7 Ways To Make Your Beauty Routine Sustainable
According to Plastic Oceans, society produces over 380 million tons of plastic annually. Almost 50% of these plastics are for single-use purposes only. Furthermore, an estimated 10 million tons of plastic are dumped into the ocean every year.
While the notion of sustainable and plastic-free living has caused quite the buzz in the beauty and skincare industry, we should all see it as more than just another fad or hashtag to use on social media.
It might sound daunting and even complicated to a lot of people to start thinking up a sustainability strategy for their beauty routines. Luckily, we’re here to get you started on the right path.
Here are seven (7) ways to make your beauty routine sustainable:
Choose products with recyclable packaging
We’re sure you’ve heard of the adage “reduce, reuse, recycle,” and there’s a reason why the saying still exists even in today’s time: It’s because it’s the best and easiest way to reduce your carbon footprint.
The stainless Happy Balm container from Zero Waste Path is a great example of packaging materials that can easily be recycled.
Image source: Bambulivin.co.uk
Glass packaging is another great example. It’s often used for serums containing natural skincare ingredients to preserve the potency of the product.
Some beauty and skincare shops may even have recycling programs that provide customers with discounts for every product packaging they can return. Bambú is proud to offer the jar return scheme for some of the beauty products like Organic Moisturising Lotion from Black Cat Soap House and Wheesht Clay Masks range. See if you can find such shops in your neighborhood when you can. This will also help you build a more sustainable and environmentally friendly beauty routine.
2. Choose package-free products
A number of personal hygiene, such as toothbrushes, soaps, lotions, feminine washes, and conditions, now come package-free. That means no more frivolous plastics or boxes that only add to the issue of resource consumption and waste production.
Image source: Bambuliving.co.uk
The shampoo bars and hand-crafted soaps from EIRA SOAPS are great examples of package-free products.
3. Choose to shop local
If the products you use require a ton of materials and resources to ship, it won’t matter that the packaging it uses is recyclable or that its ingredients are all-natural.
The fact is, it’s still going to end up hurting the environment.
One way to cut back on expending valuable resources is by shopping from your local beauty stores and small businesses.
Image via: Bambuliving.co.uk
The Spirulina Clay Mask from Wheesht Masks is a great example of a locally-sourced and sustainable beauty product. It comes in a reusable glass bottle and uses all-natural ingredients such as spirulina algae, citronellol, limonene, kaolin white clay, tapioca starch, and Cymbopogon schoenanthus.
4. Choose products that are refillable
You’d be surprised to learn that a lot of beauty products and cosmetics are refillable. A great example of this is Kat Von D’s Shade + Light Powder Contour Palette.
These refill palettes sit on top of magnetic pans that make it easier for consumers to remove and replace them when needed.
Image source: Kvdveganbeauty.com
It’s made of 100% vegan materials and is cruelty-free, meaning it was never tested on animals, as other cosmetic brands do.
Refillable beauty products such as the Shade + prevent you from having to buy an entirely new set every time you use up your favorite item.
5. Choose reusable shopping bags
You may have gotten accustomed to bringing a reusable shopping bag with you during grocery day, but what about when you’re shopping for beauty products?
Image source: Bambulivin.co.uk
While paper bags are fine to use every now and then, they still add to the problem of waste in society. The more you can lessen your consumption, the better it will be for the planet.
So, the next time you hit up your local beauty supplies shop, remember to bring your reusable shopping bag with you!
6. Be mindful of how you remove makeup
If you’re someone who regularly uses makeup products, then you’re no stranger to cotton. Cotton is an important commodity. Besides being used to make T-shirts and other clothing, cotton is also used to create those small plate-shaped makeup removal pads that you use every day.
To make your beauty routine more sustainable, consider replacing your single-use cotton pads with organic cotton pads or Reusable Makeup Remover Pads. These are better for the environment and produce much less waste.
Image source: Leaf boat
In the case of cotton swabs, there are also plenty of organic options you can switch to. For instance, instead of choosing the typical plastic swabs, decide on using bamboo swabs like the Plastic-free Cotton Ear Buds from Save Some Green.
Leaf boat also have reusable buds made of bamboo and silicone.
7. Be mindful of how you use water
Washing your face is an important part of any beauty routine. It’s how we get dirt, residue, and other debris from our skin. That said, being mindful of how you use water during these moments is a crucial part of sustainability.
Experts recommend that instead of keeping the tap running the entire time, simply splash your face with water to dampen your skin, then turn off the tap.
Squeeze an appropriate amount of cleanser on damp fingers and gently massage this into your face.
When you’re done with this step, you can now turn the faucet on again to rinse.
This small step might not seem like a lot, but it can create a huge impact on the environment.
The bottom line
We could all benefit from making our daily routines more sustainable and eco-friendly. Let us know if this article has helped you in any way or if there are other sustainable beauty techniques that we forgot to mention in this article.
As always, Choose carefully, Use sparingly and Live sustainably!