So we all know how awful microbeads are right…?? They are still found in many facescrubs, exfoliators, toothpastes and cleansers that you will see on the shelves at the supermarket. Microbeads are literally little pieces of plastic that are supposed to scrub off your dead skin cells resulting in youthful, clear skin. But at what price..??
Plastic is not a good food source
After being washed down your sink, the particles of plastic are so tiny that the filtering systems in wastewater treatment plants often let them flow on through. They then end up in the oceans and waterways, ultimately becoming snack food for marine life. Here is an awesome infographic originally from The 5 Gyres Institute that explains everything.
So, next time you’re giving your face a nice scrub up, take a look at the ingredients. Plastic can show up in many different guises but the most common ones to look out for are polyethylene, polypropylene, nylon, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and polyethyl-terephthalate (PET).
And there’s an App for that
If in doubt, you can now use your phone to do the detective work. Beat the Microbead App is available from the App Store, Google Play and the Windows Phone store. It’s free and when you’ve installed it, just scan the barcode of your face scrub using your phone camera, and the app will let you know if there is plastic in the product. How cool is that…??
The website www.beatthemicrobead.org is full of useful information, and if you haven’t downloaded their app yet, you can check out their product lists. The lists cover lots of countries (including New Zealand), and show exactly which products still contain microbeads and which do not.
Amazing, natural alternatives to the bead
Of course, here at Green Elephant you can be safe in the knowledge that when buying skincare, not only are there no plastics in there, but there are no nasty chemicals either and certainly no animal testing. Our Vendors have come up with far nicer ways to scrub and exfoliate and they use things like sugar, coffee grinds and jojoba beads. If you’re looking to ban the bead….here are some of our favourites for your beautiful face and body…
Click on the images to see more and shop.
