Five Top Tips for Plastic Free Beauty

When it comes to our beauty and skincare routines, we all wish we could do more to make them a little less harmful. From makeup bags of plastic bottles to bathroom cupboards of nasty chemicals, it can be hard trying to find the right eco-friendly products for your skin.

At Honey Bee Beautiful, we celebrate Plastic-Free July all year round.

This means that we make a conscious effort to reduce the amount of plastic in our households, our business and our beauty regimes - finding greener alternatives for our most used products. But we know that it’s not always easy to simply swap out your essentials for natural replacements, and it can sometimes come with a hefty price to pay when we do.

So we’re going to recommending our Five Top Tips for Plastic-Free Living!

Switch out your plastic bottles for glass

The beauty and healthcare industry is responsible for almost 70% of the plastic that ends up in our landfills today. It’s overrun with cheap, single-use packaging that can’t be reused or recycled for any better purpose, and unfortunately, it’s only getting worse. And, the sad fact is that, every bit of plastic ever produced is still in existence today and will be for hundreds of years to come.

Try to opt for brands and products that come in glass jars and bottles instead, checking the labels to make sure they can be recycled before you buy.

It’s also a great idea to think of new ways to use your own glass product containers after you’re finished with them - as flower vases, candle holders or storage jars around the house. You can help extend the life cycle of these materials by turning them into something new and beautiful, without sending them straight to landfill.

Research the brands you buy from

Many brands today are making more an effort to create sustainable practices within their businesses - however, it’s still important to do your research. Make sure that the brands you purchase from have similar approaches to plastic-free beauty as you, for example using paper packaging instead of plastic, opting for recyclable materials, reducing the amount of transportation in their shipping.

The best brands will have all of this information readily available for you to read, either on their website or on the products themselves, so it’s important to take the time and investigate your favourite brands before you buy.

Invest in reusable beauty accessories

More and more products in our everyday beauty routines are being swapped out for reusable alternatives, and we’re so happy to see it. Some of the tools we use on a daily basis could be exchanged for longer-lasting, eco-friendly substitutes, for just a slightly higher cost. These are just some of the reusable beauty accessories available right now:

• Washcloths/Face Cloths
• Cotton Pads
• Silicone Make-up Sponges
• Facial Scrubbers/Cleansers
• Silicone Ear Buds
• Sheets Masks

Made out of durable materials, these are some of the most crucial elements in our skincare and beauty routines and can be used again and again, without damaging your skin or the planet.

Our favourite suppliers for eco goodies are Little Green Refills and Muff Fluff UK.

Look out for ‘green schemes’ from beauty brands

With so many beauty brands now offering rewards or schemes to help their customers stay plastic-free, why not keep an eye out for any new ways to recycle your old products to the business themselves.

Honey Bee Beautiful offers a great ‘Bee Green’ scheme, in which customers can send back their old glass packaging in exchange for 50 loyalty points for your account. Not only does this mean that the containers can be reused for new products, but it also offers a great incentive for customers to keep hold of their old beauty jars.

 Switch to natural deodorants

Spray and roll-on deodorants are some of the worst offenders when it comes to harmful personal toiletries. Often available in single-use packaging, with heavy amounts of aluminium and formaldehyde, they pose a real threat to our environment.

Try swapping out your old deodorant to a natural stick alternative instead. Without sacrificing the fresh protection of traditional deodorants, these softer substitutes are kinder on the skin, found in recyclable cardboard packaging and are entirely aluminium-free!  Plus, they smell pretty good too!

If you have any more tips for creating a plastic-free beauty routine, then please let us know over on our socials! 

Thanks for reading!

Cath x