I saw a shocking statistic that our beauty regimes are responsible for 30-40% of landfill. How accurate that is I don’t know, but it certainly makes you think. There is so much information now about the planet, plastics, waste; while this awareness is essential, it can be overwhelming and hard to know how we as individuals can make a difference. However we really can make a difference.
“We don’t need one person doing zero waste perfectly, we need lots of people doing it imperfectly”
This is something I’ve seen on Instagram a lot and it is so true. As much as I try, I’m never going to be zerowaste – personally or professionally. However I can keep trying to make changes, each little one a victory. There is so much uncertainty at the moment, but it is actually a great time to make positive change and it can be empowering.
Our beauty routine is a great place to start. I’m not going to tell you to stop buying stuff, indeed I recommend products all the time. I believe it is good to look after ourselves, beauty routines have all kinds of benefits, but we can be really mindful in what we choose to buy and use.
Here are a few little tips if you’d like them..
- Obvious but simple, only buy what you really need.
- Use things up – if they don’t work for you then pass them to a friend 🙂
- Remember to give skincare a good few weeks to see the real result and don’t try lots of new things at once – you won’t know what’s working for you and what isn’t..
- Multi-tasking products are wonderful, a good balm for example can do a myriad of things – cleanse, mask, moisturise, calm, soothe, tame.
- Think about the containers of the products you’re buying – are they glass, plastic – is the plastic recycled – can it be recycled?
Plastic isn’t always the villain – Weleda made a bold move to switch all their Skin Food tubes from aluminium to recycled plastic. Each of their aluminium tubes had to be made from virgin aluminium due to their thin structure, and the mining of aluminium is actually causing more of an ecological problem. Therefore the move to recycled plastic is more sustainable. Glass also has a higher carbon footprint when recycled, which is why some brands choose the recycled plastic option too. Glass is also heavier to transport, it can however be recycled infinitely which plastic cannot. The new bioplastics sound like a great solution however they more often than not will end up in landfill as the regional kerbsides don’t collect and can’t deal with these kinds of plastics. What we have is a very tricky situation!! Buying only what we need is a definite big help, as is choosing brands that are being responsible and transparent about the issue.
- A good old fashioned bar of soap works a treat for washing hands and pretty much everything really 🙂 we love the Dr Bronner’s Castille Bar Soap. Soap bars are so popular now you can get them specifically for washing hair too..
- Buying in bulk also helps as less material will be used in the long run. Look for refill options too – local health stores could be a good place to explore or encourage this. The Beauty Kitchen have just launched their new refill service which is fab.
- Here is an easy one – switch cotton buds to paper stemmed instead of plastic.
- Switching your cotton pads to organic is also a great move. Reusable washable cotton pads are one step further. I personally found my washable cotton pads got grubby so quickly, so I would recommend patterned ones maybe to hide that! Or make your own – I’ve still got mine that my friend Crystabel Riley made for use out of an old black towel for her show we assisted her on.
- Muslin cloths and flannels are great options too.
- At home I use a konjac sponge – it removes all my make-up, make sure it is suitable for sensitive skin and use gently around the eyes. I find it cleans better than a muslin cloth. You rinse it there and then, so no washing machine required, they last a few months and then you dispose of it in your food waste or home compost. If you choose from a brand like the Beauty Kitchen, the packaging can be disposed of that way too.
- Wipes – simple answer don’t use them. If you do need to use them then choose those that contain no plastic and biodegrade. Did you watch BBC 1’s War on Plastic last night?? If that didn’t put you off wipes then I don’t know what will!! Recycle the packaging via Neals Yard Remedies new recycling scheme (more coming in the next post)
- Make-up – think multi-purpose and outside the box – lipsticks make great cream blushers for example. Become your own mixologist and mix mineral powders with creams to make cream blush or illuminsing body lotions.
- Choose refillable options, this will cut down the amount of packaging enormously.
I’d love to know some of your favourite tips to make our beauty routines more sustainable and earth friendly! What do you do?
I’ve got a recycle your beauty routine post coming later this week..
