Wednesday 31 October 2012

SAVE ME from skincare, over-packaged, over-plastic, over-hyped

My name is Emma and I am a plasti-holic.

There, confession done accompanied by the relief that spilling one's guts often affords. But here is the story...

I drink a lot of fizzy pop. I only like the stuff in plastic bottles. I eat a lot of bagged salad; it tends to come in plastic bags. I stuff plastic bags into my rucksack, then go out with only my handbag and need to add yet more plastic bags to the collection under the sink. And finally I am OBSESSED with skincare; possibly the most over-packaged products there are.

I read about the worthy aims of Plastic Free world and my skin crawled with shame. Ulterior motive – I'd love to give up my 20 years or so diet coke habit and wondered if aiming to be plastic-free would make that easier... (Oh, please!)

I am here then at the start of my journey to plastic-less. Beginning with the fizzy rubbish i.e. ditching diet coke. I would also be interested to know more about skincare and toiletries that don't come accompanied by plastic wrapping, cardboard and all of the rest.

Google it and there are concerns about the use of plastic packaging and skincare in terms of chemicals in the plastic leaching into your skin cream. Yeuch. So, official advice is to choose glass packing where possible. Or you could try making your own skincare...

The best products in terms of packaging I can find (and I'd welcome suggestions) come from an American company Organic Essence which boasts biodegradable, home compostable packaging. The company isn't here yet, but it's due to arrive in the UK later this year. You can email them to ask where the products will be stocked.

Another alternative (possibly the easiest one) is to think of skincare, and especially facial skincare, as marketing hype. If you eat lots of fruit and veg, lean protein and wholegrains, drink plenty of water, don't smoke, drink in moderation and exercise, good skin tends to happen anyway.

I don't know if I'm yet ready to abandon my serums, creams, lotions and potions but I'd certainly like to find more environmentally-friendly options...

3 comments:

  1. Thanks Emma! I had real troubles with finding good moisturisers free of plastic. I always used to use boots organically, which were relatively cheap and lovely, and best of all, came in a glass jar. Alas, no longer.... Boots in all their wisdom switched over to plastic recently. My favourite locally produced skincare products, in glass packaging, are miss ballantyne products (really, lovely...organic ingredients and made in Scotland too...). She sells in a lot of the markets around town and also has some shops which stock her products- curiouser and curiouser on broughton street for example. The Lothian natural skincare company also does some really nice beeswax based moisturisers... Sells in markets around town. Those would be my top picks!! Good luck with the search for more plastic free options. Let us know how you get on!

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  3. Great to see you have chosen to take fizzy drinks out of your diet - they are really unhelpful and only clog your system with chemicals and additives.
    Also, agree about the excess of single use plastic in the personal care aisle at the supermarket - we can raise awareness and begin making our own at home in glass jars to lessen our impact.
    Thank You!
    Bren
    Stainless Steel Straws Australia

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