Since we started peddling Cranberry Seed Oil I have been absolutely amazed at how it has helped different people in various ways. From psoriasis, eczema, nail fungus, cold sores, wrinkles, age spots and even warts. Our customers have been willing to try this oil and are reaping the rewards. It becomes a very personal interaction as they tell you about their biggest skin issue. I love when I hear a new idea for application. I always say "Go for it! You never know if it will help until you try it." They are claiming benefits of Cranberry Seed Oil that I didn't even know existed. I can't make this stuff up. I'm not that clever. 
​I have come across some skeptics though. People give you this quizzical look. "Oil on my face? Thanks but no thanks. I've got enough oil." So I thought I'd do a little research on the benefits of using an oil on your skin and how to apply it. But first a little refresher course on our bodies largest organ.
Our skin has 3 distinct layers. And within each layer there are multiple layers. I know. You are so mulit-layered. The epidermis is the outer region of the skin. The epidermis consists of five layers. Interestingly, it does not contain any blood vessels and is dependent on the dermis, the layer of the skin underneath it, to provide access to nutrients and dispose of waste. The epidermis is responsible for: 

• Creation of new skin cells
• Production of melanin to give color to the skin and reduce the absorption and impact of ultraviolet radiation
• Immune protection of the body
• Physical protection of the body

The dermis, beneath the epidermis, contains tough connective tissue, sweat glands, and hair follicles. It is the thickest layer of the skin. The dermis provides strength and flexibility to the skin and is comprised of two layers; papillary dermis and the reticular dermis. The dermis is responsible for:

• Supporting the epidermis
• Detecting touch, temperature, pressure and pain
• Producing sweat
• Secreting sebum (oil)
• Producing hair
• Carrying nutrients to and discarding waste in the epidermis and dermis layers

The deepest layer is called the hypodermis and contains subcutaneous tissue which is made of fat and connective tissue. This fat tissue insulates the body from cold temperatures and provides shock absorption. Fat cells of the hypodermis also store nutrients and energy. As we age, the hypodermis begins to shrink, contributing to the thinning of skin.
Your skin also has millions of tiny holes called pores. Pores are formed by a folding-in of the epidermis into the dermis. The skin cells that line the pores are constantly being shed, just like the cells of the epidermis. Your pores work hard by providing oxygenation, detoxing, cleansing, and penetration. The skin cells that line the pores (keratinocytes) are continuously shed, just like the cells of the epidermis at the top of the skin.  If you are thirsty for more detailed information about skin check out this article. 

lesliebaumannmd.com/understanding-the-skin-and-its-components/

Okay,I think I may have heard a few yawns out there so let's move on to WHY and HOW you should use Cranberry Seed Oil.
Tweet and let others know why they should use cranberry seed oil.
Why?  Cranberry Seed Oil gives skin an instant softness. You may find yourself petting your face. Or maybe a stranger will want to pet you. Either way, once you've applied your oil that is packed full of essential nutrients, fatty acids and antioxidants you'll notice a difference. It is your skin saying thank you for the support in providing a protective layer for your skin cells. As you age, your skin produces less oil which can exaggerate the look of wrinkles. Cranberry Seed Oil can reduce the look of your wrinkles because it contains antioxidants that can quickly pass into the epidermis preventing water loss. This will keep your skin plump. Cranberry Seed Oil boosts collagen production and strengthens skins elasticity. Now I'm not saying it will make you look like you have a plastic face like many Hollywood starlets (thank goodness), but it will help reduce fine lines. So as you can see Cranberry Seed Oil is perfect for aging skin. Check out this awesome resource I found. It is an ingredient dictionary for skin care products. Look up Cranberry Seed Oil. It ranks it as BEST for skin.
​
www.paulaschoice.com/ingredient-dictionary?crefn1=name-first-letter&crefv1=C
​
What about acne-prone or oily skin though?
Cranberry Seed Oil can help balance your skins oil production, get rid of excess oils and minimize appearance of pores. The antibacterial properties in this oil can dissolve excess sebum and remove grime and fats from pores. Cranberry Seed Oil is non-comedogenic. So it should not clog pores. The trick is to remember that just a little bit goes a long way. It may take a week or so for your skin to get used to the application of oil. My skin broke out a little bit at first in a few trouble spots. But I kept applying the oil knowing it was what my skin was craving. After a week or so, my skin thanked me and decided that it really liked this new skin care routine. 
​What about sensitive skin?
Cranberry Seed Oil fights free radicals with its antioxidant properties. It helps protect skin and combat future damage by reducing cellular oxidation. Cranberry Seed Oil also has anti-inflammatory properties which means it can calm the skin and reduce redness and irritation. 
What about dry skin?
Dry skin means that your skin is struggling to make enough sebum. This quick absorbing, nutrient dense oil helps to deeply moisturize and smooth your skin. It helps to balance your skin. For dehydrated skin you may want to use a hydrating serum first, followed by the Cranberry Seed Oil. You can use oil as part of your morning and evening skin care regime. 
So as you can see, oil is actually very beneficial to all skin types. It may take some experimenting with it to see how it works best for you. 
How?
Our skin needs both oil and water. So even though we've talked about how oil is a great moisturizer it is still missing a key ingredient. Water. And your moisturizer is missing (or just simply doesn't have a beneficial amount of) oil. I prefer to put the oil on first then add a moisturizer. I've heard that some prefer it the other way around. Experiment. See what works best for you. I do know that Cranberry Seed Oil is a great vehicle to get your serum or moisturizer beneficial properties to penetrate the skin more efficiently. Bonus! 
So a sample skin care routine using an oil might look like this:

1. Cleanse your skin
2. Apply toner
3. Apply oil (apply by putting 2-3 drops in palm of hand, rub hands together and then pat it onto skin and glide across using the whole hand)
4. Apply moisturizer

Wa-la! Now give yourself a pat on the back for trying something new. Something natural. Something so packed full of nutrients and benefits that it just can't be wrong!
​

 Lately I've been asked, "How do you get cranberry seed oil?" 
My answer: "It's a very pressing operation." Ha.
In all seriousness, it's a long labor intensive operation. Especially when you consider everything that it takes to grow a cranberry. Growing cranberries is such a unique industry I feel compelled to tell you our story. Bear with me.
My husband and I (high school sweethearts) were away at college together when he came up with the idea of starting a cranberry farm. His family already owned some acreage with enough reservoirs to sustain a marsh.  So armed with an old giant bulldozer he went to work sculpting the land. He was a one man show for a long time. Not sure how at the infantile age of 19 he even knew what he was doing. He worked long hours. Sun up to sun down. I remember when he'd come home from work all you could see were the whites of his eyes, as he would be covered head to toe in dirt. After a lot of investment in time and money we finally were ready to plant our first vines. 
It's a test of patience as you cannot harvest from those vines for at least three years. And production isn't at full speed until year 4 or 5. It's a struggle waiting to reap your first harvest. But seeing those beautiful red berries in the fall was worth the wait. Times were good back then. We were paid handsomely for our labor. But almost 30 years later our industry is hurting. It actually costs more to grow and harvest our berries than what we get paid. For now we are holding on, hoping for change. Trying to diversify. But our farm still needs to be cared for.
Cranberry beds (or bogs) need year round care. Springtime is a when you work hard to ensure that your buds are healthy and protected from frost. This includes applying fertilizer, fungicides or insecticides. It also includes purchasing lots of honey bee hives to pollinate the little pink flowers that blossom and eventually turn into berries. Might I add that still to this day I run like a fool when I see a bee. Can't help it. Bee stings hurt. Springtime also means that someone needs to frost watch. When the nights are cool in the spring we irrigate to keep the buds from freezing. It is round the clock care. Almost like being in the intensive care unit.
When our Wisconsin summer finally decides to arrive we worry more about the pests, and making sure that the vines are not stressed from the heat. Keeping the right amount of moisture on the beds is a delicate dance. And just in case anyone is confused - cranberries do NOT grow IN water. The beds are only flooded for harvest.
When the leaves begin to change color so do our berries. They go from a bright green to a deep crimson red. The cool nights and fall sunshine help this process. Fall is the time of year that becomes all hands on deck. It is when we finally get to harvest. To reap what we've sown. The beds are flooded and the berries get knocked off the vines with either a picker or a harrow machine. Once the berries get tickled off the vines they float to the surface. The bed becomes a beautiful sea of red. (That's where you'll see those crazy guys from the Ocean Spray commercials).  
The berries then need to be conveyed off the beds, cleaned, sorted and sent away to a processing plant.
Once harvest is over there is a lot maintenance that needs to be taken care off. During the winter our beds need to be flooded again so that we can form layers of ice to protect them during our harsh Wisconsin winters. We also spread sand on the beds during the winter by driving a dump truck over the ice and spreading a thin layer of sand. This helps the vines grow during the spring. To learn more about cranberries visit Wisconsin Cranberries.

But what about the oil? 
Well, once our cranberries get processed at a local processor the seeds are expelled. The seeds are actually a by-product that in the past was discarded. We have arrangements to pick up the seeds. They come to us in large totes but are a very wet. In fact, it sometimes looks like a murder scene at our plant when the totes start to ooze out cranberry juice. 
It has been a trial and error process of learning how to effectively dry the seeds. It's not like there are books on it. Even Google is silent on the process.
You have to be careful not to use too much heat because you ruin the integrity of the seed. The seeds have to be at a certain moisture level (sworn to secrecy on that percentage) before they can be pressed. We currently are tumbling the seeds with the right amount of heat and moisture control. It takes a few days just to dry one tote. 
Once the seeds are dried they can be pressed. A hopper above the press receives the dry seed and it funnels down into a press. The press is essentially a large screw looking thing that applies enough pressure to squeeze out the oil. One side of the press, oil is released and the other side has another by product which is called press cake. Some companies are using this press cake for protein powder formulas. I have found that it works as a great colorant to bath and body products. 
Anyhow, so now we have a container of 100% Pure Cold Pressed cranberry seed oil. The oil then needs to sit for awhile and settle. After a few weeks, the oil is ready to be poured into containers using a fine mesh filter. 

Fun Fact: It takes a full semi load of cranberries to make just 5 gallons of oil.
​
Our seeds are never exposed to chemicals or cleaners. Our cold press process ensures that all the goodness of cranberries is present in the oil. It's amazing to think about how such a tiny little seed harnesses so much potential. 
Thanks for listening but I have a pressing matter to attend to. 

 Now that I have your attention...
​
     The average woman wears  515   chemicals on the average day.

Say what?! Yes, you read that correctly. 515 different chemicals are infiltrating your body as you read this. And that's just what you put ON your body. What about the room fragrance, the detergent in your clothing, the chemicals leaching off the sofa you're sitting on? It seems like every day we learn about something new that is bad for us that we once so joyously consumed, felt, or breathed. Think about non-stick cookware, flip flops, anti bacterial soap, Q-tips, microwave popcorn, sunscreen, plastic bottles, plastic anything, carbs. I'm sure I could go on until I am in such a tizzy that I won't sleep tonight... on my  dust mite infested mattress snuggled under the sheets once dipped in formaldehyde. Seriously. Google it.
It's crazy to think about how our world has changed in the last 50 years. We've become slaves to convenience and numb to the warnings we hear every day. We believe everything that manufacturers tell us because we want to. It's easier that way. Someone once told me "Hey, something needs to kill me". But do we really want to just throw our hands up and say come get me? Probably not yet. 

Do you want to know what's lurking in your bathroom drawers? Here's just a few of the 515.

• BHT - used as a preservative in skin care products, shown to have toxic effects in lung tissue
• Parabens - another preservative, interferes with hormone production 
• Propylene Glycol - keeps products from melting or freezing, found in anti-freeze, linked to cancer
• Ethylene Oxide - used in shampoos, classified as a known human carcinogen
• Sodium Lauryl Sulfate - a foaming agent, causes problems in brain, heart & liver
• Fragrance - makes stuff smell good, linked to allergies, dermatitis, irritability, & depression
• FD & C Color & Pigments - synthetic colors from coal tar that deposit heavy metal salts in skin, almost all are carcinogenic
• Triclosan - antibacterial ingredient, registered as a pesticide, causes cancer
• Diethanolamine (DEA) - helps provide a rich lather, exposure to high doses has been linked to liver cancer and precancerous changes in skin and thyroid 

​​

So what do we do? We become informed. READ LABELS.

Since we've started this business I have been paying attention to what I put on my skin. No, I haven't abandoned all the products that I like. I'm not that resourceful. Yet. But if I can swap out a few things at a time, I am making progress towards a healthier lifestyle. So, tonight before you go to bed check out your face wash, toothpaste, and lotion. When you wake up in the morning vow to swap out one of those products for a healthy one. I happen to know a great all natural superior moisturizer.
​Sweet dreams! ​