The Gift Every Mama — and Baby — Deserves
By Victoria, Founder of Rational Body
There is a moment that happens over and over again at my booth. A woman picks up one of my products, turns it over in her hands, reads the ingredients, smells it — and says:
"I wish someone had given this to me."
There is also a little bit of: "I wish I had known about this, or taken better care of myself." It is never too late.
Each of my products was made with moms and babies in mind. There is a time when we transition out of the baby phase, but nobody should be adding toxic chemicals to their skin. Ever.
It doesn't matter if she had her baby six months ago or sixty years ago - we can do better. For her. For our babies. For our planet. So many mamas are still missing out right now, and that breaks my heart. That's why I created these packages.
But the first thing I want to say before I get into the details: is Thank you. Thank you for taking care of your baby, yourself, a mom-friend you know and love. Thank you for asking what's actually in the things you put on your skin and your baby's skin. Thank you for setting habits and modeling behavior we want our children to follow. Thank you for raising the bar.
That instinct — that mama bear instinct — is something to trust.
Welcome to skincare that cares. Luxury can also be healing.
What's Actually In What You're Putting On Your Body?
Your skin is your largest organ, and it absorbs what you put on it. During pregnancy and postpartum, that matters more than ever — because what absorbs into you can reach your baby.
I’d like to keep it all light and fluffy, but I need to say one scary thing: The average baby is now born with approximately 300 known toxins detectable in their umbilical cord blood. That is the world we are living in. I don't say that to scare you — I say it to empower you. Because knowing is the first step toward doing something about it.
“If ever this country had a wake-up call, it’s the blood test results of these newborns,” Congress Representative Louise Slaughter said. “If we ever had proof that our nation’s pollution laws aren’t working, it’s reading the list of industrial chemicals in the bodies of babies who have not yet lived outside the womb.”
Until recently, scientists believed that babies in the womb were largely protected from most toxic chemicals, but the EWG study helps confirm that chemical exposure begins while in our mom’s tummies. Children have never seen the toxic burden as they do today.
Every single product I make was created with that reality in mind.
We can’t fix everything, but we can create the best first start possible.
Our products us no synthetic fragrances. No added scents. No preservatives engineered to last 100 years on a shelf. No temporary feel-good chemicals that create downstream problems later. What you smell — the warm vanilla, the soft cacao, the gentle apricot — comes entirely from the natural oils and botanicals themselves.
These products are made to last a year or more, similar to the way real food degrades eventually — but not to live forever. Because real food does eventually go bad. Everything does. Things that DON’T break down are actually the problem- for our bodies, our animals, and our planet.
The Beautiful Handshake Between Plants and Animals
The truth is we use animal products, things we think work the best, but we do so VERY intentionally. And we also have vegan ones.
The two lines of products, that may seem at odds with one another, are actually both attempting to combat the same thing: the mainstream treatment of animals. I think animal-based and vegan CAN go hand in hand.
When we source from farms that treat animals the way they need to be treated, we do more than avoid the problem, we offer a solution. We will never be able to get everyone off animal products, and maybe we shouldn’t- keeping animals in our lives keeps them on this planet. They do really good things for us, on many levels. But we can treat them better. And it all comes full circle. Treat the animals better, the planet better, means treating ourselves better- we are a living part of this ecosystem- nothing exists in isolation. If we pollute the feedlot, we ingest that. If we poison our water and air, we are the ones who suffer. We can do better. We CAN be good for this planet, if we choose to do so.
And some animal-based products work- really really well. Tallow is beef fat- and we only source from farmers raising cows that eat ONLY grass. Only 3% of all cows in America eat only grass, when it should be the ONLY thing they do eat! Fats absorb toxins, so quality matters immensely when using animal based products. And it is the stuff that otherwise would be discarded, using every part that nature gives us.
And the better treated animals provide better natural medicine. Helping others can be selfish- in the best way possible.
I have another problem with avoiding animal products- the fact that all living things are alive. Trees have mothers in the forest that feed their own babies, send nutrients and signals to smaller or sick trees. Octopus have feelings without a spine. Where do you draw a line with what deserves respect, or to be used intentionally, and what doesn’t? Every time we eat, or use something to make skincare, a living thing has to die. Fruit is part of a tree, part of a living system that something worked really hard to make. And it is okay to eat it. Spread the seed of that fruit, and plant more of them. We can be good for one another in the long run.
In skin care, each line of items have their specialty:
Animal-based ingredients — like tallow and lanolin — are structurally very similar to our own natural skin oils. Because of this, they absorb deeply and efficiently, carrying vitamins and minerals directly into the skin in a way our bodies recognize and know how to use. Tallow has been used for thousands of years. Lanolin became beloved when shepherds noticed their hands were remarkably soft after working with their sheep — and for good reason. These ingredients come from animals that are treated with care and respect, raised by farmers who understand that how we care for living beings matters. I want to support those farmers.
Plant-based ingredients — like our cacao and shea butter — tend to act more as beautiful barriers, protecting skin from wind, sun, and environmental pollutants while delivering their own nourishing properties. And plants are full of medicine - their own chemical compounds they use to survive.
Together, they do something neither could do alone.
I also infuse my apricot oil with calendula, a healing flower that has been used medicinally for centuries, and marshmallow root, which brings a long tradition of skin soothing backed by modern science. These aren't trendy additions. Tallow is not a trend. It is a resurgence. It is our part of our legacy we’ve forgotten, since we started putting pollutants and plastics and bleach on our skin instead.
Every ingredient we use is intentional, choices made with you and your baby in mind. Products that have been used hundreds, often thousands of years. If good for a baby, it is good for anyone. And it works. Most commercial products come with many added fragrances, often not listed, each with an average of 4 hormone-disrupting chemicals. Those are horrible for men, teenagers, everyone. Literally everyone. When we formulate for babies, everyone wins.
If you know of any sensitivities — to shea butter, lanolin, or anything else — please reach out before purchasing, and we can find you something that works better, for you. And as with any new product, always do a patch test first, especially on broken or sensitive skin, and especially before using on your baby.
(A note on lanolin: fewer than 1% of people have a sensitivity. Same with tallow. If ever bitten by a tick, tallow sensitivity can increase. Always check a small area first before applying a new product more broadly).
A note on essential oils: even something as gentle as lavender — used widely and routinely — has been shown in studies to stimulate breast tissue growth in young boys when used regularly, directly on their skin. Sure, it was in large doses, but those studies saw no changes in blood hormone levels. Meaning our testing is inadequate. After 30 days of removal, that breast tissue went away. That gives us hope, but we should do our best to not do that to our boys, or anyone. Essential oils are highly compacted, made of sometimes thousands of plants that would never occur in nature in such doses, and also considered highly wasteful by many herbalists. Which is exactly why my products contain no added essential oils — only the natural scent of the ingredients themselves.)
Safe for Baby Too — With One Simple Note
The best part about these products is they are safe for your baby as well.
The Nip Whip, the Tallow Balm, the Vegan Belly Butter — all of them can be used gently on your little one. The Nip Whip in particular makes a remarkable diaper rash cream. The belly butter and tallow balm are wonderful for baby's sensitive skin, too. These are healing, nourishing ingredients that your baby's body recognizes just as naturally as yours does.
The one simple guideline: I wouldn’t apply any product directly to nipples before a feeding- unless the goal is to get that baby to eat it. Not because anything in it is harmful — there is nothing toxic in any of these products — but because your baby is deeply, beautifully tuned to your natural scent when latching, and even the most gentle natural oils can be a distraction. Apply it right after a feeding, or give it about 20 minutes to absorb before the next one.
Which brings me to something I love telling people: these products feel a little different at first. When you first apply them, they may feel slightly wet — almost like too much. And then about ten minutes later you'll catch yourself thinking, "Why do my hands feel so soft?" Because those oils took ten minutes to absorb. Not long, but enough to have moved on and forgotten. There's no silicone slip. No synthetic smoothness. Just your skin, deeply fed, doing exactly what it's designed to do. Oils May separate or harden in the cold or soften in the heat. If you ever want that whip texture back, place into a bowl and whip it with a hand mixture. That’s all that gave it the whip in the first place, just in my own kitchen!
The Two Packages — and Who They're For
🌿 The Starter Gift Set - So you can find your favorites
Valued at $10
A beautiful, intentional introduction to clean self-care. Includes a nourishing lip balm and three single-use samples:
Lip Balm — Something everyone needs- but especially breastfeeding women who are losing a lot of liquids and need to be drinking more water. If you want beautiful lips, drink lots of water first. THEN apply something topical. And this is about as good as it gets. 3 simple ingredients: Cacao butter, tallow, and a tiny bit of beeswax to hold it together. The cacao butter smells divine and acts as a barrier against pollutants (plus wind, sun, etc), while the tallow absorbs in and makes you feel instantly soft. Beeswax is its on medicine.
Nip Whip — Our whipped nipple butter, a lanolin-based formula originally intended for cracked, sore nipples — one of the most painful and least-discussed realities of early breastfeeding. I remember having cracked nipples day 1 in the hospital, and not being able to apply the lanolin given to me by the hospital, because it was so sticky-and painful- to apply. That’s what this is for- to absorb in beautifully. Tallow is a wonderful vessel for absorption. But it's also extraordinary on cracked fingers, dry winter skin, and as a diaper rash cream for baby. (But please, always patch test on healthy skin before applying to broken skin to learn about any sensitivities).
Tallow Face & Body Balm — Self care that delivers. Something that works that feels like luxury alone. Infused with real, organic vanilla beans, packed with wonderful skin ingredients like sugar-cane-derived squalane found in the best face serums, jojoba and tallow, each ingredient delivering its own magic. Did we mention it smells incredible? People say it smells like ice cream- the real stuff, not that fake vanilla. A tiny bit of infused organic coffee beans gives a tiny bit of circulation and scent. This is the product people pick up and don't want to put down. It started our whole line up- when I had to start making it because my husband wanted it constantly. I use it for my face and hands, while he applies it to his whole body. It should not clog pores, unlike other thick butters on the market, which is why we left the cacoa butter out. Apply literally wherever you need it. Can be used on baby, but check they are okay with the natural scent first.
Vegan Cacao Belly Butter — This was my herbalist teachers’ go-to recipe for stretch mark prevention. That butter I applied to my own growing belly, knowing the whole world was underneath that skin. But it is also great for every stage of life: during pregnancy, after delivery, and beyond. Infused with calendula and marshmallow root, some of nature’s best medicines for skin. I remember using this in the middle of the night and my husband telling me I smell like chocolate, and him wanting his own. If you really want to prevent stretch marks though, nothing beats what you eat, what you put IN your body. Like drinking water for healthy lips, you should try to get most nutrients per bite to get the healthiest skin, and avoid things like added sugar and fried foods (which are now being linked to blocking collagen and broken skin).
🌿 The Ultimate Gift Package
Valued over $100 | Includes the complete collection + a FREE Nutritional Education Booklet (a $10 value)
For the mama who wants to try it all — or the person who wants to give it to her. This is the complete self-care experience. Feel free to message me to swap out the body butter for the vegan cacao or tallow balm.
Plus my Nutritional Education Booklet, called the 12 Meals to Change your Life, which I wrote because what you put in your body matters just as much as what you put on it.
This Is for You. And for Her. And for Them.
Educating a mama is one of the best things anyone can do to make change on this planet. Tell her what is in her food, her products. Help take care of her. Help her to understand how to take care of her body and baby. The rewards are immense, and unmeasurable (though people have tried and its reach is mind blowing).
If you're a mama reading this: You are allowed to want this for yourself. You are allowed to ask for it. Caring for yourself is not indulgent — it is essential. YOU are essential. Simple things can feel luxurious.
If you love someone who is pregnant or postpartum: This is the best kind of gift. Not another onesie. Something for her — something she will use, feel, and remember.
If you are a Doula or birth worker: You already know what your clients are going through. These packages were developed with your community in mind. I would be honored to work with you directly to bring these to the mamas you serve.
If you are just a human: Who wants to learn how to eat, how to put more appropriate things on your skin, this is for you. Or if you just want to smell good, that works, too.
Pregnancy amplifies every instinct you have. And that is rational. That is your epigenetics speaking. Your body is expecting good things. Give it the best nature has to offer. We live in a time of incredible freedom- so choose the best, not the worst, human man kind has to offer. The science brings us back to nature.
One Step at a Time
You cannot do everything perfectly. Nobody can. The world your baby is being born into is complicated, and the toxin load in our environment is real whether we acknowledge it or not.
But you can do this.
Maybe one day you can make it yourself. But there are moments we can ask for help, when we just don’t have the time or energy to do it all alone. And we were never meant to. I love to support others doing the work and the research, guiding me to new ideas and products and traditional methods. We are honored to be part of this work, and that you have even read this far. I share all my recipes online and support anyone trying to do this kind of work. Let’s support one another’s gifts.
You can choose products made with intention, with ingredients used for thousands of years, with your long-term wellbeing in mind rather than a manufacturer's shelf life. You can take one step toward nourishing yourself the way you deserve to be taken care of.
That's what these products are. One beautiful, luxurious, deeply intentional step.
And you are absolutely worth it.
———
Victoria Siegel is an engineer, turned mama, turned herbalist. She is the founder of Rational Body, a line of clean, natural, small-batch skincare products handcrafted with mothers and babies in mind. Find her at local markets in the East Bay and online at rationalbody.com.
Questions about ingredients, sensitivities, or partnering to bring these products to your clients? Reach out at rationalbody@gmail.com .
Patch testing always recommended.
