Sustainable Beauty

When it comes to beauty products, here’s the bottom line: care for the environment and end up caring optimally for yourself on the side.

That’s the message from the results of research. Studies into problematic ingredients in personal care and cosmetic products have found that we should be avoiding those containing parabens. These are widely used cosmetic preservatives, and not particularly earth-friendly either.

Environmentally speaking, both the products we choose to put on our skins and how we dispose of them when they’re finished really matter. Billions of units of cosmetic packaging are produced globally every year and some cosmetic companies are rightly encouraging sustainable practices like separating out the non-recyclable packaging from the recyclable.

Quick fact: What can’t be put into kerbside recycling are the flexible tubes, the bottle pumps, caps, plus used lipsticks and eyeliners. Large tubs of creams and potions can be finished, washed out and recycled, as can things bought in glass containers.
It turns out that natural ingredients which have not been genetically modified, and which are certified organic and non-synthetic, will not do as much harm to our environment as the alternatives. Plus, they’re far likelier to be better for you.

The latest buzz-phrases in what’s good in cosmetics are ‘wild-crafted’ or ‘food-grade’ ingredients. Health-wise, the ‘endocrine-disrupting-chemicals’ are to be avoided and these are spotted as chemical names ending in ‘paraben’.
If in doubt, consult your pharmacist.