Check out these easy ways to eliminate waste—and add some fun—to your natural beauty routine.
Check out these easy ways to eliminate waste—and add some fun—to your natural beauty routine.
I shun clichés. But every year around this time, I become the unofficial spokesperson for “spring
cleaning”—finding that I do feel lighter, better, calmer after de-cluttering my space and life. Because, really, what better time than April, the start of a new season and the month that hosts Earth Day, to embrace a couple of feel-good, overused phrases and … get back to basics? This doesn’t just translate to spending hours (and I mean hours!) sorting, organizing, and scrubbing; exercising with new vigor; and eating less sugar and more veggies, but also taking on a more sustainable beauty regimen. In addition to looking for short, plant-based ingredient lists on your personal care products, here are a few ways to eliminate waste—and add some fun—to your beauty routine this spring.
Buy bulk. Yes, buy beauty in bulk to help reduce packaging and product waste. Hugo Naturals led the way with its bulk soaps and bath salts in the personal care aisle. Now, some Whole Foods locations are expanding their Whole Body sections to include bulk lotions, shampoos, and conditioners. Bring your own containers and refill as needed.
Use ingredients from your kitchen. Speaking of bulk, for this April’s beauty column I developed five original beauty recipes using ingredients you’ll find in your bulk foods department, including organic cocoa, sea salt, and sugar. Give them a try (then stock your pantry with the leftovers), and let us know what you think!
Choose sustainable packaging. At Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, three of the seven companies earning top honors at the Responsible Packaging Awards were in the personal care category; they got props for using recycled materials, reducing of packaging weight, and eliminating waste and BPA. The winners: Avalon Organics, MyChelle Dermaceuticals; and Pangea. Inundated with green packaging claims? Ask yourself these questions to help find the reliable green options.
