Sustainable Beauty Habits can be beneficial for our financial & mental health as well.

The fast-paced beauty industry is not always harmful to the earth. If we are a beauty enthusiast or just a mediocre person who loves to do makeup or take care of our skin’s health, we can still do our skincare & makeup routine while taking care of the earth as well. 

Quoting from the Waste4Change’s web page, “Based on data from Badan Pusat Statistik and Asosiasi Industri Plastik Indonesia (INAPLAS), plastic waste in Indonesia reaches 64 million tons per year, and as much as 3.2 million ends up in the sea. In 2019, Indonesia was the second country contributing the most plastic waste, namely 3.21 million metric tons per year, as reported by the Kementerian Kelautan dan Perikanan. Plastic skincare container waste is also included in this figure. Waste4Change Campaign Team, Silviana Chandra, said that currently used plastic waste from the beauty industry has reached 6.8 million tons and 70 percent of it is not processed properly.” 

Photo by Naja Bertolt Jensen on Unsplash

To overcome this, we can not just rely on recycling. We need awareness among people who use skincare & makeup products to be able to implement constant conscious beauty habits so we can refuse and reduce beauty waste. Here are some examples of conscious beauty habits that we can easily do! Whether for Indonesians or anyone around the world.

Conscious Purchase

Buy local! By choosing local products, we can minimize our carbon footprint, and yet local products are usually more affordable because it did not need a lot of transportation costs. But before buying a beauty product, take time to rethink, do we still have a similar product that hasn't run out yet? If not, is there any product in the store that doesn’t contain microplastic inside the ingredients? If available, choose a product that can be refilled or maybe something that could be used as a multifunction (hybrid) product. We can freely choose a product that is kind to our skin (and our pocket!) and of course the earth. 

Conscious Usage

Use our beauty products daily! Never let them just sit in our beauty corner and use them until their last drop or hit the pan so it will not become wasteful. Frequently check our beauty products and curate each of them based on its expiration date or period after opening (PAO) time and use the one with the earliest shelf life first. Using a tracker like this one (shout out to Ankayama who created this template) will be helpful too. When we have new beauty products, do not try all the new products at the same time to avoid confusion when our skin is suddenly irritated because of one of the products.

Conscious Tools

On a daily basis, we need tools to support our beauty routine. Instead of using disposables. we can definitely choose alternative tools that are more sustainable such as reusable cotton pads & reusable facecloths to replace the single-use cotton pads to remove makeup or apply toner and single-use tissue to wipe our face after washing our face. Apart from being more economical (and of course environmentally friendly), reusables that are made with natural fabric are also softer so they are safe and more comfortable for sensitive skin, yet we can compost them when the product lifespan has ended. Actually, we don't need to buy reusable cotton pads or reusable facecloths at the store. Make them ourselves! Use the unused clothes that we have at home.

We can also invest in high-quality makeup tools. Instead of purchasing a brush set that seems more affordable, we can buy a few single brushes that we know will be used every day and are more durable.

Conscious Disposal

When we have beauty products that are not suitable for us, we should immediately pass them on to others by donating or selling them again. We can also try to utilize them in other ways. For example, we can try to paint with colors from an eyeshadow palette or lipstick that has expired, the finished art can be displayed and will not end up in a landfill or pollute the environment. Another example is we can try to use a product that irritates our skin’s face into our body before we get rid of it. Last but not least, deliver our beauty packaging to be recycled. We can go to a trusted waste management if we are in Indonesia or to a recycling center in another country.

If we are here because we are on our journey towards sustainable living, please beware of greenwashing too. Quoting from Green Network’s web page “Greenwashing is a marketing or communication strategy to make something appear more sustainable than it actually is. The “green” part of “greenwashing” is primarily about the environment. However, sustainability isn’t just about the environment; it has other aspects, such as social and economic.” What we can do about this is always double-check the product in detail before purchasing whether the product meets our standard of sustainability beauty or not.

True sustainability does utilize what we already have to the fullest. Above are just a few simple examples, we can definitely add other environmentally friendly habits ourselves using the 5R principles: Rethink, Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (and + Rot). This way, we can enjoy our self-care with a peaceful heart & mind because we aren't hurting our beloved skin & earth.

Literature

Defitri, M. (2022, August 11). Pentingnya Daur Ulang Plastik Bekas Skincare [Web page]. Accessed from https://waste4change.com/blog/pentingnya-daur-ulang-plastik-bekas-skincare/

Kusuma, N. (2023, June 29). Introducing Greenwashing and How to Spot It [Web page]. Accessed from https://greennetwork.asia/featured/introducing-greenwashing-and-how-to-spot-it/