5 Tips on How To Reduce the Carbon Footprint of your Beauty Routine

I am certainly a sucker for the latest beauty must-haves and tend to keep my make-up bag well stocked with an unnecessary array of products, which inevitably stresses out my skin and tugs on the purse strings. However, I've never really considered how my slight obsession with beauty products might also be taking its toll on the environment. Sound familiar? We should clean-up and green-up our beauty routines and I promise you there won't be one single item that you'll miss, as the alternatives are just as good if not better!

Read on to discover how you can reduce the carbon footprint of your beauty routine with my 5 helpful tips...

With my recent decision to try and reduce plastic waste and live more sustainably as "Eco-helper", read more here, my cosmetics collection is definitely due an overhaul. The lotions and potions lurking in the depths of my drawers and make-up bag are harbouring nasty secrets including: ingredients that are harmful to nature and supply chains stretching across the globe.

Here are my tips on what to avoid and what to go for:

Image from Instagram @balmbalmorganic

1. Check the Truthfulness of the word "Natural"

"Natural" and "organic" are the beauty buzzwords used in the industry to suggest to a consumer that products labelled as such are kind to our complexions. However, the ingredients don't actually have to be 100% natural or 100% organic for brands to be able to use these terms. Look at the ingredients list and check for synthetic surfactants, preservatives and fragrances. For products that are truly derived from nature discover skincare by Balm Balm. The brand is the creation of Glenda Taylor who used her vast experience as an aromatherapist, perfumier and natural formation consultant to create an affordable. 100% organic skincare range for the whole body. The result? effective formulas suitable for even the most sensitive skin that leaves as green a footprint as possible.

2. Make use of Magnificent Multi-taskers

Women are the great multi-taskers of the World and we need to extend this to our beauty routines. I'm always having trouble with the zip on my make-up bag as I've crammed it to bursting point with products... Why? when I can choose a few multi-tasking heroes that cover several bases. The miracle workers include: lip tints that double up as cheek stains, bronzers and highlighters that can be used as eyeshadows and skincare that can cleanse, tone and moisturize all in one.

Image from Instagram @nyr_official

3. Choose Eco-friendly Packaging

Brands that make the effort to develop recyclable packaging should be favoured over those that don't, as they are obviously making a conscious change to help the environment rather than ignoring it. It is therefore good to see that more and more companies are using biodegradable materials. However, it's even better to note the companies that are going one step further and offer them your support. Neal's Yard Remedies, for example, use biodegradable materials in their packaging wherever they can to make them recyclable. However, where they can't, they don't just admit defeat, they opt to make the packaging out of recycled materials instead. The trademark blue bottles are made from 100% post-consumer recycled materials, making them more energy efficient to produce and causing less plastic to be sent to landfill.

4. Avoid Micro-beads at all Costs

Fortunately this should not be too much of an issue in the UK now that the Government has banned the use of micro-beads in all "rinse off" products and I hope that other countries will follow suit. However, for readers from other parts of the World, when reaching for your favourite exfoliator check what is actually doing the exfoliating. Some products contain tiny plastic balls that once washed down the plug hole end up in the oceans, polluting the water with toxins and harming marine species. Choose a scrub that uses sugar or salt crystals or even coffee beans.

Image from Instagram @essenceandalchemy

5. Make your Country your Beauty Treasure Trove

Source your beauty products as locally as possible to reduce the CO2 emissions involved in the transportation of items to your doorstep. For fellow Brits, there is a whole treasure trove of beauty items available in the UK just waiting to be discovered and you may help a small business in the process. I recently discovered Essence + Alchemy an inspiring brand that brings a beautiful collection of earth friendly, small batch botanical scented goods handcrafted in a garden laboratory in my hometown of Sheffield. It is amazing what you can find in your local area!

How do you reduce the carbon footprint of your beauty routine? Will you be trying out any of the tips? Pleas share in the comments below.

K x