every day rather than as a special treat. We lovingly hand make every Pure Nuff product in small batches, ensuring that it’s all lovely and fresh and you can enjoy the full 12 months shelf-life. Most of the product development is customer led and we take note of all feedback and desires of our customers. Each product is developed to deal with specific areas of the body and the daily stresses they undergo. Because of our production methods we can also offer customers a bespoke service and alter the essential oil blends if they’d prefer something else – just call and ask and we’ll try to accommodate your needs.


WHAT WE WON’T DO

We absolutely promise (cross our hearts) that we won’t use SLS, parabens, urea, synthetic fragrance or colour and any other of the 2000 nasty chemicals allowed in everyday cosmetics. They are just bad, wrong and evil.

We don’t make any claims that our products will make you more beautiful, thinner, younger, stronger or taller. You’re already lovely and our stuff just helps to show that.

We also won’t make products that we think are just a gimmick and completely unnecessary. No lie, we spotted a product somewhere called ‘Face Conforming Oil’!! What’s that mean then? Being non-conformists we don’t understand. And it was £400 to boot – for 15mls! The words rip and off spring to mind.

We won’t ever, ever test our products on animals and we have a fixed cut-off date of 1996 for animal testing on our raw materials. It’s stupid anyway, animals have completely different skin to us. All our products are tested on our families and friends for 6 months prior to launch.

WHAT'S COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ABOUT US

Every single batch of Pure Nuff Stuff is handmade by a person, right from measuring out the ingredients to bottling and putting the labels on.  So that while each batch is up to standard, they may differ slightly from one to the next.  So if for any reason you find that something didn't suit you then we'll replace it, free of charge, no questions asked, as long as it's within our sell-by date.