I promised you a beauty post a while ago now and I’ve just not got round to writing it until now. Recently, in my quest to use less waste and make my everyday routines more friendly to the environment, I’ve been making some small changes to my beauty and skincare routines. This is probably harder than I first imagined and not every change is a sustainable one, but as long as I’m making small changes where I can, I’m happy with the progress being made.
Below, there are eight changes you can make to your own routine in order to help with the ongoing environmental battle we have on our hands. Not all changes will work for everyone but like I said, it’s harder than I thought and one of the most difficult things was finding alternatives to use, so if I can help you make even the smallest headway that’s what I’m here for.
Ditch the face wipes
So if you want to look after your skin, this should be a given anyway. I stopped using wipes for removing my make up a couple of years ago and will never go back.
Not only do they not do a very good job of removing your makeup, but they are also incredibly damaging to the environment. They clog up sewage systems and can reportedly take up to 100 years to fully break down, so given that some can often use 3-4 wipes per makeup removal session, you can only imagine how many wipes are floating around in our waste systems right now.
Vita Coco 100% Coconut Oil £9.99
Use coconut oil as a make up remover
I’ve been using coconut oil to remove my make up for a few months now after previously being an avid fan of the blessed micellar water. I still love micellar water, but the issue with using it every day is two-fold.
Firstly, it comes in a plastic bottle and my consumption of single-use plastic is something that I’m really trying to reduce right now. It’s so heartbreaking to do amazing work reducing your consumption of plastic, food and drinks wise to then open up your bathroom cabinet to see bottle after bottle of skincare products made of un-recyclable materials. There’s only so much we can do at first and by no means do I expect the journey to zero waste & sustainability to be easy but switching to coconut oil which comes in a glass bottle was a no brainer for me.
Also secondly, I was getting through bag after bag of cotton pads to apply the micellar water with and using coconut oil means that I can re-use muslin cloths that I already own, again reducing the amount of waste.
Boots Muslin Cloth x 2 Pack £4.00
Switch from plastic to glass
This is something I’m looking into more at the moment and I don’t think it’s going to be as easy as it sounds, but switching from skincare products in plastic bottles, to glass is a great way to make your beauty regime a little more environmentally friendly. You will probably find that some of the things you have in the cupboard come in glass bottles already; I’ve definitely got a serum or two upstairs in glass containers and these are much better as they can be recycled or even re-filled depending on what you’re using.
Shop in LUSH
Lush is the go-to brand when it comes to body and skin care products. They have recently opened a ‘Naked’ Lush store in Manchester which means that absolutely everything inside is packaging-free. Think deodorant sticks and shampoo bars with zero wrappings or packaging and they even have some knot wraps or cork containers to carry your goodies home in if needed.
I absolutely love treating myself to some pamper products from LUSH and to know they’re equally as nice to the environment as they are to my skin is a win, win situation for me.
Use ‘multi-purpose’ products
Before you read this, have a think about how many ‘nude’ lip products are tucked in your make up drawer upstairs. Three? Six? Maybe ten? We’re all guilty of this and I’ve definitely got more than my fair share of red lipsticks in my make up bag, but there’s some that I barely use and will no doubt reach their expiry date long before they’re finished.
So this tip is to stop overbuying. I love beauty products and it’s such a treat to walk through the Selfridges beauty hall and bag some new makeup treats on payday, but most of them go un-used while we opt for our ‘go-to’s’ and favourites each day instead. So take some time to go through your make up bag and think about what you have already, to stop buying more and also make some of the products into multi-purpose ones. I’ve got a good face powder that doubles up as my everyday eyeshadow and a beeswax balm that can be used on lips, cuticles, hands and feet.
Opt for reusable makeup pads
For those products that need some kind of pad applicator, rather than getting through bags of single-use cotton pads why not invest in some reusable, washable ones. The ones below are a great alternative and come in a cute little bag for washing them in as well.
I’ve been using them for a while now and they are perfect, I use one or two a night with my coconut oil to remove makeup and then an extra one for toner. They wash well and are great to throw in their little wash bag for travelling with also.
Reusable makeup remover pads – Amazon £13.95
Use less water
I’m rather partial for having an extra long shower & I absolutely LOVE a good soak in the bath but the water used each time can be really quite excessive and I’ve realised I’ve actually been quite flippant with my thoughts on this. Simple changes like turning the tap off while you brush your teeth, or shortening your shower by five or ten minutes, over time can have a huge positive impact on the environment and if we each do the same, think of the changes we can make.
Go homemade
Does anyone else remember making their mum a ‘homemade perfume’ using leaves and flower petals from the garden, mixed in with a jar full of water or was that just me?! That’s my go-to memory when I think of homemade body and skincare products and probably not the best memory if I’m honest!
Maybe don’t go straight into fragrance making until you know what you’re doing, but kitchen products are sometimes the best for making your own skincare bits and bobs. I’ve once made a coffee scrub, which I’m sure was the absolute dupe of a very popular branded scrub and it worked absolute wonders on my skin for the fraction of the price. I’ve also recently been using a homemade lip scrub, which I found when watching a video by Kourtney Kardashian here. Moisturisers, scrubs and face masks can all be made up using ingredients from around the house so get creative and save yourself a pretty penny whilst being kinder to the environment.
I hope you found this post useful guys and if you do try out any of the above, please let me know as I’d love to hear how you’re getting on.
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