These Makeup Habits Are Friendly to Your Face & the Environment

It’s not news to anyone that the beauty industry hasn’t always been the most environmentally friendly. That said, beauty brands — and the industry as a whole — are making moves to change that.

If your favorite brands are adapting by adopting more eco-friendly practices, it’s time to follow suit and also try to be more eco-conscious about your beauty habits.

The reality is that recycling and conserving energy doesn’t begin and end in your home — it exists in your makeup bag and the way you treat your beauty products.

Next time you buy or even throw out a makeup or skincare item, consider how you can be more environmentally friendly—your skin and the environment will thank you: 

Buy Refillable Makeup Products

There are plenty of brands like the chic makeup brand Paul & Joe Beaute that sell refillable products. This way, you can buy a refill of a product so that when it is finished, you can swap the refill into the same case.

This greatly reduces waste, especially if you are someone who is loyal to one product and would just repurchase it anyway. 

Return Packaging 

According to Refinery29, a report by Zero Waste Europe shows that the cosmetic industry globally produces 120 billion units of packaging — that’s a lot of packaging that will need to be disposed of at some point.

When you throw out your compacts, lipstick tubes, and containers into the garbage, you are basically sentencing them to a landfill where they won’t properly break down. Instead, buy from brands with recyclable products, or with recycling programs — you probably already are and just aren’t aware of it!

Many brands offer recycling programs that allow you to return your empties. A lot of the time, these brands offer incentives like money back or free products. Origins are just one of the many brands that have take-back programs.               

Before you get rid of your old expired makeup or finished product, be sure you are recycling everything properly —because yes, your makeup needs to be recycled too.

Be Cautious of Packaging 

Consider the packaging of your product — is recyclable or made of recyclable products? Some products are made with packaging materials that are particularly hard to break down and just take up space in landfills.

See if you can avoid buying products with this type of packaging that is particularly bad for the already struggling environment – it won’t even limit your selection all that much! There are tons of notable brands like Stila and Grown Alchemist that boast both recyclable packaging and packaging made out of recycled materials.

Avoid Products Tested on Animals

Not only do animals play a significant role in the environment, but they are thinking and feeling beings who are unable to speak up for themselves — which is why they are often mistreated.

There are so many brands that don’t taste on animals that there is very little reason to support brands that do. There are tons of beauty brands like BY TERRY, Korres, and IT Cosmetics that make it a point to not test their products on animals.