We're creating a hormonally healthy future. 

To better understand what we’re doing at Oliver, it helps to tell a story that you might just relate to.  

In the thick of the pandemic, when there was nothing really to do, our male friends decided to have their testosterone levels checked for fun. We were stunned by the results. Many of them had testosterone levels on the low range for healthy, active young men in their late twenties. What exactly was going on?

We looked into it further and discovered that testosterone levels and sperm count are declining at alarming rates. In the last four decades, sperm count has dropped 50%, and the average male today has less testosterone than his grandfather. We became obsessed with the sperm count decline. What if it didn’t stop?

We discovered that endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are playing a huge role and are particularly harmful to men. Especially while they’re still developing in the womb. 

Pregnant moms who unwittingly expose their unborn baby boys to certain endocrine disrupting chemicals put their sons at risk of having genital abnormalities which can lead to infertility later in life. This would help explain why men have become more infertile with each generation.

But it’s not just men. Women’s hormonal health is also declining. The rates of PCOS, endometriosis, miscarriage and hormonal cancers are all increasing. Can you think of a woman who hasn’t experienced some sort of hormonal issue?

Then we learned that endocrine disrupting chemicals are in our cosmetics. 

From our face cream to our hair dye, every day, we’re being exposed. 

We learned that chronic low-dose EDC exposure can add up to big hormonal problems. 

We learned that women carry a much larger body burden of EDCs than men. And that scientists still don’t fully understand how this mixture of EDCs interact in our bodies.

We learned that chemical ingredients in North America are considered “safe until proven otherwise”. And that endocrine disrupting chemicals can’t be regulated like other chemicals because they respond unpredictably to cosmetic safety testing. 

But most importantly, we learned that these ingredients are completely unnecessary in our personal care products. 

So we took them out. 

A Message From The Founder

As a female owned and operated company, we’ve experienced our fair share of hormonal horror stories. Ironically, I had an ovarian cyst rupture the weekend that Oliver was scheduled to launch! 

It’s hard not to feel anxious as my friends and I begin to start families of our own. I think about the fact that there’s a 1 in 6 chance that it won’t happen naturally and I feel compelled to do something about it. 

I used to look at my beauty cabinet with awe. It had a solution for everything, nicely packaged in a beautiful bottle. When I look at it now, I wonder how I got to a point where I thought 20 different products were necessary. I think about how my mom used to dress me up with a full face of makeup for dance competitions every weekend and I wonder how all these decisions have affected me.

We’re so excited to see ingredients like Lilal get banned in the EU for being linked to infertility, and we’re confident that this is just the start. 

I know that we’ll never be able to totally eliminate endocrine disrupting chemicals, but we can avoid them in the areas we have control over - our personal care routines. So, with the help of incredible people, I set out with the vision to create an EDC-Free Future.

My purpose in starting Oliver Care is to give you confidence that the products you’re putting on your body aren’t interfering with your hormones. 

I hope you'll join us in our journey!

- Maria