How To Be a More Conscious Beauty Consumer

Looking good is great, but have you thought about what sorts of packaging your fave beauty products come in?

Are they in sustainable packaging? Are they recyclable? What about the product itself, is it safe to get washed down the sink when you use certain exfoliants and facials?

It’s important to take stock of the beauty products we are purchasing, being more mindful of what they are made of and what’s inside.

And often we get so caught up with how it may effect the body when applying the product, we forget about the damage it may be causing as it goes down the sink, or the packaging goes into the garbage once it’s finished.

Of course, there should be boundaries on how natural a product is also.

Several years ago, big beauty brand LUSH cosmetics launched a fabulous coffee inspired soap bar. The ingredients were so fresh in this product that when the fresh seeds and beans of the coffee and other nutritional body goodies went down the sink, people were complaining of blocked drains.

When a plumber was called out, it was discovered that a lot of these seeds and beans were sprouting in the drains. Turns out they didn’t need much sunlight to start germinating.

So yes, having the right balance of a natural products which is both good for you and for the planet, without causing any damage to the environment, your body, or your plumbing is super important.

With that in mind, I thought I would chat about six ways you can be more mindful of the products you are buying which will protect both you and this beautiful planet we call home.

CLEANSE the stock:

Do an audit of the products you have. If you’re anything like me, obsessed with all things beauty, from skincare to makeup, you no doubt have a cupboard overflowing, several drawers and even a few other boxes filled with makeup and skincare products.

Some which you know you will probably never ever get to try out. It’s time to declutter what you know you won’t get through. Because, yes they do expire. Gather up the ones you have had more than a few months, pop into some gift bags and start handing out to your friends and family.

Not only will they love you for it, you will feel cleansed that you finally got rid of that face cream you thought you would have used by now and six months later you still haven’t used it.

KEEP it simple:

But wait! Before you do go ahead and scrap everything and hand everything out to everyone. Make a quick check of what products you know you can use and will use if you were able to get through the ones you are using now.

As a beauty editor and columnist for Bondi Beauty, I get sent LOADS of products to trial and we do trial everything. But with the amount of products we get sent, it is nearly impossible to trial everything for a prolonged period of time.

Meaning, often after a few days, a product gets shoved to the side and replaced with another one. Before handing them out to people, I always take stock of the ones I know I got immediate results from after using for only a few days. I keep those and the rest gets bagged up and given to everyone else.

RESEARCH what you’re buying:

It’s entirely possible a lot of the products you get swept up in, with clever marketing and savvy ads on social media posts, that many of them you would not be caught dead wearing, or now that you have the product and you have read the fine print, you would absolutely not put that on your skin.

Research the product before you go crazy on WISH or other fancy apps to purchase ten crazy colour changing nail polish colours which are all made of the worse ingredients imaginable.

Check out what the product is really about and what is it made of. What sort of packaging does it come in? Is it recyclable and are the ingredients save if they end up in the bin or down the sink? Check before you buy. And this will reduce waste also.

NATURAL doesn’t always mean it is:

Many products promised their product is filled with natural ingredients, but often when you turn over to check the ingredients, you will see a host of other things in there you can’t understand and need a special dictionary to interpret. This can be overwhelming, as they are telling you it’s natural, but in fact it only has one natural ingredient in it.

Be mindful of the product and research the ingredients and how they work. Some products do use science and botanical as the perfect match to combat varying skin concerns; whether that be for skincare or makeup.

So, just because there is only a few natural ingredients and a few foreign ones, doesn’t mean it’s bad for you. But then in other cases it may be bad. So looking up the brand and reading about their core values is important to helping you choose the right product that’s natural and good to use for you and the planet.

ETHICAL decision are key:

Look out for the logos which represent sustainability, vegan, cruelty-free and natural. these logos will help you decide and also prove that the product is absolutely good for you and the planet.

These registration are hard to obtain and a product (or brand) goes through a lot of testing in order to legally have these logos included onto their packaging.

These logos will be on the packaging of all the product, so on the box which contains the product, and maybe also on the actual packaging of the product also. Depending what the product is. If it’s a mascara, then the logos will be on the box not the mascara. If it’s a skincare bottle of serum of moisturiser, it could be on both the box and the packing.

AVOID being wasteful:

Try to finish off a whole product before going out and shopping for more. Do you really need three mascaras and four face creams. Probably not. Mascara goes off fairly quickly, especially if you don’t wear it every day (which I don’t). So, being mindful of not being wasteful with all the product usage is important to not only reducing your waste, but also helping you bank account too.

Purchasing an entire arsenal of beauty products is expensive, so stick to replacing products when they are coming to the end. I know it can get exciting when a new product comes out, but you don’t need it the moment it launches. Finish the products you are using first and then go out and get yourself a treat of a new launch product.

Or if you really can’t wait and are feeling left out of the whole new product launch (FOMO as all you younglings say), then maybe think about how much product you have left already. If you know you will finish your face cream in the next week or so, sure go get yourself that new release. But if you have half a product left to use, maybe wait.