Why We Never Needed Big Oil
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If it feels like everything costs more lately, you're not imagining it. Gas prices climbing, groceries creeping up, and a general sense that a dollar doesn't stretch as far as it used to — it's a lot. At Dancing Bee Soapworks, we feel it too. We buy oils, packaging, and supplies just like everyone else, and rising energy costs touch nearly every link in a supply chain.
But there's one place where we've always done things differently — and it turns out that difference matters more than ever right now.
Why Petroleum Prices Don't Hit Us the Same Way
Here's something most people don't think about until a moment like this: a huge share of mass-market soaps, lotions, and personal care products are built on petroleum-derived ingredients. Mineral oil, paraffin, petrolatum, and many synthetic surfactants all trace back to the same barrel of crude oil that's filling up your gas tank. When oil prices spike, those products get squeezed at the source — and that pressure eventually makes its way to store shelves.
Dancing Bee has never worked that way. Since 1999, every bar of soap and jar of balm we've made has started with plant-based oils, local Ohio honey and beeswax, and herbs we grow ourselves right here in Knox County. We made that choice originally because of fragrance sensitivity — no synthetic fragrance, no phthalates, just ingredients we could trust on our own skin. It wasn't a response to oil prices or supply chains. It was personal.
But one nice side effect of building a business this way is that we're simply less exposed to the kind of shock that's rattling a lot of other companies' cost structures right now. Plant oils, beeswax, and local botanicals don't move with the price of Brent crude. That stability lets us keep doing what we've always done — making good products without cutting corners — even when the broader economy feels shaky.
What's Actually in Commercial Soap — and Why It Matters for Your Skin
The oil price angle is one reason to think twice about mass-market personal care products. But honestly, the more you know about what goes into a typical grocery store "soap bar," the more questions you start to ask — regardless of what crude oil is doing.
Here's a closer look at the ingredients that show up most often, and what the research says about them:
Mineral oil, paraffin, and petrolatum
These petroleum derivatives are used widely because they're cheap and create a smooth, moisturized feeling on the skin. The problem is they work by forming an occlusive film on the skin's surface — a barrier that sits on top rather than being absorbed. While this can trap moisture in the short term, it also prevents the skin from breathing naturally and can clog pores over time, contributing to breakouts and skin congestion. Unlike plant-based oils, mineral oil provides no actual nutritional value to the skin — no fatty acids, no vitamins, nothing the skin can actually use. Long-term reliance on these ingredients can make skin dependent on external moisture rather than producing its own, and may weaken the skin's natural barrier function.
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES)
These are the foaming agents that make commercial soap lather so dramatically. They're effective at stripping dirt and oil — which sounds like the point, until you realize they strip your skin's natural protective oils right along with everything else. For people with sensitive skin, eczema, or rosacea, sulfates are a common trigger for dryness, redness, and flare-ups. The skin essentially has to work to recover from every wash, rebuilding the moisture barrier the soap just removed.
Parabens
Commercial products have a long shelf life, and parabens are a big reason why — they're inexpensive, effective preservatives that prevent bacterial and mold growth. The concern is that parabens are known endocrine disruptors, meaning they can mimic estrogen in the body. Research is ongoing, and the science is nuanced, but enough questions have been raised that many consumers choose to limit exposure where they can. Parabens commonly appear on labels as methylparaben, propylparaben, or butylparaben.
Synthetic fragrance — and the "fragrance" loophole
This one surprises a lot of people. In the United States, companies are not required to disclose what's inside a product's "fragrance" because it's considered a trade secret. That single word on an ingredient list can represent a blend of dozens or even hundreds of undisclosed chemicals, including phthalates (used to make fragrance last longer) and synthetic musks, some of which are known allergens or suspected hormone disruptors. If you or someone in your family has unexplained skin reactions, synthetic fragrance is often the first place to look. Dancing Bee uses only pure essential oils or natural, plant-based fragrance oils for scent — nothing hidden, nothing synthetic.
Artificial dyes
Many commercial soaps are brightly colored, and those colors come from synthetic dyes, many of which are derived from — you guessed it — petroleum. Some synthetic colorants have been linked to skin irritation and allergic reactions in sensitive individuals.
None of this means every commercial product is dangerous or that you should panic. But it does mean it's worth knowing what's in what you put on your skin every single day. Your skin is your body's largest organ. What you wash with isn't just rinsed away — some of it is absorbed.
Small Ways to Stretch Your Budget Further
We know that "buy from us because our costs are stable" isn't quite the same as "this is easier on your wallet today." So here are two ways we've made it simpler to get what you need without adding strain:
Subscribe & Save. If you have a go-to soap, balm, or skincare product, you can set it up for automatic delivery on whatever schedule works for you — monthly, every six weeks, whatever fits. Every subscription order comes with a built-in discount, and you can skip, pause, or cancel anytime. No more running out at the worst possible moment, and no more paying full price for something you buy regularly anyway.
Order online, anytime.You don't have to make a special trip — and spend the gas money — just to restock. Everything available in our Mount Vernon shop is available online too, ready whenever it's convenient for you, day or night. For a lot of folks right now, skipping an unnecessary drive is its own small savings.
Together, these two things mean one less errand on your list and a little more breathing room in your budget — without giving up the products you actually like using.
Why Shopping Local Still Matters — Maybe More Than Ever
There's one more piece of this worth saying plainly: where you spend your money matters, especially right now.
When you buy from a large national brand, your dollars take a long trip. They move through an international supply chain, through warehouses and distributors, often ending up with a company headquartered somewhere far from where you live. When you buy from Dancing Bee, your money stays close to home. It goes to the local suppliers we work with, it supports the other small makers who sell alongside us in our shop's vendor space, and it helps keep a 25-plus-year-old Knox County business rooted on Main Street in Mount Vernon.
In a year when a lot of economic forces feel completely out of any one person's control, that's one choice that's still entirely in your hands.
Come See Us — In the Shop or Online
Whether you stop by Main Street to smell something new at the Scent Bar, browse the work of the local makers in our vendor space, or simply pull up our website from your couch, we're glad to have you. We built this business on the idea that good products shouldn't come with hidden costs — to your skin, your wallet, or your community. That hasn't changed, and it's not going to.