Our Dirty Little Secret

Beauty, Nature’s Way

Dawn Bonner and Shelli Carlisle

They say there is a Goddess in all of us…upon hearing this, it’s easy to think this is a clever advertising spin about Dirty Goddess Lotions.  That is, until you scrub your body, hands, arms, and feet with Cranberry Citrus Fig Body Scrub, jump in the shower with their special blend of Mattina Luce Body Wash, lightly dry off, then smooth on Cranberry Citrus Fig Creme.  After using these magic potions, if you are like us, you truly will feel like a Goddess.  Ah-mazing.

“I have a new addiction,” said Dawn Bonner, “Finally, an addiction that is good for me.”

Bonner’s Background

My background is in the beauty industry, having owned full-service salons through the years and each one of the salons included skin care regime services.  Because of this, one tends to pick up a lot of information on what are healthy ingredients and what are not.

My exposure to different skin care products is probably higher than most.  It is always a goal for me to find something that works, has a great price point, and is healthy.  Good news, here’s my dirty little secret.

Outrageously Good Find

Our latest find is a company based out of North Carolina called Dirty Goddess Lotions. Developed and run by mother/daughter team, Susan Giorgia Chittick and Jessica Chittick.  Dirty Goddess Lotions are made from quality, natural ingredients, some of which are organically grown by Jessica Chittick, herself.  Organic patchouli leaves, rosemary, calendula flowers, amaranth, lavender buds, and roses come straight from her garden.

Oils, clays, herbs, and seeds are used to promote health and healing for all types of skin, including the very sensitive.  Each product is unique and smells heavenly.  Modest pricing makes it possible to indulge in all of your favorites.  And, they offer a wide variety of lotions and scrubs to meet every goddess’ needs.

Susan Chittick says, “One of the very reasons I started Dirty Goddess Lotions was because of the unsafe ingredients used in our every day products. I have searched for the perfect ingredients, some being organic and some being all natural. As a result, our products are all-natural. We are very conscious of Safe Cosmetics. We do not use any animal by-products. We hand make our all-natural products fresh to order.  We do not use any preservatives that break down into formaldehyde or contain parabens.”

It Gets Better

Not only have the ladies made wise choices in the essential oils and products they use..what they left out is just as important.  Would you rub alcohol on your skin for hydrating purposes?  Probably not.  It’s surprising how many expensive skin care lines have alcohol in them.  The alcohol works against the purpose of putting the lotions on in the first place.  In their thoughtful and well made decisions, the ladies chose to leave the alcohol out of their products.

The carefully chosen products can reverse sun-damage, help with eczema, relieve psoriasis, reduce inflammation, thus easing wrinkles.  Their potions with the Acai berry also protect the skin from further damage and work in cellular repair.

Who Can Use Dirty Goddess Products

Men, babies, women, people with sensitive skin, normal skin, oily skin and people with acne.  If your skin is sensitive, like mine, don’t worry.  Your skin will love, love, love the scrubs, cremes and body washes.  My skin cannot tolerate a lot of chemicals and it reacts immediately, by swelling and turning red. Dirty Goddess Lotions hydrates my skin making it look vibrant and smooth, as well as and its silky feel.

An added benefit, my bathroom smells delicious from the products.  There is so much oil in the scrub, it seeps up and out of the jar–leaving a wonderful scent that fills up the room.  The scrub is invigorating and leaves the skin feeling fresh and a bit tingly.  The body wash makes your skin feel clean and light–without the drying tightening effect most soaps create.  The cremes truly are cremes–they are thick, yet light and it feels like silky velvet when you scoop it out of the jar.

After using the products for the last month, it has to be said, these are some of the best body care products I have ever used.  The prices are amazing, too.  It is hard to believe you can buy a quality product like this for $15 and $20.

My friend, Patricia Stephens, has been using the coconut creme product.  Like me, she has become addicted to it.  Her skin not only feels better, it looks better, too.

“Oh, I just love it.  I like to put it on when I am going to lay down because it smells so good.  I enjoy that part of it and when I get up, my skin feels so good,” said Stephens.  “It’s my favorite lotion.”

One day, Stephens was putting it on her lips before she put her lipstick on.  She said, “Oh, I could just eat and drink this lotion right up, it just feels and smells so good.”

My sister, Vicky Young, got the Patchouli creme.  Poor little sis, in the winter her skin gets so dry, it literally feels like sandpaper.  After the first application, you could almost hear her skin drinking it up (just kidding about that), and her skin felt much better.  When she puts on other lotions, you can’t even tell five minutes later.  With her Dirty Goddess lotion, you could feel the difference for a long time.  A week later when we got together, the difference in her skin was noticeable.

Merry Feet with Mary-Mint

A product that is worth its weight in Manolo Blahniks is the Mary-Mint PediScrub.  It makes your feet look absolutely delicious. This product is generously loaded with essential oils.

The smell is invigorating, warm and rich, and the product does double duty on your feet.  Sloughing off dead skin cells as you rub the scrub in gentle circles into the skin on your feet, and hydrating them with the exquisite essential oils the Chittick women chose for this beautiful product.

When used regularly, the scrub keeps your feet in incredible shape.

How Dirty Goddess Came to Be

Susan shared the catalyst behind Dirty Goddess Lotions start-up; sadly it was the death of her 16-year-old son in a fatal car accident.  At that time she and her husband had a successful  surgical instrument repair business.  She realized she needed to be available for her other three children and to do something important and fulfilling for her.

Susan said, “The first time I made lotion was in 2004…I realized I was always the happiest when being creative. So, why not learn to make skincare products using the most natural ingredients available. I didn’t like the fact there are so many products out there being manufactured without showing a responsibility to the person using them. So, I began my research, locating fragrance companies with phthalate free oils and found a preservative that didn’t contain parabens, which are now being linked to breast cancer. We also like to use essential oils as much as possible.”

“We continue to research what ingredients are safe and are approved through the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and Skin Deep Database.  I found such a joy making my lotions and scrubs with my daughter Jessica. Everyone I made them for enjoyed them, too.”