Top 5 vanity products damaging the environment

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Many of us look into paraben, sulfate, and mineral-free product so that they shouldn’t harm our skin. But have you ever given a thought that there are many ingredients that have been harsh on the environment? We are less thoughtful when it comes to beauty and personal care. It is because we are less aware of their huge impact of them on the earth.

1. Plastic packaging

I have to address this in the first place because the contribution of cosmetics to plastic wastage is considerably high. More than 80% of beauty products come with plastic packaging or sachets. Everyone is aware of the suffering of the earth by the improper disposal of plastic. We have already dumped enough of them.

Plastic has become an integral part of our life. There is no way we can switch off plastic from our lifestyle completely. But it is high time to make our minds on taking baby steps to reduce the usage of plastic. Here are some of the ways to help the environment.

• Try to get your hands on products that have glass or steel packaging.
• Do not throw away the empty bottles. Collect them. There are some factories and organizations which accept plastic waste and reuse them.
• There are some brands like Mac, Innisfree, and Plum which offer free products or discounts in return for their empties from the customer.
• One sustainable and creative way is to make DIYs from waste bottles. It adds up to your space by helping the environment with less thrash.

All these are simple and easy to adopt. Let us join hands in protecting the environment from further damage by following these.

2. Sunscreen

Sunscreen is one such product we reach out to every day. It is essential to protect from harsh UV rays. Skincare is incomplete without sunscreen. But do you know sunblock is a threat to marine and coral reefs?

It’s been more than half a century since sunscreen had become our daily essential skincare. But it’s been only a decade since we find out that we are causing major destruction to sea life.

The main component of sunblock is ‘oxybenzone’ or ‘benzophenone-3’. They absorb the harmful UVA and UVB rays before entering our skin. Their major negative effect has shown in Australia, Hawaii, and in other places where water activity is the main attraction of the country. People dive into the ocean with loads of sunblock applied to their bodies. When the chemicals of the sunblock are released into the water, it disturbs the natural ecosystem of the ocean.

Some observed effects of ‘oxybenzone’ on the coral reef are, they change the DNA of the reefs so that the mature coral becomes unfertile. It has also contributed to coral bleaching. To explain this in brief, coral reefs change their color to white on exposure to chemicals like oxybenzone and gasoline.

It is unfortunate the effect of sunscreen on the skin has made huge noise than its effect on marine life. In most countries selling these chemical-filled products in drugstores is still authorized.

It is high time to revamp our vanity with products that are nice to the skin as well as nature. Some better options of sunblock are here.

• Pick up products having ingredients like zinc and titanium dioxide which are less dangerous to marine life.
• There are some biodegradable creams out in the market which perform exceptionally similarly. They are made up of ingredients easy to break down and decompose with the soil.

3. Wet wipes and Sheet mask

Sheet masks are such innovative personal care. They make our skin glowing and healthy in twenty minutes. Wet wipes and sheet masks are user-friendly. They take up no time to do their magic. But give it a thought, do you really need that glow at the cost of damaging our earth.

Masks and sheets are manufactured in a way so that they can hold the serum in a long run. According to a study, more than 70% of a cotton round is made up of plastic. They take up centuries to break down and decompose in the soil.

Countries like the UK which has suffered a lot because of plastic trash are now aiming to put a ban on wipes and masks. A decision like this should be supported and widely accepted by all the countries for a better tomorrow.

Here are some of the wonderful alternatives that make up the purpose of wipes and masks.

• Biodegradable wipes are making noise in the market. One can get their hands on them. They serve their purpose effectively.
• Instead of wipes, we can use the traditional method of removing makeup with coconut oil or we can use micellar water with a reusable cotton towel. And to sheet masks, we can shift to serums which perform exactly in the affordable range.
• If you ever happened to use wipes do not flush them down.

4. Micro-fiber scrubs

When an innovative product launches to the market people get excited, wonder, and appreciate the product. Soon it becomes everybody’s favorite. After some time, research statements started released highlighting its adverse effect. By the time it might have done its harm.

The same happened with the exfoliators. After many years of using, we got to know that walnut and apricot scrubs are not the best for the skin. Continuous use of them might rip off the upper layer of skin. Then they are replaced by scrubs that are gentle on the skin but not so gentle on the environment. The scrub particles were made up of polystyrene or polypropylene for their smooth surface which is again plastic.

When these microbeads are washed down they infect the natural water bodies. The drainage in metro cities usually ends up connecting to the sea. When these microspheres are eaten by fishes and other marine life, their digestive system will get affected. Eventually, they end up dying of starvation.

Some better alternatives for these would be

• Exfoliator having natural ingredients like sea salt is the best among all.
• Recently people starting to shift towards chemical exfoliating as it gives a better result.

5. Natural products

We are in a generation where people are attracting to natural and chemical-free products. So the demand for these products has been rising significantly. But you get surprised to know even they take a bit of toll in harming nature.

Palm oil is an essential ingredient required to prepare many cosmetics. With the increase in demand, a large part of the forest is being cut down to grow palm trees. This is leading to major deforestation.

Likewise, products say bamboo gel and others related to bamboo are trending in the market. But to tell you, in many parts of India bamboo is on the verge of extinct. I’m saying this as I have witnessed it. A decade ago in the place where I live bamboo would take a major part of the forest. But with the constant exploitation of man and due to natural reasons forest here is living with no bamboo plant. It takes 100 years to grow again.

There are very less products that are 100% herbal. Some form of the chemical is a must to stabilize the product. If they are completely natural, their lifespan would be around 6 to 9 months. And in that case, the same will be mentioned on the packaging.

These days’ people are being conscious and are avoiding unnecessary usage of plastic. But in that process, they are shifting to wooden products as it looks aesthetic. It is definitely not a good move when we foresee. Instead, we can get the glass and ceramic items.

Plastic is one major reason for many environmental crises. But there is no way we can completely shift off from plastic because of how we bound our lifestyle. at the same time, we can take some steps forward to help the earth to be better. Revamping our vanity is one such easy and effective way to start this journey. Choose responsibly and shop for a better environment as well. All we together with our baby steps can make this earth more beautiful again.