One thing we can all do to help the mother earth is to become more environmentally conscious with our beauty routines. We decided to break down some simple ways you can reduce your impact on the environment when it comes to skincare and beauty.
What does it mean to have a more conscious beauty routine? To us it means:
- Reducing the volumes of waste we create
- Reducing our demand on the earth’s resources from ingredients and packaging
- Shopping from more ethical suppliers
So, what are the ways we can make our beauty shelf more sustainable?
Switch to Reusables
Luckily we are entering an era where there’s a huge range of reusable products available which weren’t around 5 years ago. Some of our favourite swaps include:
- Razors: We are spoilt for choice when it comes to more sustainable razor options, but we particularly like Jungle Culture’s unisex bamboo razors.
- Toothbrushes: Ditch the plastic, and switch to bamboo. Obviously don’t throw away your plastic toothbrush for the sake of a new one, but when the time comes to get a new brush, we recommend Humble Brush or if you’re an electric toothbrush user you can now buy bamboo heads, with charcoal whitening bristles for some extra glam.
- Face wipes: Ditch the single-use face wipe (which are also bad for your skin!) and switch to something like Face Halo.
Go waterless
Waterless products have a lower environmental impact because they are lighter and smaller to ship, then all you have to do is simply add water in the shower or from your tap when you’re ready to use them.
Our soap and shampoo bars are a great example of how you can go waterless with your shower routine, simply lather them up in the shower and apply. The best part is there is only a recyclable cardboard box at the end, zero plastic waste!
Department of Hygiene Shampoo Bars
Another good swap it to ditch the single-use sheet mask and switch to powder face masks. Little switches like this can really make a huge impact on the environment by reducing the waste produced. There are loads to choose from, including Aztec Clay and Floragy skincare, Blue Labelle and Lofty Gardens. They also come packed full of nature’s finest ingredients, like kaolin clay, fruit enzymes and antioxidants.
Refills
Refills are still gaining momentum and a great way to reduce the amount of plastic waste from our bathroom cabinet. Refill options usually involve purchasing an initial product (such as shampoo, conditioner, soap or body wash, and then once you have finished that product you purchase the refill contents only, or posting back an old bottle). Given most of us don’t have the time to keep posting empties back, we recommend using the refill options which come in recyclable packaging.
Whilst not all of us have access to refill shops, there are some wonderful refill options for haircare such as the hair duo from the conscious beauty co and the Ouai.
Recyclable skincare & makeup
It can sometimes be a bit tricky to understand which products can be recycled, especially as the beauty industry as a whole does not always give clear information in this area.
It is widely known that plastic pump lids can’t be recycled, but there are increasingly more products out there which come in recyclable boxes and containers.
Some brands will reduce their packaging by sending your products in just their main container, and not an additional cardboard box, so keep any eye out for brands which double-box. Aluminium, glass and cardboard are widely recycled materials, so picking products packaged in these materials will help you on your way to beauty consciousness!
When it comes to plastic, there are a variety of plastics which can be recycled, and many of them are now even made from recycled plastics. So it is worth popping these in your recycling bin.
Top eco tip: Always remove the lids and labels from your products before putting them in the recycling, this will increase the chances that the product gets recycled.
You can also recycle your personal care products with us through our partnership with Terracycle. Simply order a pre-paid label or a pre-paid zero waste envelope and send your products back to us! We do the rest.
Buy less, finish what you do have & multi-use products
Finally, one of the main ways you can be kinder to the environment is to simply buy less! Think about whether you need something before you buy it, or could you use up something you already have first?
A great example are moisturisers; they don’t strictly have to be used on face vs body, so if you’re out of body moisturiser why not try using up an old face moisturiser which you’ve had lying around for a while and won’t use on your face?
The same goes for shower gels; there’s no real need to buy a separate shower gel, simply use your shampoo or conditioner and it works the same, plus the ingredients are almost identical with the aim of nourishing and cleaning. We often have this subconscious idea that there needs to be one product per use, but realistically most products we have can be used across our face and body for all different uses.
There is also a nice emotional reward at the end when you have successfully used up an entire product, and you get to put it into the recycling bin. We hope these top tips will help save you from your bin guilt! Share your favourite tips on our Instagram page,
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