We have long known that using natural beauty products isn’t just important for your precious skin, it’s important for the planet too. 

What we flush down the drain matters!

The toxic beauty products we wash off our skin and hair don’t cease to exist just because they’re gone from our specific shower, sink, or toilet (yes, toxins from crappy beauty products are absorbed and, thankfully, often secreted in our number 1s and number 2s.).  They often have quite a long life after they leave your bathroom actually –  and they generally funk up lots of other stuff besides your skin along the way!

Well, as if we needed more proof, there was an article recently in Mother Jones that specifically discussed the increasingly problematic effects of microbeads.  Those little beads of plastic commonly found in facial cleansers, soaps, body washes, tooth pastes, and other personal care products used for their “exfoliating” properties are having quite a large effect on bodies of water everywhere. 

From the great lakes to the oceans scientists testing the waters for contamination are finding these colored spherical plastic balls, all the same size, in their water samples.  There are other “micro plastics” in the lakes and oceans which are the result of larger plastic products breaking down.  But, they’re all random sizes and shapes.  Not microbeads.  Scientists can identify these little beads in their water samples easily – and, they’re finding them everywhere.

This issue presented by microbeads sounds somewhat unexpected; both from the scientist’s side and and that of the product manufacturers’.  Not really sure why….When I first heard about microbeads I knew they were more crap and ALSO harsh on the skin.  But, sadly, no one asked me, …or any one else with the foresight to consider what these microbeads actually are made of, and how they may result in problems especially when flushed into the water.

Now that everyone is in the know – something has to be done, and done fast!  Consciously flushing 573,000 pounds of these little plastic balls into the water each year has a variety of consequences; and this figure, according to the article, is just those microbeads used in America! 

For one, these little plastic balls look like fish eggs.  Many aquatic animals enjoy fish eggs, but what happens when they eat microbeads?  These plastics accumulate in their fatty tissues and stay there.  Forever.  Or, at least until they’re passed onto whatever the next animal is up the food chain – including humans.

There’s absolutely no reason for this either!  There are plenty of natural exfoliants that these manufacturers can use besides tiny beads of plastic.

So avoid these toxic beauty products by choosing ones made by responsible companies that would never consider using harmful crap like microbeads! 

You can also use an all natural loofah to help exfoliate your skin and, enjoy some exfoliating ingredients right from your kitchen including organic oats and organic sugar.  This way you can keep your skin soft and smooth withOUT introducing toxins into your body or the planet and everyone, even down to the smallest organisms in the oceans, will be safe, healthy, and happy.