I was moved to write about the necessity of homemade scrubs after reading a damning article that talked about the negative environmental impact of this skincare product: scrubs include something called microbeads. Microbeads are what you feel scratching softly on your skin when you use a scrub, and they’re responsible for sloughing off dead skin cells.
But here’s the very serious problem: microbeads are made of teeny, tiny pieces of polythylene plastic. After we scrub our faces and wash it down the drain, the microbeads eventually end up in the oceans, where they have been wreaking havoc by polluting waters and poisoning marine life.
You’ve seen Lion King, right? That whole Circle of Life speech from Mufasa is REAL. The plastic that make up microbeads are very good at absorbing toxins in the water, which are eaten by small creatures. Small creatures are eaten by bigger creatures, which in turn are eaten by us. So while these microbeads are teeny, tiny, seemingly insignificant pieces of plastic, think about the tonnage of human beings who wash microbeads from facial scrubs down the drain every day, and I think you can imagine the damage we’re doing to ourselves.
But a girl can’t go without scrubbing her face once a week to exfoliate dead skin cells, can she? (No she can’t. The FD answer is always no) Thankfully there’s a more environmentally friendly option to exfoliation, which is basically to brew your own DIY scrubs. I’ve been on a DIY bender after writing about homemade toners last week, which is a fun addition to an article Deszell wrote about homemade masks for brighter skin.
If you care about planet earth as much as you love your skin, read on and start replacing your microbeads with these biodegradable alternatives!
Next: DIY scrub for Sensitive Skin >>
