Time to Go Green with Your Beauty Routine

Choosing a Beauty Routine That’s Eco-Friendly

Human beings carry a great responsibility and it’s to care for the planet that we live on. With a population that has grown exponentially over the last couple of millennia, we’ve all got to be doing our parts to help sustain our world so that we can carry on living healthily on Earth.

Did you know there are some things you can do that will make your beauty routine more eco-friendly, therefore better for the environment? It’s not something all of us will have thought about probably. We hear more about the waste we produce from grocery items, or plastic water bottles, and other kinds of products. But what about the waste that’s produced from certain types of beauty products? We’re going to share with you some ideas for making sure the beauty regimen you stick to on a daily basis is one that isn’t harmful to our planet.

Tips for an Eco-Friendly Beauty Routine

Tip #1: Ditch anything that isn’t reusable

You know the products—makeup removing towelettes, exfoliating wipes, disposable sponges, flossers, and razors—some of our bathrooms are full of all kinds of items that could be replaced with something else that can be used over and over again. You might not know this, but most of this stuff just goes straight to a landfill. So, while you’re enjoying the convenience they might provide, your use of them is actually working to destroy the environment you call your home.

You’re probably wondering about alternatives for at least the makeup removing wipes, right? Those things are so convenient and easy to use. That convenience isn’t worth the price we’re ultimately going to pay though. One thing you can do in place of using a wipe is use a face oil. This is just as easy to do. The oil pulls makeup away from your skin so that it comes off with little effort.

Another product that does pretty much what the oil does is micellar water. You put a little bit on a cotton ball and the micelles that are contained within the water attract the makeup up off of your skin.

Tip #2: Switch to products that come in either biodegradable or refillable packaging

Many of the normal products we use come in some kind of plastic container that gets thrown away once we’re done with it. One guess as to where the majority of those end up after you get rid of them. Yep, the landfill. There are companies who are turning toward packaging materials that are biodegradable. Does that mean those things won’t end up in a landfill somewhere? No, not necessarily. It does mean that they’ll break down though, instead of sitting in a trash heap for hundreds of years.

There are also some products, such as lotions, moisturizers, tonics, serums, and makeups that you can have refilled or buy refills for. You may find these to have metal or some other kind of durable material for the container. That makes them last much longer so that you can continue to refill each time you run out.

Tip #3: Use fewer products for your eco-friendly beauty routine

There are some products that can serve more than one purpose in your beauty routine. Even if you just replace two of your existing elements with one that provides the benefits of both of those, that’s something green your doing in your daily regimen that will help the planet. Then, if you tell your friends about doing it, you’re helping that much more.

You might also be using some products that essentially do the same thing. Do a little research to find out if you are doubling on something. If you find there’s a step you can do away with, you’ll be helping to save the planet as well as some money.

Tip #4: Choose eco-friendly products that you use more of

You may have found the serum of all serums, but it’s not considered eco-friendly. It does everything you wanted it to do and then some. Ok, so keep that one. Look at other things you’re using a lot more of rather than worrying about that little bottle of serum that lasts forever because you only have to use a tiny bit at a time.

Shop around for some eco-friendly shampoos and conditioners to use. Find a new body wash or other kind of soap. How about your body lotion? You can go green there, can’t you?

Our point is that you don’t have to give up everything you love when it comes to the products you’re using during your beauty routine. Pick some that will make more of a difference for going green.

Tip #5: Go for the bar of soap

Over the last few decades, there’s been a trend toward using body wash. Some of us can remember a time when all we used were bars of soap for bathing. Body wash can be found in eco-friendly formulas and biodegradable packaging, but the majority of it is not this way.

Choosing a bar of soap means there is less packaging all together. Many soaps come wrapped in paper, which is a much better alternative to a plastic bottle.

If you just can’t let go of your body wash or go to organic products that don’t have harmful chemicals in them, you should at least be diligent in looking to see if an option you’re considering has sodium laurel sulfate in it. This ingredient is detrimental to the lives of animals, especially in the sea. It also sticks around for centuries.

Realted: The Truth About Organic Beauty Products

Tip #6: Don’t forget to recycle

If you look on the bottom of the empty bottles of beauty products, you might see the number one or two. That means you can add this to your normal recycling. Just take the lid off first.

There are also brand-name stores that are trying to do their part by encouraging customers to bring in and drop off their empty packaging. Many of them will even take the plastics that can’t go with the household recycling. It’s an easy way for you to help out just dropping items off at the store.

Tip #7: Opt for a natural body scrub

Exfoliating the skin on your body is good for it. You should know, though, that some of the products you use for this can pollute natural water sources and cause a lot of harm to the environment. Does this mean you should stop exfoliating?

No, it does not. It does mean that you need to stop using any kind of scrub for your face or your body that has synthetic microbeads in it. These itty-bitty little granules are made of plastic. They’re really tiny but that’s part of why they’re so dangerous. The water filtering systems that cities use to filter out waste-water can’t stop the microbeads from making it through to our waterways.

You really just need to switch over to using a natural exfoliant. There are plenty of these that work just as well as the plastic microbeads do. Sugar, bamboo, rice, the shells of walnuts, and even coffee grounds work as excellent exfoliators. You can purchase natural scrub products that companies already have on the market, or you can make your own scrub at home.

Now Let’s Talk About Labels to Have an Eco-Friendly Beauty Routine

Can we just say first, don’t buy something to use on your body that you have not looked at an ingredient list for. You might think that all products are safe if they’re on the shelf, but that’s not necessarily true. You should know what is going into and on your body. And the more natural, the better.

Here’s what to look for:

Aluminum – Sounds strange right? Well, really it is. Aluminum is something that a lot of manufacturers put in deodorants. Think about this. When you apply something to your skin, about 60% of it gets absorbed down into your skin and eventually makes it to your bloodstream. The scary thing about your armpit area is that it absorbs almost 100% of what you put on, not the average 60%. That means that the aluminum that may be in your deodorant has an open door for getting to your bloodstream. Try a natural, all-organic alternative so you don’t have to worry about this.

Ingredients you could eat – Following along with how what you put on your body will also make it into your body, if there are names of things in the ingredient list that you won’t eat, then you shouldn’t use that product. A good rule of thumb is to only use beauty products that have ingredients you can eat safely.

Additives – Stay away from additives that are toxic to your body and the environment. Examples of these are parabens, sulfates, formaldehyde, and artificial colors. There are products that have natural ingredients, like echinacea and honey that are much better for you. Notice that these two ingredients can be eaten.

Don’t Over Complicate Making Your Routine More Eco-friendly

We realize there’s a lot of information in this article about things you could change to make your beauty routine more eco-friendly. It’s important that you don’t feel guilty or overwhelmed by what you’ve read here. We’re here just trying to help you (and the planet) with finding healthier ways to do the things you’re already doing.

Don’t feel like you have to change every step of your routine though. You’re not going to change the world all by yourself. The point is that we should all do what we can to alter the way we do some things so that together we’re making a huge change for our world.

That being said, here are some things NOT to do when you’re trying to green up your beauty routine:

Do NOT discontinue the use of every single product you already use. That’s simply not necessary.
Do NOT stop caring for your skin and your hygiene because you feel that you’re hurting the planet every time you wash your face.
Do NOT feel like you have to take time that you don’t have to make all-natural skin care products and soaps out of foods you have at home.
Do NOT feel like you have to spend a boatload of money to buy the organic, all-natural products we’ve been discussing (there are plenty of them on the market that are very affordable and effective).
Do NOT give up your can’t-live-without products. Switch out others that will count for more anyway.
Do NOT forget that water does amazing things for your body and your skin, so drink a ton of it (but please use a reusable eco-friendly water bottle to do this).

One Last Thing

Much of what we do during the steps of our beauty routines requires water. Wasting water is something else that hurts our planet. Be mindful of when you have the water on and running. Don’t turn it on when you start your routine and leave it running throughout all of your steps. When you’re in between rinsing or washing, turn the water back off. It might not seem like much, but this little bit of attention paid to when the water is on and off does a lot for impacting the Earth.

Related: Your Guide to Hyaluronic Acid

Green Looks So Good On You

We definitely get it, you want to look your best and feel your best. You can look your best and feel even better than you have by going green with your beauty routine. There are some simple steps you can take to make your daily regimen more eco-friendly. Don’t feel pressured like you need to change everything you do, but try altering some of what we talked about here and see how it goes. Our guess is that you’ll end up feeling better about yourself and the results you’re getting from your routine than you ever have before.

There are some great companies that are trying to make their own difference and offering products that are much better for the planet and for the health of your body and skin. Let’s all do our parts and do this together because green looks good on all of us.

More Great Eco-friendly Beauty Routine Resources:

Why You Should Probably Never Use Microbead Soaps Again

ALTERNATIVES TO MAKEUP REMOVER OR DIY MAKEUP REMOVERS

10 COST-EFFECTIVE WAYS TO GREEN YOUR BEAUTY ROUTINE