Why Mircobeads are bad for the planet & let’s talk alternatives

Ok guy’s, let talk about the one of the worst ingredients (can we even call them ingredients? foreign bodies perhaps?) in the beauty industry – MICROBEADS.

For those who aren’t familiar, microbeads are these teeny tiny little plastic beads which, still, to this date we find in a load of beauty products. AS IF there is not already enough plastic in the ocean, there are some brands which still go ahead and add these beads to their scrubs.

I love a good exfoliant, I have tried loads & to be honest my shower doesn’t feel complete with out a good scrub, shower gel just doesn’t cut it. There are so many benefits to exfoliation; getting rid of dead skin, boosting circulation & blood flow, the list goes on, so I am not in any means against scrubbing products, just the ones with plastic in them. 

Because these beads are so tiny, when we rinse our scrubs off wether it be our faces or bodies, these little pieces of plastic swirl down our drainage systems & straight into our oceans & rivers. Although tiny, they can have a devastating effect on our planet & oceans. Not only do they harm our marine life & mess up our eco system, if your eating seafood – jokes on you –  your eating microbeads too 🙂 A single shower can result in as many 100,000 plastic particles entering the ocean – yuck.

Here are some rank facts about plastic in our oceans & what it does to marine life;

  1. Plastic constitutes approximately 90 percent of all trash floating on the ocean’s surface, with 46,000 pieces of plastic per square mile.
  2. One million sea birds and 100,000 marine mammals are killed annually from plastic in our oceans.
  3. 44 percent of all seabird species, 22 percent of cetaceans, all sea turtle species and a growing list of fish species have been documented with plastic in or around their bodies.
  4. Seabirds that feed on the ocean surface are especially prone to ingesting plastic debris that floats. Adults feed these items to their chicks resulting in detrimental effects on chick growth and survival. One study found that approximately 98% of chicks sampled contained plastic and the quantity of plastic being ingested was increasing over time.
  5. More than 50 percent of sea turtles have consumed plastic.
Sources; Ecowatch.com & cleanwater.org 

The idea behind microbeads in scrubs, is that the tiny little balls of plastic act as an exfoliant against the skin, but there are so many natural, biodegradable alternatives in eco-friendly scrubs. A lot of the eco-friendly scrubs I use have much nicer alternatives such as coffee grains, sugar, nuts, oats, grape & jojoba seeds. 

one of my fav eco friendly scrubs by The Body Shop

I consider myself some what of a connoisseur when it comes to eco-friendly/vegan scrubs, here are some of my favourites & where you can check them out/indulge in some retail therapy;

Cup O’ Coffee – Lush Cosmetics

Best For – Mornings, Coffee Lovers

French Grape Seed Scrub – Body Shop

Best For – Spa Feels, Luxury Scrub

Gentle Aloe Facial Scrub –Devita Skin Care

Best For – Sensitive skin, Scentless Product 

Organic Sugar Polish (Lemongrass Tangerine) – Organic Fiji 

Best For – Tropical Smells, Summer Srubbin

Creamy Coconut Sugar Scrub – Eclair Naturals

Best For – Sugar Scrub, Sweet Smelling 

So now you hate microbeads too & want to avoid them at all costs – here are some tips for you whilst scrub shopping; 

  • There is a cool app called Beat The Microbead, you literally just scan scrubs & it tells you if the product contains microbeads
  • Microbeads will be listed in the ingredients as polyethylene/polyethene (PE), polypropylene/polypropene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)) 
  • Make your own scrubs! There are so many cool ideas on Pinterest, you can use sugar/coffee grains & your fav fruits
  • Invest in decent scrubbing tools like loofahs (Body Shop have really good sustainably made ones)

If you are skincare obsessed like me, why would you rub plastic all over yourself whilst contributing to harming the oceans & our marine life? Ditch the microbeads guys, better for our skin & better for our planet 

TTYL Jess xox