Recommended Eco Beauty Products for Men and Women

 

Beauty products are damaging our environment and threatening our animals. Read this blog to find out how your beauty products are affecting the environment, how you can identify the products to avoid and some recommended brands you can use instead. 

If you like this blog, comment and share for others who may find this useful! Thank you! x

Ocean Life:
One of the problems with the beauty industry, are the toxic chemicals. Chemicals such as parabens, plasticizers, and pesticides, are found in products such as sun cream. These products end up in the ocean and the chemicals damage the coral reefs through bleaching, and disrupt reproduction in animals. An estimated 4000 to 6000 tones of sun cream end up on our oceans each year. Microbeads in some products end up in oceans and block marine life digestive systems. The rate of plastic ingestion from marine life and seabirds is increasing by 2% each year and two-thirds of fish and 90% of sea birds have ingested plastic. 
Animal Testing:
Animal testing is another huge issue with over 100million animals being tested each year and exposed to chemicals often kill them or damage our environment due to the resource intensive and wasteful process. Animal testing uses 10 times more energy than a typical office does. Furthermore, animal testing is causing species to be at risk of extinction.
Deforestation:
Palm oil is in more then 2,300 cosmetics and is a demanded ingredient, causing deforestation of rainforests, destructing habitats for animals such as Orangutans.  Another ingredient, Mica is found in 13,500 cosmetics and is another resource contributing to deforestation. Furthermore, packaging has caused 18 million acres of trees to be cut down each year, which increases global warming due to the release of CO2.
Water Waste:
Beauty products use a lot of water. Even though this is safe for the environment, it means a lot of water waste and contributes to a future water shortage. The United Nations have predicted that 50% of of the world will live in water limited conditions by 2050.
Plastic Pollution:
According to Zero Waste Week data, the cosmetics industry produces 120 billion units of packaging per year and most of it is made from plastic which ends up in landfill. Additionally, the disposal of these plastics accounts for 70% of the carbon emissions of the industry.

Apps that identify the ingredients in our products and highlights better alternatives:

I did some research on apps that identify chemicals in our beauty products so we can avoid products that are bad for our health and the environment. All these apps work for both male and female products.
Here are the apps I found:

Detox Me

CosmEthics

Code Check

Think Dirty

Healthy Living

Out of all of these options, Code Check is my favourite. It is a Switzerland based company however it still has UK products. You can scan the barcodes and it provides information on food and beauty products. It also provides useful articles of tips and information on nutrition, DIY and cosmetics etc. The app shows , the ingredients, highlighting the toxic ones and it also provides alternatives on your products that are eco friendly. 

Detox Me, provides tips on food, beauty, clothing and more. Providing information on what to look out for and what you should know and avoid. There is so much information out there it is good to have some tips in one place. 

CosmEthics is also a useful app, You can submit your products on the app and they will send you an ingredient list and better alternatives, 

Think Dirty has similar features, with scanning product barcodes. It has lots of recommended eco and healthy products to choose from and it also shows you products from small businesses, including women owned businesses and Afghan supporting businesses, The app has so many categories to search from including baby friendly, vegan friendly and cruelty free. The only downside of this app is that only some content is free and you need to sign up to a paid subscription to unlock it all.

Finally you have the EWG healthy living app. This app is great for those based in the US. You can scan your products and it has tonnes of EWG approved products. It shows the ingredients lists and ranks all products on its safety.  

Looking through heaps of ingredients and research can be overwhelming, try the apps above to make choosing eco products easier. If you have found any useful websites or apps please comment them and let me know! If you still need extra help when buying products, look out for these certifications:

The Vegan Society (UK Based)

Vegan Action (US Based)

The Vegetarian Society (UK Based)

Recommended eco products for men and women:

It is hard to find eco friendly products that are affordable but I have picked products and brands I have found that are value for money and not hugely expensive, so being green doesn't have to be so difficult. Comment below if you found any more recommendations or choices, Id love to hear them! 

Estrid

                                                 

 I mentioned this brand in my previous blog (Top Hacks for Being Green on a Budget). Estrid is a razor company that sells eco friendly, vegan razors and shaving products. I got the starter kit which comes with a wall mount, a metal razor handle and two blades for only £7.95 and with a starter kit you can pick how often they send you new blades and pick from a bunch of cute colours. These blades last a long time, they give a close and smooth shave, and its only £9.95 for 4 new blades. Its budget friendly, shaves great and ships globally and environmental!

Link Here

Lush

Shampoo bars are a great eco alternatives to shampoo bottles. One bar can replace up to 3, 250ml shampoo bottles. Lush has minimal packaging, animal testing free and affordable, not to forget they smell amazing. Lush provide different variety of shampoo bars for different hair types, so there is something for everyone and they surprisingly last for months! Lush do conditioner bars too.
Link Here

Pacifica

This brand is for those in the US. Pacifica provide tonnes of eco cosmetics such as perfume, lotions, nail varnish, haircare and makeup. They are mid range priced and have lots of choices. The brand is environmentally friendly, vegan, cruelty free and toxic chemicals free. 

Link Here

The Green Turtle

This brand has great options for male beauty products such as, shaving creams, razors, soaps, shampoos, etc. However, The Green Turtle doesn't only provide for the male demographic, The Green Turtle has baby products, home and garden care, female cosmetics, and even an "out and about" section for reusable bags, face masks. The prices are reasonable and the reviews are great.
Link Here

Garnier

All Garnier products are cruelty free and Garnier have also announced their Green Beauty initiative to improve their sustainability and reduce their environmental impact. They have eco products such as re usable makeup remover pads and shampoo bars. Garnier is not 100% sustainable yet but they are switching to recyclable packaging and making important changes to be more environmentally friendly, which most big brands are not doing. You can use the apps I suggested to check the ingredients of your Garnier products.

Link Here

My Little Eco Shop

I found this shop on Instagram and they have some great products ranging from, male and female hair and skincare, kitchen products, dental products, mens beard oils and so much more. Their products are vegan, cruelty free, palm oil and plastic free and they are handmade. An added bonus is its really affordable and has great reviews.
Link Here 

Wild

Wild is a natural reusable deodorant brand, which provide deodorant made from natural materials and each refill saves 30g of plastic going to landfill. They have a 24hour lasting protection and a 30 day refund, satisfaction guarantee. They are cruelty free and free from parabens and other toxic chemicals. Every purchase, plants trees as they are partnered with ONAMISSION, helping grow wild forests. There are plenty of choices of smells and each refill lasts around 2 months. Similar to the Estrid brand, you can pick a one off purchase or a subscription. 
Link Here

Wearth London

Wearth London is an eco brand that sell everything from beauty products to jewellery to homeware. They are vegan, cruelty free, handmade, organic, plastic free and recyclable. There is so much choice in products and this is one of the most affordable brand I have found so far. Link Here

Axiology

Axiology is a vegan makeup brand that sell lipsticks, highlighters and lip, cheek and eye crayons. This is an American brand however they ship to the UK and some UK sights, like Asos and Glow Organic, sell them too. This brand isn't the cheapest but their crayons are good value for money as you can use them for more than just your lips. Link Here

Thank you for reading, I hope you you found these brand recommendations useful. There is so much choice out there so do have research if these choices don't suit you. If we all choose more eco options, we would be working towards a more healthier planet. Please share and let me know your thoughts!

Sources:

https://www.treehugger.com/environmental-impact-of-cosmetics-5207672

https://www.trvst.world/sustainable-living/environmental-impact-of-cosmetics/

https://www.treehugger.com/best-of-green-awards-2021-beauty-personal-care-5189632