Tag: sustainable beauty

5 Ways To Eliminate Plastic From Your Beauty Routine

We talked a bit about plastic waste last week. We can conclude that overuse of plastic is a serious issue- it’s affecting human lives, and it disproportionately affects minority people living in underdeveloped nations. If we claim to value justice, equality, and human life, then we need to care about plastic waste. There isn’t room for negotiation.

Of course, for anyone living in a plastic-dependent culture, plastic has become so “normal” to us that we can’t always imagine a realistic solution to the crisis. The good news is, more and more options for sustainable living are becoming available! Your beauty routine can be a great place to get started because, unlike groceries, medical supplies, or essential clothing items, beauty supplies are something you can buy more gradually and take time to research.

Here are five simple ways to get started and eliminate plastic from your beauty routine:

  1. Check for companies that are partners with TerraCycle. For many beauty products, packaged foods and beverages, or healthcare supplies (including some PPE!), it’s just a matter of boxing it up and either mailing it to TerraCycle or dropping it off at one of their sites.

2. Beauty Products in Bar Form. Bar soap is an easy way to eliminate a single-use plastic bottle (as long as it isn’t packaged in plastic!), and many other hygiene products are available in bars rather than plastic-bottled liquid. Some of my faves:

  • Ethique includes bar shampoos, conditioners, and skincare. They also have lines of pet care and even home cleaning products. Some are meant to be used directly in bar form; others dissolve into liquid when added to water (in a reusable jar or bottle). Ethique is also 100% direct trade, cruelty-free and vegan, so you can rest assured that your purchase is supporting both people and the planet.
  • Lush is known for their bar products that are “sliced” for you in the store (imagine an elegant spa meets a French cheese shop, if you will!). They also have products in individual bars of shampoo, conditioner, soap, and lotion. I’ve always found Lush employees to be very knowledgeable of their products and happy to help you find the best fit for your skin and hair. Lush is also committed to fair-trade and cruelty-free products.
  • UnwrappedLife carries several collections of bar shampoos, conditioners, and soaps for various skin and hair needs. They are vegan and cruelty-free, but I couldn’t find anything about being fair-trade or direct-trade on their website.

3. Switch to reusable pads and wipes. Facial pads for toner or eye makeup remover, or cleansing facial wipes might not be made of plastic, but they often come packaged in single-use plastic. A one-time investment in reusable facial pads like these from Marley’s Monsters, or reusable makeup removal cloths like these from Norwex* can really save on plastic packaging over time. Plus, they eliminate chemicals in cheap makeup remover or pre-moistened toner pads that can really mess with your skin.

4. Use sugar/salt based exfoliating scrubs. It’s becoming more and more widely known that scrubs made from ground fruit pits (*cough cough St. Ives cough*) and other ground substances are actually terrible for your skin- I guess dragging hundreds of tiny, sharp, jagged edges over your skin doesn’t do much to improve your complexion! Scrubs with tiny, rounded plastic beads have become a popular alternative, but the plastic doesn’t just disappear when you rinse it down the drain! Some countries have banned plastic microbeads all together because they are easily mistaken for food by fish, which affects the entire underwater ecosystem AND the food chain.

A sugar/salt based scrub can be a great alternative because the individual grains aren’t hard enough to scratch your skin, and they dissolve once they go down the drain. Some people make their own scrubs, but this can be tricky because they don’t always have a long shelf-life (you don’t want your “scrub” already-dissolved in the jar or bottle!), and many ingredients touted as “safe” on pinterest are perfectly safe to eat or use for other purposes, but can be really tough on your skin! My personal favorite is Rodan&Fields Microdermabrasion Paste*; it is formulated by dermatologists and the jar is recyclable through TerraCycle. It’s been my saving grace in treating my keratosis pilaris (aka chicken skin!).

5. Look for makeup brands with sustainable packaging. Most makeup comes with some form of plastic, but more brands are moving towards sustainable forms of packaging. A few of my faves:

  • BeautyCounter* has several products that come packaged in cardboard or glass. Check with a consultant to find specific products in recyclable, waste-free packaging. They are also committed to ethically sourced ingredients!
  • RiverOrganics uses recycleable cardboard in all their packaging. They also use sustainable, plant-oil based ingredients that are ethically sourced.
  • Crunchi Cosmetics* has several makeup items that come in glass or paper-based packaging for easy recycling. They are vegan, cruelty-free, and ethically sourced.

No one promises that living sustainably or making ethical consumer choices will be convenient, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. Small steps to change your beauty regimen can make a difference for the entire world!

*These links lead to direct sales businesses run by myself (Rodan&Fields) or members of my community. If you purchase through these links, it is no difference in cost to you, but we receive a small commission. If you have a friend or family member who owns a business through one of these companies, I encourage you to connect with them before making any purchases!

More than “Mother Nature”: Why you need to care about plastic waste if you value human life

All of us have seen a picture of a jellyfish-looking plastic bag floating in front of a sea-turtle, or of the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” floating between California and Hawaii.  Maybe these images make you roll your eyes, or maybe they momentarily strike you with sadness…but, unless you absolutely adore sea turtles, they are easy to forget.


I lived most of my teen and early adult life in the cycle of being saddened by these pictures, and then quickly forgetting as I placed my latest Target purchases in a plastic bag. Over the years, traveling to island nations were some of my most eye-opening experiences.


  • The house where I stayed on the Island of Azucar in 2006 in the San Blas Islands off the coast of Panama
  • 
A beach along the road to Hana in Hawaii, 2018

  • A view of the Caribbean Ocean from Nassau, Bahamas in 2010

In an indigenous island nation in the middle of the Caribbean sea, it was easy to see the effects of plastic and other waste piling up along the shoreline.  In touristy parts of Hawaii and the Bahamas, modern sanitation made it less visible, but the effects of plastic washing in from the ocean could still be seen.   Living in the landlocked Midwest, ocean plastic waste might not be in the front of our minds, but that doesn’t make it less real.


My hardest wake-up call, though, came from a simple children’s book.  I had purchased it for my classroom when I taught 6th grade, but even as an adult, it hit me right in the feels: One Plastic Bag by Miranda Paul.


Plastic waste does more than destroy natural beauty and harm wildlife (keep in mind that it is estimated that 91% of plastic is not recycled, even if it is initially put in a recycling bin).  For the 97% of the world’s population living in under-developed or “third world” nations, plastic waste can be deadly.
That’s not to say that plastic waste can’t be deadly for the remaining three percent- our modern day garbage disposal systems might hide the ugliness of plastic waste, but it just delays the long-term consequences.  People living in under-developed or indigenous villages are just the first to see what comes from excessive plastic waste:


The spread of disease
Piles of plastic collect water from rain or nearby bodies of water.  Because this water is stagnant, it is a breeding ground for bacteria, and for mosquitos and other pests that might spread diseases such as malaria.  Anti-bacterial and anti-viral cleaning supplies are rarely readily available.  According to UNICEF, over 1 million people die from Malaria each year, with the majority being children under five years old.

The Loss of Domestic and Wild Animals
Sea turtles may be the poster animal for death by plastic waste, but wildlife and domesticated animals are all at risk (if you have a cat, you know how hard it can be to keep them from chewing plastic!).  For a farmer in the United States, a lost animal can mean an insurance claim and a pretty big financial hit to their farm.  For people living in indigenous or rural villages in other parts of the world, a dead animal can mean the loss of their livelihood and food source.  A drop in a wild animal’s population can also mean the loss of a hunted food source, or a serious blow to the ecosystem that people depend on for their way of life.

Exposure to Toxic Fumes
Without space or tools to dispose of plastic, burning it becomes a common practice in many parts of the world.  Throwing one bag into a bonfire might not seem like a big deal, but when burning large quantities is a regular practice, repeated exposure to the causes increased risk of heart disease and respiratory infections such as asthma or emphysema, and damage to the nervous system.  Remember, the nations affected are often ones where modern medical care is limited if available at all, and these diseases can all be life-threatening even under the care of the best doctors and hospitals.


Strangled Vegetation
If you’ve ever had one plastic bag blow into your garden or flower bed, you’ve seen the damage it can cause.  Piles of plastic waste are destructive to both gardens and farmland, and to wild plants and trees.  Again, this means the loss of food and destruction to the local ecosystem, and it also means destruction of raw materials that may be vital to the local economy and may play a major role in goods sold in the United States (if you have read all of this and don’t care yet- could the potential loss of your favorite shampoo or medicine get your attention?).
Plastic waste is destructive to human life.  If you call yourself Pro-Life (as I do), please stop and ask: 

Are you pro-lives of other nationalities and races?
Are you pro-lives in other cultures?
Are you pro-lives that speak a different language, and don’t use the same modern conveniences that you do?
Are you pro-lives that were born in completely different parts of the world than you?
Are you pro-life enough to be mildly inconvenienced by trying to avoid creating plastic waste, knowing that your inconvenience could save a village from suffering? 


Watch next week for part 2 with some tips on reducing plastic waste in your life and your beauty routine! If you need ideas to get started, check out trashisfortossers.com.