There’s no way around it - the beauty industry is one of the most damaging on the planet. In fact, a report from TerraCycle found that cosmetic companies create about 120 billion new units of packaging each year worldwide. What’s more, many beauty products use squeezable and twistable designs, rendering the packaging harder to clean, collect, separate, and recycle. Then there’s the issue of ingredients - most conventional beauty products use harmful chemicals that are both damaging to the environment and our health.
Still, switching to sustainable skincare and eco-friendly beauty products can seem overwhelming and difficult. Where do you even start when every product in your bathroom is conventional? Here’s why and how choosing sustainable beauty can be so much easier than you think.
5 Reasons Switching to Sustainable Beauty Is Painless
It Saves Money.
One misconception about sustainable skincare and beauty products is that they’re expensive, which makes making the swaps more difficult. While it’s true that some eco-friendly beauty products can be more expensive, it’s not necessarily true across the board.
Plus, many sustainable beauty products are reusable, so you buy them once and use them again and again. For example, you can buy a 10-pack of reusable cotton rounds for under $15 and never purchase them again. Meanwhile, you’ll pay about $5 for 75 of the disposable kind, costing you roughly $25 per year if you use them daily.
You Can Take It Slow.
You might have the urge to trash all your conventional beauty products and buy new ones, but approaching the issue this way just leads to unnecessary stress on you and the planet. It’s better to use what you have and replace items as they become empty. This way, you don’t get burnt out searching for sustainable alternatives, and you aren’t throwing away usable products. You might even find that searching for a single sustainable beauty product at a time is fun!
Technology Makes Searching Simple.
It’s easy to get into the weeds with sustainable beauty, but we have great technology at our disposal to speed the search. For example, if you shop for beauty products with Target, you can filter products by health facts, such as phthalate-free, organic, vegan, and clean. You can also search for terms like “plastic-free” and find options at many major retailers. Not sure what to filter? Check out our guide on the top 10 chemicals to avoid when switching to sustainable beauty.
You can also use apps like Think Dirty, which details what potentially toxic or environmentally harmful ingredients are in any given product simply by searching or scanning the barcode.
Find Your Go-To Websites.
Once you find your favorite sustainable beauty brands or retailers, you can skip the research and purchase products with confidence. For example, you might have learned about a brand and purchased a great mascara - when you run out of eyeliner, you know exactly where to go and you don’t need to research the brand again. This is because most sustainable beauty brands, like Glotanicals, have strict policies they adhere to in terms of ingredients, packaging, and carbon footprint. Read more about Glotanical's sustainable practices here.
Reuse, Refill, and Repurpose What You Already Have.
Many sustainable beauty brands are offering reusable and refillable packaging now, which helps limit the amount of packaging from the start. They also often offer incentives for bringing back old containers, whether that’s a small discount or a free product. You can also repurpose glass jars and aluminum containers, whether that’s to make your own DIY body scrub or to organize your hair ties.
Switching to eco-friendly beauty products takes time, but it can be quite an enjoyable process if you allow it to be. Trying new products can be exciting, and learning how to live more sustainably - like conserving water in your beauty routine - can actually keep you inspired to keep fighting the good fight.
What’s the first sustainable beauty product you’ll switch to? Let us know in the comments below!
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