HOW DO YOU MAINTAIN SUCH HIGH, CONSISTENT QUALITY CONTROL?

Quality control is extremely important to Camille Beckman. We built our existing facility so we would have all operations under one roof. Most of the products we sell are produced and packaged at this facility.

Our multi-stage quality control starts the moment raw materials arrive at our warehouse and continues through pre-production, production, and post-production. From each batch produced we take three (3) samples. Sample #1 is used for in-house quality testing. We test for the proper viscosity, pH, color, fragrance, and other applicable factors. Sample #2 is sent to an outside microbiology lab for testing. Each batch is checked and pumped only after it has passed all the quality checks. What happens to Sample #3? It is put away and saved for three years. Should a problem be reported, we can quickly research the problem with our saved batch sample.

Most of our products are produced in 14 to 20 different fragrances. Each product requires its own production run, or, as we call it, a 'batch'. Producing a batch of product begins with the ingredients. When we receive the raw materials, they are initially checked for quality by our QA (Quality Assurance) person. Only after passing this check, do the ingredients go into our inventory. When we are ready to produce a batch, each ingredient is precisely measured according to our proprietary formulas for each product.

Water

One of the keys to producing a consistently high quality product is starting with a pure water source. Camille Beckman has invested in some of the most advanced water purification equipment available. Artesian well water is first filtered through carbon filters. Then it is sent through water softeners and from there it goes through a reverse osmosis (R.O.) process. The R.O. process removes most of the solids. Typically the water goes from about 180 parts per million to 6 or 7 parts per million. Then the water goes through deionizing resin beds (D.I.) which take out the remaining solids. As a final step, the water passes through an ultraviolet filter. The result, known as polished water, is now ready to use in our products. Any water not needed at that time is circulated beneath our floor through a series of pipes - keeping us warm in the winter and cool in the summer. When exiting the building this pure water returns to nature and flows underground to a large pond on the property.

Equipment

Batches are produced in double-jacketed, stainless steel mixing kettles and produce about 1,300 pounds of product per batch. Most of our equipment was custom designed for Camille Beckman. The double-jacketed kettle allows us to heat the container with hot water and, at other times, flush it with cool water.

WHAT IS THE SHELF LIFE OF YOUR PRODUCTS?

The products have enough preservative to maintain a 30 month shelf life.

DO YOU USE ANIMAL PRODUCTS OR DO ANIMAL TESTING?

We conduct no animal testing, unless you consider friends and family members. We use lanolin, which is a by-product from wool, in our Coronet Cream and Lip Balm. We hope you enjoy our products and thank you for your interest in Camille Beckman.

I HAVE SOME FRENCH VANILLA PRODUCT AND NOTICED THAT THE COLOR HAS DARKENED OVER TIME. IS THE PRODUCT STILL USABLE?

We use vanillin in the fragrance of French Vanilla. You may have noticed that when you purchase cooking vanilla in the store that it is always brown. That is because it has started to oxidize. It has no adverse effect on the quality when used in cooking or in our hand cream. We like the nice pale yellow color ourselves and have a few trade secrets to keep it from turning chocolate brown. Please know that some oxidation will occur and from time to time a batch will turn caramel in color.