FAQ

We agree. Cold does seem like common sense, and we often get this comment from customers immediately after they discover us. It's usually followed by something like "I just don't understand why no one else is doing this..."

After all, we all use a fridge for our healthy foods, we all know potato chips and other shelf-stable foods are by their nature less nutritious than those that aren't shelf-stable. It's for this very reason that the outer walls of a grocery store are where we get the healthiest foods. So what's the deal?

The short answer is because what we do is hard. The full answer is a bit long, but if you have a moment here goes:

There's a good chance you already know about skincare fridges (aka beauty fridges). If you search Amazon you'll find hundreds of models. Many skincare brands offer them on their own websites as part of sets/bundles. Simply by offering skincare fridges at all the industry is validating what we all already know: temperature matters.

But cold can't reverse decay, it can only inhibit it. That's why we tell our customers they don't really need a skincare fridge, what they need is to receive fresh products and then use them in a timely manner. That's the secret to potent products and great results.

But the thing is it's actually not easy for a brand to chill all of their ingredients and products. Most beauty brands don't actually have control over their own production, but instead outsource to production houses who without exception do not offer cold preservation as an option. Even beauty brands who refer to "our facility" or "our studio" are generally using the term in the sense of "the facility/studio we hire," and as a result have little real control.

Making matters worse, most brands want to sell on Amazon. But Amazon only offers chilled storage for food products, and this rule is strict (we know because we've tried). But if you want to get traction on Amazon, you really need to use their own fulfillment services, as this is what their algorithm rewards. But in order to use Amazon fulfillment centers, you have to agree to all of your inventory being exposed to 155° F for extended periods. You read that right: 155° F. (If you're curious why you won't find Wild Ice on Amazon, now you know.)

And then there's the problem of retail. How do you go into retail if your products have to be chilled on display? You really can't, unless the store is willing to use a special display just for your brand (which we do require, it's called the Iceberg, but that's another story). But if they do accept it, they're seeding the idea in shoppers' minds that all of their other products are subpar due to not being cold-preserved (a notion we agree with). So not only do you need retail to agree to a display fridge, but they also have to be ok with undermining all their other brands.

So you end up with a situation where everyone knows cold matters, and we can see this validated by all the beauty fridges that even many of our competitors are offering. But at the same time, production houses aren't equipped to accommodate it, ditto for fulfillment centers, and ditto for retail display.

That, dear reader, is why no one else offers what we do. And we wouldn't have it any other way.

1. Peruse the rest of the FAQ to find answers to other common questions.

2. If you haven't already, read through our Why Cold page to learn what makes Wild Ice special.

3. Then head to our new customer page where we'll walk you through our line and offer our advice on what to prioritize.

4. If you're wondering how to incorporate products into your routine, try starting with our Basic Routine. Want to go beyond the basics? Add all your favorite products and see where they fit in by checking out our Advanced Routine.

Yes! We offer four easy ways for new customers to save:

1. Sign-Up Discount: New customers who join our email list will receive a 15% discount on their first order. Use the floating tab (bottom middle on mobile, top left on desktop) or access it via the footer. Remember to check your spam or promotions folder for the discount code!

2. Build a Subscription Box: Customize your own subscription box, choose your delivery frequency, and save up to 30%. This discount stacks with the 15% new customer sign-up discount. Manage your schedule or cancel anytime from your account, with a reminder email sent three days before any charge.

3. Earn and Redeem Droplets: Accumulate Droplets by spending, sharing on social media, and referring friends. Redeem your Droplets for discount codes that stack with your subscription box.

4. Get Paid for Photos: Order our Cryo-C, D.B.T. Baba Yaga, and B-Meltee on your first order, and we'll pay for your before and after photos. Follow our Essentials Routine for six weeks and see our offer page for details.

To view our recommended order of use, on mobile tap the triple bar ☰ icon (top left, scroll up slightly if it's hidden), then tap "Products," then tap "Face (In Use Order)" or "Body (In Use Order)" and the products will be listed in their respective use order.

On desktop just hover over the "Products" header (in the main menu) and you'll see the same two lists.

We did it this way to make it easy to reference from any page.

You can also explore our Advanced Routine for a comprehensive guide on where each product fits into the bigger picture. It's not necessary to have every product; instead think of the routine as a way to contextualize each product's use.

Yes, for new customers or those not familiar with habitual skincare we generally recommend starting with our Essentials Routine, the perfect intro to the essentials of Wild Ice. If you're brand new we'll even pay for genuine before & after pics.

Those looking for something more comprehensive should check out our Advanced Routine which illustrates how each and every Wild Ice product fits together holistically.

The Advanced Routine is designed for two main purposes:

1. To provide context for each product's use within a routine, helping you understand how each item contributes to your skin's health.
2. To illustrate a goal you can build towards as your collection grows, ensuring you know what to do with each product you add.

Starting with just one or two products is perfectly fine, and it's understandable if you're currently using items from other brands. Our goal is for our routines to serve as a flexible framework that supports your skin's needs, allowing for substitutions as needed.

Over time, we hope you'll see the unique benefits of our products and choose to fully integrate Wild Ice into your skincare regimen.

If you use your skincare right out of the box, you do not need to chill it. With typical use it takes about two to three months to go through a full size Wild Ice product, which isn't enough time for meaningful decay.

If you plan to wait a month or more before you start using your products then go ahead and put them in your kitchen refrigerator.

Refrigerating your Wild Ice skincare will never harm it, but freezing it could damage the bottle.

If you accidentally freeze your skincare, check the bottle for damage and remember to shake vigorously after thawing as some ingredient separation will have occurred (this is nothing to worry about).

Our advice is to skip the mini fridge. With skincare, most decay happens well before a product gets into your hands.

And while cold stops products from breaking down, it can’t reverse decay that’s already occurred.

What matters is that the products you use arrive in their most potent state, and that you use them promptly and frequently.

If you feel that you simply must have one then that’s fine too – it certainly won’t hurt. In the event that you accidently freeze a product just be sure to thaw and shake before use.

The industry norm is to outsource production to one of a very small number of specialist agencies.

In fact, there's a good chance that any two competing brands on a store shelf were made under the same roof by the same agency.

We're not typical. How could we be? In order to cold-preserve all of our ingredient and product inventory we need complete control of every step.

So no, we don't outsource formulation or production. And, as you can probably tell, we're pretty darn proud of it :)

Thanks to the power of cold preservation, our products never contain any unlisted, questionable, or dangerous chemicals such as parabens, sulfates, phthalates, dyes, GMOs, formaldehydes, BPAs, synthetic fragrances and perfumes, synthetic colors, petroleum, mineral oils, propylene glycols or DEAs. We only use high quality, natural, organic or wild-crafted (when available) and sustainably produced ingredients.

If you’re a skincare nerd like us, you may have read that colored glass protects your skincare products from UV light. So why did we opt for clear?

To put it simply, colored glass blocks sunlight, which we recommend you keep your products out of. (Heat will damage your skincare.)

Artificial lights—like LED lights—are what your skincare is most likely to be exposed to, and this light is so low energy that it won’t damage your skincare.

With that in mind, we chose transparent glass because it enables you, our darling customer, to see the contents of our products before you buy them.

Additionally, clear glass allows the beauty of the contents to shine through. We believe having products that look good on the vanity or shelf is of real value and a treasured part of the skincare experience.

Absolutely not. We have never (and will never) test our products on our animal friends. We test on our (willing) human friends instead.

Absolutely, our products are always vegan. They never contain tallow or any other animal fats or animal by-products.

Don't roll your eyes! Believe it or not we get this question all the time.

We feel that adorning your space (rather than merely existing in it) is a tangible benefit that demonstrates our respect for you. Plastic bottles or basic round glass just don't strike us as particularly ennobling.

Besides, our enclosures are our one chance to manifest our values in physical form. Wood on ice-cubed glass seems to whisper "wild ice" even if there were no label.

With all that said, rest assured that your next order will be just as ornamental as your last.

Bottom line: go ahead and recycle the glass. The wood should not be recycled, but disposing of it contributes to carbon sequestration, so you can throw it out, guilt-free.

We generally ship on Tuesdays and Fridays. We ship from just outside Pensacola, Florida via USPS Priority or (for smaller orders) First Class Mail. Most populated areas should receive products within two business days of shipment.

International orders ship via DHL Express.

We prefer USPS because they are by far the greenest shipping carrier for domestic parcels.

Think of it this way: Between FedEx, UPS, DHL and any other competitor, who is going to come by your place each workday virtually no matter what?

It's not UPS, DHL, or FedEx. It's the good old blue-and-white mailman. And since he or she isn't going off their route to get to you, it isn't taking any extra fuel to deliver.

That means that shipping via USPS adds virtually no emissions to the environment. So you can shop eCommerce stores like ours guilt-free.

Tap the floating speech bubble 🗨️ at the lower left corner of your screen to chat with Emily, our AI assistant. Don't dismiss her just yet—she’s well-trained and surprisingly effective! Emily helps us streamline our operations, allowing us to focus on providing the unparalleled skincare you love.

If Emily can't answer your question, visit our Contact Us page for additional support options. We're always here to help you!