Beauty Is More Than Skin Deep
As many of us are all too aware, modern beauty products have a history of waste and harmful chemicals. While we’ve come a long way from the lead-filled powder used in Queen Elizabeth I’s day (giving new meaning to the phrase drop-dead gorgeous…), companies today are still putting products on the shelf that aren’t exactly healthy for us or the environment. Some wary consumers have decided to forego beauty products entirely because of this, but if you love your beauty routine, take heart! Corporations have noticed that shoppers are fed up with excessively packaged poison and are increasingly offering cleaner, more natural, and sustainable products. A great beauty product can be a part of self care and a mood booster, and you don’t have to sacrifice it entirely to find sustainability.
“Clean” Beauty
A word of caution as you search for sustainable brands of makeup. Some corporations use buzzwords and natural colors on their packaging to invoke a sense of nature for their “clean” lines of makeup, but make sure you really check the label. “Clean” is a relative term. We recommend checking sites like EWG.org for any known risks of each ingredient, and try to choose natural ingredients over synthetics, which have to be manufactured in ways that may harm those making it or produce environmental waste. You can even try your hand at homemade scrubs and masks with ingredients right from your own kitchen.
The Total Package
Go for items packaged as sustainably as possible. More and more sustainable beauty companies are popping up online and making great products with minimal, biodegradable packaging and shipping materials. Of course, shopping local is best to avoid an unnecessary carbon footprint, so look for handmade lotions, soaps, and makeup at farmers markets or co-op stores near you, and bonus points if they offer refills to reuse the original container.
Brush Up on Sustainable Tools
When it comes to applying and removing beauty products, it’s all about reusables and natural materials. Try to find brushes and applicators made of natural fibers and materials like cotton, wood, etc., and remove your makeup with a simple small cloth. Not only is it important to know where the materials we use come from but where they will end up when we are done with them. Biodegradable or compostable materials are always best.
At Sankoty Sustainables, we are proud to offer a variety of low-waste, clean (really!) self-care items that can be a part of your beauty routine, including our Deliah’s Delicates lotions and soaps, our large and small non-paper towels, our mini makeup removers, and our variety of sustainable shampoo and conditioner options. We support truly clean beauty for both our sake and the sake of the planet–we cherish this beauty that is all around us, and it’s our mission to help others do the same!