In the beginning…The MOOGOO Memoirs
The fact that MooGoo even exists is a happy accident. In 2005, the Head of the Herd (Craig Jones) noticed that his mother was using a white paste, intended for use on cows, to help with her Psoriasis. The cream was formulated to help keep the skin on cow’s udders in good condition for milking. Cow’s udders need to be kept soft and supple, not dry and cracked. No one likes an angry cow with sore or cracked udders when it comes time to attach those milking cups.
Although it seemed to be working well, the cream was thick and hard to apply. Since his mum didn’t particularly like being lathered in a thick cream made for cows, he took on the task of reformulating it and made up a lighter, non-greasy version. The word “udder” was a bit crass for an old-fashioned “lady” so they referred to it as “MooGoo” (goo for the cows) and the name stuck. Starting a skin care company wasn’t the initial idea, but friends and family kept asking for more of it, and eventually, Craig went into business.
Since then MooGoo has grown to over 40 products to help with lots of different skin and scalp problems and sold throughout the world. From dealing with irritable skin and itchy scalps to natural sun care products and a baby range for the little ones. And most recently, a natural dental range. MooGoo’s ingredient philosophy has always remained the same: To make effective products using healthy ingredients, that we are comfortable using on ourselves and our loved ones.
Craig continues to be very involved in the business, focusing mostly on formulation and product development.
Everyone has a skin problem
Anytime we mention skin problems, it seemed that everyone had a story to tell:
When developing a new product, first we do the hard yards and research what ingredients would be best to help with a specific problem. After much trial and error we settle on a formula, and start the testing process on ourselves. If we like it, then we ask friends and family to give it a go. If they like it too, then we put it into a bottle or a tube and call it MooGoo. If they don’t like it, we either ditch it or make some tweaks. A lot more goes into it than that, but you get the idea. This is the process for all our products.
Our Ingredient Philosophy
Our goal with our products is to make something that works. Not everything we make will work for every one (because we're all so different), and there is no such thing as a miracle cure *insert eye roll here*. But we do the research and our ingredient philosophy is simple: To make effective products using healthy ingredients, that we are comfortable using on ourselves and our loved ones.
As edible as possible
- although we don’t recommend eating it.
Natural over synthetic
– any day of the week, even if it costs us a little bit more.
Non-irritating
– because we don’t need more irritating things in our lives.
Quality, and family first
– since our family & friends use our products, we don’t skimp on the ingredients.
Safe for every-body
– we choose ingredients that are safe for everyone, including newborns and during pregnancy.
Effective amounts
– we use ingredients in a concentration that is actually effective.
Ethical product testing
– we don’t test on animals, and we don’t export to any countries that might test on animals.
Made in Australia
– we aren’t made by a multinational company, and make all our products in Australia.
Why we choose what we use
Just because something is natural, doesn’t make it safe and effective. Many poisons are naturally-derived, but that doesn’t mean we would ingest them. And many essential oils are irritating to the skin, although naturally-derived. Science has concentrated some of the best compounds found in nature, and for that we are grateful. We choose to use natural ingredients because we believe they are the best options.
When it comes to natural ingredients, we recommend patch-testing all products before use. Many people have allergies to natural compounds such as fruits, nuts, dairy and seafood, while nobody is allergic to Cola. This doesn’t mean that Cola is good for us and that fruit is bad. It means we need to be aware that people can have reactions to specific ingredients that can be helpful to many others.
What’s in it is just as important as what is not
Lists showing ingredients that are not in products (“Free From…”) really grinds our gears. Sure, it might be free from Parabens, but what’s Phenxyethanol doing that the bottom of the ingredient list? There's lots of stuff we don’t use, like Parabens, and Phenoxyethanol to name a few, but the list goes on. It’s easy to list fancy ingredients on the label (great for marketing), but do they make a difference to your skin? And if so, is there enough of it actually in the product to be effective? These are things we are always researching and thinking about.
We aren’t about label-dressing with fancy pants ingredients, misleading gimmick marketing, or selling promises of false hope. Instead we prefer to tell it like it is and not get caught up in all that misleading marketing. We're proud to show all our ingredients on our website, not just the pretty sounding ones. We take pride in our formulas, and researching new ingredient developments really spins our tires *nerd alert*.
Don’t believe the hype – why we choose what we use
We’re all about only using quality ingredients, and the ones we use must have a specific purpose in the product. We refuse to use cheap filler ingredients that aren’t necessary or have no benefit. There are many ingredients we also choose not to use simply because they’re outdated. Technology and science have come a long way and we choose to evolve alongside it. We believe that using newer, natural alternatives instead of old-fashioned synthetic ingredients that were invented in the 1950’s is not only better for everyone, but also more aligned with the times.
And just because something comes in fancy, futuristic packaging, doesn’t make it technologically advanced. This is particularly true for toothpaste, which is why we recently created a Dental Range, but we could go on about that for hours.
Natural ingredients can cost a bit more coin than their prehistoric synthetic predecessors, but we're OK with that because we like feeling good about the products we make. We also do whatever we can to keep our prices as reasonable as possible. But also keep in mind that a higher price tag doesn’t necessarily mean a higher quality product. It's tempting to believe this and understand why some people spend over $200 on a cream with the hope that it’s better. Instead of paying photoshopped celebrities to convince you to use MooGoo, we think our products speak for themselves.
What does “Dermatologically Tested” mean?
You may have seen the term “Dermatologically Tested” on lots of products before, but did you know there’s no an actual definition or regulation for this term? Because that didn’t sit right with us, and because our aim is to make products for people with really sensitive skin, we decided to send a bunch of them off to be tested in an independent lab on 54 people who reported having sensitive skin. The results were given on a scale of 0 to 5 with 0 being no irritation or redness and 5 being a reaction. We’re happy to report that other than one person who had a reaction to the adhesive on the patch and another who found the patches painful to remove, all subjects reported 0 for redness and irritation for all the products we sent for testing. To check out the full report and summary of the test we did on this product, click here.
But enough about us.
Nobody likes someone who talks about themselves all the time, right? So that’s just the basics. But write to us if you have a question; preferably something related to our products. You won’t get a typical corporate response from international headquarters, just an answer from a small, local team that knows and loves MooGoo.