The Cosmetic Crisis; Part two

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#earth #ourplanet #earthday #nature #beauty, #nature #environmentalfriendly, Awareness, BeautyCare, EnvironmentallyConscious, PersonalCare

Looking for ways to get rid of the plastic in your bathrooms and beauty bars? You’ve come to the right place.  Here are 5 great plastic-free alternatives to some of your most used items! Enjoy!

1) Mascara…Every lady’s must have!

I can speak for myself (but hopefully many others) when I say I am totally addicted to mascara! I use multiple different tubes and brands each day, and I have yet to implement a plastic-free alternative to regular plastic cased mascaras. Fortunately, by researching for this article I have found a company called ‘T.W.I.N.K. Beauty’ that sells mascara in small metal tins! How awesome is that!? I will be placing my order ASAP, and hoping you will to.

Product description: The lash paint is in the original, vintage style of “cake mascara” which means it comes pressed in a rectangular metal tin, unlike most plastic tube mascaras. Just add a drop of water and rub the applicator in it and there you go!

T.W.I.N.K Beauty has many more plastic-free beauty alternatives, so check them out!

You can buy the .25 oz tins for only $8 off etsy.com, here  https://www.etsy.com/shop/twinkbeauty

Here is a picture of the tin that I found off of myplasticfreelife.com ;

 

 

 

 

 2.) Nail Polish Remover

Q) What can I use to remove nail polish without buying nail polisher remover in a plastic bottle?

A) Nail polish.

I’m serious! This tip is too good to be true! Just paint over your old nail polish with a fresh coat, don’t let it dry, immediately wipe it off and it will remove everything!

I discovered this trick accidentally…I was painting over old polish with a new green I bought, but to my dismay the green turned out to be more like vomit-colored, so I wiped it off right away and it took off the previous polish as well!

3.) Makeup remover

Make your own remover with 2 tablespoons of canola oil and one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Mix them together; dip a cotton ball in, and gently swipe across your face to clean off your makeup! It should come right off. Rinse with cool water. There are so many more recipes to making your own makeup remover, just search online! I just chose this one because it was so simple.

4.) SUNSCREEN!

Now for something I know affects each and every one of you readers at the moment… (unless you live somewhere very cold, but either way this is still cool info to know so keep reading! J)

We all know how damaging the sun can be to our skin…Speaking from firsthand experience, (and as a fair skinned individual) sunburns are the worst. I mean really, they are the worst. Having pigment to match a lobster is definitely not a confidence booster, not to mention how damaging sunburns or even light tans are to your skin. Sunblock should be your best friend, going everywhere you go. The problem today is that almost all forms of sunscreens, (sticks, lotions, sprays, chapsticks,) are available in plastic containers. Luckily, I found a great recipe for a DIY and plastic-free recipe for sun protection from cranberrylane.com

Sun protection Lotion stick

Use either Shea Butter Lotion base or Cocoa Butter Lotion Base for this recipe.

 6 Tbsp Lotion Bar base.

 Desired Sun Protection value:

SPF 15 = 1/2 tsp Titanium Dioxide per recipe

 SPF 30 = 1 tsp Titanium Dioxide per recipe

Directions:

1) Gently heat (low) lotion bar base in a stainless steel pot or use glass microwavable measuring cup until material melts and becomes clear.

2) Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly (the mixture will become slightly cloudy). Add Titanium Dioxide powder and stir until blended.

3) Pour into clear 30ml lotion stick container. Allow to cool completely before using.

 For best shelf life store in a cool dark place. (Shelf life for finished product is approximately 6 months)

All products can be bought offline from cranberrylane.com or elsewhere online!  I’m also sure you can find all of these ingredients locally!

 

5.) Zero Waste Toothpaste

No more need to buy brand name plastic toothpaste tubes!! Here is a recipe to make your own. Imagine what a great feeling you will have when you have 1) Made your own toothpaste!! And 2) Contributed to a cause to (basically) save the world.  Now how can you turn this down?? Such a must-try.

1 cup baking soda plus a bit extra, as needed

2 1/2 teaspoons finely ground sea salt, to taste

1/4 teaspoon Peppermint oil, or other flavoring oils of your choice

Powdered xylitol or stevia to taste.

Lidded jar or jars to store the finished toothpaste in.

This makes enough to fill 4 4-ounce Mason jelly jars each about 3/4 full.

Now go for it, you hero, you!

(from Rockfarmer)For more info visit http://rockfarmer.me/

 

I hope you all enjoyed these 5 interesting tips to reduce plastic in your personal care cabinet! And don’t limit yourself to these solutions; get creative! Try making your own recipes, test it out and have fun! Comment with your experiences and any new helpful creations or ideas! If it works for you and it’s reducing plastic consumption, I want to hear about it!

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The Cosmetic Crisis: 5 quick and easy tips to avoid unnecessary plastic in your beauty bar

Tags

#PlasticFreeTuesday, Awareness, BeautyCare, Earth, Environmental, EnvironmentallyConscious, Nature, NatureNews, PersonalCare, Pft

I know this is not just an issue I face; just about every personal care product I own and am accustomed to buying is in a plastic container! (Which is an issue for obvious reasons!)

Most of my makeup and body care products are in plastic cases, with plastic labels on them. Being a makeup lover, I have mountains of products for my eyes, lips, face, and body. And the products I prefer are usually from big brand-name retailers that I have grown to trust and be loyal to over many years.

My problem was, (until recently,) which I’m sure many of you have faced as well, is that I thought there was no other plastic-free alternative to my products. But after doing some research, I have quickly learned and implemented some new great tips that help me maintain my daily routine, all while being environmentally conscious.

In this article, I am going to tackle some problematic areas of your daily personal are routines, with alternative solutions to follow them. It is my hope that you will take this knowledge and use it to change not only your daily life, but to change the amount of long-term plastic we have all been so used to using so excessively! By doing so, no matter how small you think these changes are, we are making BIG advances for our plastic-free future.

1) Check labels before buying anything!!!

Did you know that some facial scrubs and other personal care products contain tiny plastic beads?
Microbeads are added to face wash and body wash with the purpose of exfoliating the skin, and whether they work or not is not the issue here. The problem is that environmentalists and scientists have found these tiny beads to be harmful to the Earth’s water supply.
Since they are so small, they cannot be filtered out of the water treatment plants after they are washed down sinks. They end up in the environment, in lakes, rivers, oceans and ponds. Since they are not biodegradable like most plastics aren’t, they are harmful to the environment and it’s inhabitants.

Lesson learned, Avoid anything with “polyethylene” listed as an ingredient.

Instead, try to exfoliate naturally using honey, yogurt, and sugar!

2) Use a bar of soap instead of your usual plastic bottle!

People have prejudices towards bars of soap because they think they are less sanitary, but if you think about your big plastic bottle and compare it to one simple bar of soap, which do you think is cleaner? I think the bar of soap, because every time I shower with it and hold it, it cleans itself under the hot water! When was the last time you cleaned your bottle of body wash?

3) Deodorant Alternatives!

All store bought deodorants are in plastic containers, not to mention full of chemicals, so forget those! Here are other ways to keep your underarms dry and smelling fresh.

• Baking soda and corn starch! No excuses not to try these, because who doesn’t have these around the house?! “Mix an eighth of a teaspoon of baking soda with a little bit of water — don’t dissolve it — and rub it under your arms. You can also create a baking soda and cornstarch mix to fight odor and help prevent wetness. Simply mix one part baking soda with six parts cornstarch and dust a little on your underarms.” (mnn.com)

• Lemon Juice- the citric acid in lemon juice is known to kill odor causing bacteria!

• Rubbing alcohol- another product to kill odor causing bacteria! Just pat some on your pits and you should be good to go!

• Homemade deodorant: Make your own! Here are two recipes I found on mnn.com…

Tammy Luna’s deodorant

1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup arrow root powder or corn starch
5 tablespoons coconut oil

Combine baking soda and arrow root powder in a bowl and mix with a fork. Start with about 4 tablespoons of coconut oil and add it to the baking soda mixture, working it into a paste. You can store the deodorant in a small, air-tight container or put it into an empty deodorant stick dispenser.

Amy Karol’s deodorant

3 tablespoons shea butter
3 tablespoons baking soda
2 tablespoons corn starch
2 tablespoons cocoa butter
2 vitamin E oil gel caps (squeeze out the oil)
Essential oil

Melt all the ingredients except the oils and stir. Then mix in the oils, pour the mixture into a container, and place the container in the fridge to set. This recipe filled a 1/4 pint jar.
*Read more: http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/natural-beauty-fashion/photos/5-deodorant-alternatives/homemade-deodorant#ixzz36nWok5jn

4) Wooden Brushes!

Luckily, it is not hard to find wooden brushes instead of plastic ones! Just shop around and you’ll be sure to find one. Not only does it probably look sleeker, but it is surely more durable than plastic!

5) Ditch Shaving Crème.

Shaving Crème is not natural to use on your body, and it always comes in containers that are not biodegradable. Instead, take one for the planet and just use a regular bar of soap. Or, better yet, try coconut oil! All natural and much better for yourself and the environment.

For more information on reducing plastic in your everyday routines, visit plasticfreetuesday.org