A major part of our daily lives is our beauty routine. This everyday ritual is probably second nature for many of us, and you’d be forgiven for not thinking about the impact it has on the environment. It's not only about being cruelty-free and vegan either. Sustainability is a huge word that covers all manner of matters, and there's loads of ways to get involved and make a difference.
Thanks to an increased awareness, the beauty industry is finally waking up, with more consumers demanding cleaner, sustainably packaged beauty products. We reckon you may want to take some action to help make your beauty routine sustainable and eco-friendly. Here are our top tips for a sustainable beauty routine that’s kinder to the planet…
1. Ditch the face wipes
The use of face wipes may seem like the quick, easy way to remove your makeup, but they are not doing your skin any good – and they’re certainly not doing the environment any good. Lots of makeup wipes strip the skin of its natural oils and imbalance the skins PH levels as most contain alcohol. So, not only are face wipes one of the least effective ways of cleansing, but they also take up to 100 years to break down in landfill. Yes, 100 years!
Instead of using face wipes, switch to using a flannel with a balm. This will remove all traces of makeup whilst nourishing your skin, and once you’re done you can simply wash your flannel.
Pro-Cleansing Balm, £44, Elemis
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2. Buy products with eco-friendly packaging or go package free!
Reusable bags are something every eco-friendly shopper takes with them to the supermarket, and it’s about time we bring this ethos into our skincare routines. More companies are going eco-friendly with their packaging and even opting to go package free. Look to Ethique for proof: this brand offers solid skincare beauty bars with absolutely no plastic packaging.
Ethique Bliss Bar Face Cleansing Bar, £14.99, Holland & Barrett
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3. Recycle or re-use your product containers
If you do still use skincare products with glass or plastic packaging, remember that these can be recycled! Please make sure the containers are empty and clean before disposing of them, as any remnants will contaminate other recyclables. Flip top lids, trigger heads or pumps also need to be removed.
Alternatively, upcycling used skincare containers is a great way of making pretty packaging by turning it into something new and useful. For example, you can make a large face cream pot into a new makeup brush holder!
MORE: 10 of our favourite sustainable beauty brands you need to get on board with for 2020
4. Use eco-friendly ingredients
Being accountable for the ingredients in your skincare products isn't just making sure they're of a high quality for your skin and sourced well and ethically, it's also thinking about the long-term impact of the ingredients and their impact on the environment.
The best way to identify if a product’s ingredients have been sustainably sourced is to look out for the Fair Trade and Rainforest Alliance logos on the packaging.
Take independent skincare brand Monday's Child, for example - it's ingredients are cruelty-free, vegan, natural and with a majority of the ingredients used being organic. Plus, the brand is committed to planting of one tree per order to make its carbon footprint as low as possible.
Skin Perfecting Oil, £36, Monday's Child
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5. Reduce your water usage
When washing your face, turn off the water tap when you don’t need it. It’s a super simple thing to do but it makes a big difference to water wastage.
6. Shop from brands that give back to planet earth
When buying skincare products, try and shop from brands that give back to the planet. Burt’s Bees produces more than 150 products all produced with natural ingredients and socially responsible business practices. They have the aim to become the greenest company in the world and of course, bringing the bees back.
Burt's Bees peach and willow bark deep pore scrub, £11.49, Amazon
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Another favourite of ours is KORRES, who contribute towards the replacement of illegally cut trees while cooperating with the local authorities on an effective protection plan. Plus, skincare brand LA MER works to help preserve resources by using only sustainably sourced sea kelp in their famous miracle broth. The luxury brand has donated more than £4 million to conservation projects through their Blue Heart Oceans Fund. How amazing!
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