Tristan Jade Apothecary's Unique Formula

Creating a line of products was never my intention as a small business owner. The development of Equine Arnica Gel and then Essential Arnica Gel came about out of customer need and repeated requests. We had contacts in the human skin care industry that encouraged and helped develop our products.

A few years ago several of my Equine Massage Therapy clients made repeated requests for me to pick up and use arnica lotion on their horses. I did this but found the products to be inadequate. The levels of arnica were very small (only 1-4%), the base ingredients were of poor quality and not conducive to absorption. The costs were rather high for these lotions.

Base ingredients are all over the board: mineral oil, menthol, witch hazel and even alcohol. None of these are very good for skin or hair (horse and human alike). Many are counter-productive to arnica absorption. Some sting or burn.

The warming and cooling effect...
The cooling effect you feel with some products is simply evaporative cooling. The element evaporates so quickly that it feels cooler, for a moment. This evaporation also takes the arnica with it.  Menthol triggers cold receptors on the skin making it feel cooler but not actually reducing skin temperature. The same is true for ingredients that heat or feel warm. They trigger heat receptors giving the illusion that the area is heating up. Both heating and cooling do increase circulation very quickly but also very briefly. These ingredients may sting or burn skin that is irritated. None of these actually improve healing.

Tristan Jade Apothecary

Equine Arnica Gel was formulated in aloe vera. We wanted a base that would not sting, burn, dry out skin or damage coat. The aloe vera absorbs easily, cleanly into skin. An added benefit is the soothing properties aloe vera brings. Horses get sunburn sometimes too. Equine Arnica Gel, being based in aloe vera is soothing to burns, bug bites and mild abrasions. Plus it delivers effective arnica to relieve pain and speed up healing time. We added a touch of carrot seed oil for a calming aromatherapeutic effect for horses.

Customers who purchased Equine Arnica Gel usually tried it on themselves. People need an effective, safe pain relieving, healing product too. Demand grew for a human version. Many practitioners in the human health field wanted to use it on their patients and sell it at their practices. Thus Essential Arnica Gel was created.

Essential Arnica Gel has all the same healing ingredients as its Equine counterpart. Essential Arnica Gel is unscented. Carrot seed oil is not added to it. Our product development studies found a wide range of scents that people accepted. Ten people polled, had ten different scents that they preferred. Unscented seemed to be the best alternative.

Both Essential Arnica Gel and Equine Arnica Gel are formulated with 24% arnica solution in aloe vera. A touch of vitamin E was added to help prevent it from feeling sticky, help with absorption and moisturize a little. We produce all our products at an FDA approved facility located in Tempe, Arizona.

Coming up... the many uses for Essential Arnica Gel and Equine Arnica Gel.

Topic-related questions and comments are welcome!