Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, Vossabia has existed since 2004, and we are based on a small farm in Voss, where we have bees and chickens, and not least: we are passionate about preserving the soil life (organically certified meadows), the enormous plant diversity on our old hay meadows, and the cycle here. We love to use our rich natural resources to create useful products to enjoy from nature.

We don't have our own physical stores, but we have many fantastic retailers throughout most of our long country. Check under Retailers .

We have several great retailers in Voss, so it is easy to get our products in, right now, 3 stores in Voss: Sunkost Amfi Voss, Floke hairdresser, Voss tourist information.
See Dealers for address.

We don't have a farm shop directly yet, but it is possible to come and shop during normal working hours (9-16), and at the same time see where we produce and pack and are located.

Everything happens on the farm, where we produce and where we pack. Then the Post Office comes and picks up packages that go out to the whole country every morning.

The packages are sent with Posten/Bring, and each package is tracked all the way to the mailbox.

There is tracking on every package, and customers receive notification that the package is on its way by email, where they will also find a link to the tracking.

See here under Return and exchange terms .

YES! Vossabia is very concerned about ethics in the production of cosmetics, food, agriculture and yes, everything! Ethical production is a big gap in the cosmetics industry and little focus on it, and a lot of bad things happen there. At Vossabia, we are concerned about taking care of our bees, the soil life, the plants that grow on our old hay meadows (also organically certified ), with harvests and processes gently and with respect, and we take care of people in the process. Here, everyone is surrounded by good plants and the bees' fantastic raw materials. Vossabia is on the Animal Welfare Alliance's list of animal-friendly companies , and none of our ingredients are tested on animals, of course. We only use natural ingredients, many harvested from our own farm and surroundings, or organic plant oils, and it is very important that they are natural ingredients of high quality that are good for people and nature. Health is the alpha and omega for Vossabia. For people, animals, plants, organisms in the soil and the entire planet simply.

We pick nettle, yarrow, red clover, rose (rosa rugosa), meadowsweet, horsetail, birch leaves, St. John's wort, Calendula , chamomile, arnica, coltsfoot, rose root and juniper for production, and many other species for food and drink.

Yes, it is safe to use beeswax in baby products. Honey should not be given to infants under 12 months due to a small chance of developing infant botulism bacteria in the intestines from eating honey. There is a very small chance that this can happen, but it is important to be careful, so. avoid giving honey to infants, but the danger is gone after the 1st birthday because then the immune system can handle the matter. Beeswax, on the other hand, is safe to use on babies, as beeswax is antimicrobial, and it is heated at high heat when cleaning before use in cosmetics. Beeswax, on the other hand, is great on baby skin, as it protects the skin, allows the skin to breathe, and retains the natural moisture in the skin. Lubricate your baby with a clear conscience and enjoy the postpartum period.

Our products are safe and good from 0-110! No age restrictions!

Yes, pregnant women will often benefit from using our products. Several of the products are good to apply to the stomach, lower abdomen, and chest. However, I would advise pregnant women not to apply Panterbalsam directly to the pregnant stomach as it contains eucalyptus. It is a small amount, and well diluted of course in good plant oils, but avoid Panterbalsam on the stomach for safety reasons. Under the nose, on headaches, sore muscles, etc., no danger.

Vossabia makes water-free skin products based on beeswax and plant oils/extracts/tinctures. Therefore, these are ointments, not creams, as creams by definition contain water.
Vossabia makes ointments to get the most out of the power of plants. We believe that not diluting with water gives more plant power, without water we prevent the possibility of microbiological growth, we do not need to add preservatives, and the products are incredibly durable and protect against the elements in a good way.

The product does great at room temperature. You don't need to refrigerate it. For the longest shelf life, temperatures below 25 degrees are best, and avoid direct sunlight in, for example, the car, as it will cause the product to go rancid faster.

You can find a complete list of ingredients on each product page. Look under Details, and there you will find ingredients.

Only shampoo and body soap contain preservatives. This is because there is water in these products. Benzyl alcohol is used here, which is approved for use in organic production. In all other products there is NO PRESERVATIVE. Our products are based on plant oils and beeswax, which makes the products very durable to use, AND we do not need to use preservatives for the products to last a long time (over 1 year). This is in contrast to creams (we make ointments and serums), and in creams there is a lot of water, and thus always some type of preservative.

No, absolutely not. That's what we're used to.

Most products contain beeswax, and are therefore not considered vegan. However, some products are vegan: hair serums, shampoos, and body soaps.

No, it's not.

No, they are not. Only Vossabia's meadows are certified for now. But, having said that: VossabiaRenate is extremely committed to ecology, and has since the start in 2004 used organically certified ingredients as far as possible. So all plant oils, essential oils, and most of the content is organic. Some ingredients we cannot get as organically certified, such as lanolin among others. Overall, the vast majority of the ingredients in Vossabia's products are organic. Vossabia has also been the chairman of the board of Økologisk Vestland and a board member of Økologisk Norge , and works actively for organic agriculture in many areas, and we have another farm where Vossabia's co-owners run an organic farm with organic milk production, among other things. We have not started the certification work at Vossabia yet (but will start immediately) as we have not felt the need previously to get a stamp on what we were working for in practice early on: namely the production of organic products. Ultimately, the most important thing for us is to know and operate according to our values, with a very conscious attitude that all ingredients we purchase should be organic, if possible. In this way, we support organic, pesticide-free, fertilizer-free agriculture in many places, not just on our two own farms.

Vossabia's product is on the Animal Welfare Alliance's green list of companies that have documented that animal testing is not done at any stage. And that goes without saying for us. Ethics, health, sustainability for all life are always at the heart of our operations, values and the foundation of the company. Vossabia is naturally animal-friendly, and actually in several senses of the word: many, many animals use Vossabia, whether it is on sore dog paws, on sore cows, or for wound healing on calf knees, etc.

You need a smaller amount than you are used to using creams. A little goes a long way on the skin. So experiment, find your amount, and that applies to both skin and hair products. A little rule of thumb: if it feels like too much, it is too much. Then just apply the remaining amount down the neck/throat or wherever you like, and use less next time.

No. We only use carefully selected organic plant oils, which are like food for the skin. They absorb into the skin, providing nourishment and care, and the products are suitable for most skin types. Unfortunately, most people are used to the idea that greasy ointments and creams cause acne, but that is because the cosmetics industry has for many decades made skin products with mineral oils such as paraffin/vaseline and other waste products from the crude oil industry. Mineral oils, which are synthetic oils, block the skin. Vossabia stays far away from mineral oils and products that contain them.

Physical sunscreens, such as the Tiosol we use, work by creating a film/barrier on the skin that reflects and scatters UV rays, thereby protecting the skin from absorbing UV rays. The liquid physical sunscreen Tiosol blocks both UV-A and UV-B rays. The active ingredient in Tiosol is the natural mineral titanium dioxide, in non-nano form (meaning it is not so finely ground that the particles pose a health hazard), and it comes in liquid form as Tiosol where the titanium dioxide is mixed with thistle oil. The correct factor is calculated by the supplier and manufacturer, and we use the specified sun factor chart that comes with it. We believe there are many advantages to using sunscreens that are natural with a physical filter versus sunscreens with a chemical filter. It is a well-known fact that natural physical sunscreens cause less irritation and allergies than chemical sunscreens, and in addition there is the aspect related to health for people and the environment that Vossabia is very concerned about. See more in the blog post about sunscreen . Usually, physical sunscreens are much more white on the skin than chemical sunscreens, but our recipe has been so thoroughly worked out by Renate with regard to protection (sun rays, water and heat), care and experience during application that there is minimal whiteness when applying Vossabia sunscreen. Enjoy the sun, soak up vitamin D, apply Vossabia sunscreen and remember that the most important protection is to go out of the sun and cover up after moderate time in the sun.

Yes. It is in powder form, with the risk of breathing tiny particles, that titanium dioxide (nano-form) is considered a health risk. It has been common to use titanium dioxide in eye makeup, blush and other powder-based makeup products, and it is recommended to avoid such products due to the risk of inhaling the particles. In sunscreen, titanium dioxide is mixed with oil, and therefore comes in liquid form (non-nano particles). Then it is considered safe to use, and it provides good sun protection and slows down both UVA and UVB rays. Vossabia will in no way make sunscreens with chemical filters and ingredients that have been found to be both endocrine disrupting, carcinogenic and destructive to, for example, coral reefs. Read more about it in the blog post about sunscreen , and see links in the post. Here are other links with interesting and further info about titanium dioxide, so read and inform yourself before you make your choices:
· https://madesafe.org/blogs/viewpoint/the-scoop-on-titanium-dioxide-in-cosmetics
· https://www.safecosmetics.org/chemicals/titanium-dioxide/

Deodorant and antiperspirant are two different products that work in different ways. Unlike antiperspirants, deodorants do not block sweating. Instead, deodorant works by preventing the bacteria that cause unwanted body odor from reacting with your sweat (which is odorless in itself). A natural deodorant neutralizes sweat odor, and never blocks sweat. Vossabia will not prevent the body's important processes, such as allowing the skin to breathe and sweat naturally, so you will not find antiperspirants (which use aluminum salts to block sweat). Sweating is normal and natural. Sweating is the body's and lymphatic system's way of eliminating toxins from the body. In addition, sweating is important because it acts as a temperature regulator. We use organic, naturally produced baking soda and arrowroot to keep sweat odor away, and to keep your armpits dry and fresh all day long.

No. Sodium Laureth Sulfate (Norwegian: Natriumlauretsulfat) and its relative SLES are artificially produced, synthetic surfactants that have been widely used in soaps, shampoos, dishwashing detergents and toothpastes since the 1930s, among other things because it provides cheap foam. Many assume that with a lot of foam, it is cleaner. SLS/SLES poses a higher risk of skin irritation than other soap ingredients, it dries out the skin more easily, and it is usually made from palm oil, which has a negative environmental impact if it is from palm oil production at the expense of rainforests.

We use mild vegetable raw soap that contains Mipa-Laureth Sulphate and Cocamidopropyl Betaine. Mipa-Laureth Sulphate is a very mild and skin-friendly soap based on saponified coconut/or palm kernel oil (from sustainable palm farming), it does not dry out the skin and has a good rate of degradation in nature. Cocamidopropyl Betaine is a super mild surfactant soap based on coconut. It also provides some conditioning effect, and also has a good rate of degradation in nature. In addition, we have Sugar Surfactant (INCI: Decyl glucoside + Cocamidopropyl Betaine) as a minor part of the soap part, which is also a mild substance made from saponified coconut or palm oil, glucose from wheat or corn and betaine from coconut oil. We have chosen these soap ingredients because they are mild, clean well, degrade well in nature without harmful effects, and because they give our products good qualities in addition.

About 65% of shampoo and body wash consists of a strong "herbal tea", or herbal decoction. So there are a lot of herbs here that care for and nourish the hair and body.