10 Ways To Crush A More Eco-Friendly Beauty Routine
Want to help look after the world you live in and do your bit to reduce climate change? Then why not kick things off with a rethink of your beauty and skincare habits?
Climate change is something we must all try harder to overcome. But that doesn’t mean you have to overhaul your entire lifestyle and live a completely sustainable, zero-waste existence. Because, in all honesty, for most us, that’s almost impossible.
Instead, we believe small steps are the best way forward. After all, switching up a few lifestyle and purchasing habits present you with a much smaller mountain to climb. And this is way easier to maintain than trying (and often failing) to go full-on eco-warrior.
Ready to try harder with your skincare routine? Then here are 10 ways to be more beauty conscious.
Because it’s the least you can do, right?
1. Don’t Throw Away Half-Used Products
While it can be tempting to chuck out half-used products in your bathroom cabinet and makeup bag and start all over again, this is extremely counter-productive. There are good products in there so make sure you use up everything you have before investing in replacements. Just the simple act of buying stuff you don’t need is one of the most eco-unfriendly habits you can get into. So there you go.
Fallen out of love with that pink lipstick you bought last year? Then why not ask a friend or family member if they want it? Or maybe post a few unwanted beauty items to your local Buy Nothing Facebook group.
2. Buy Less
While we’re on the subject of purchasing, think about your product line-up and what you actually use on a regular basis. Do you really need seven facial serums, for example? Or different cleansers for day and night? Probably not. Try to hone things down by simplifying your routine and investing in multi-use products. Our Multi-Vitamin Facial Serum, for example, is an awesome treatment that works like an oral multivitamin… but for your skin! Great for protecting, hydrating, strengthening and enhancing it’s a real beauty for offering up everything your skin needs to stay healthy 24/7.
3. Invest In Reusable Cotton Rounds
Sorry, but single-use cotton rounds are the worst. Sure, cotton grows on trees and is a renewable source, but cotton rounds require a huge amount of water, chemicals and deforestation to produce. Not only that but they cannot be recycled so they end up in landfills where they can take up to 12 months to decompose – even longer if they contain plastic (many do, btw!) which basically never breaks down.
Instead of buying such wasteful products, buy only organic, 100 percent cotton rounds or, better still, switch to more eco-friendly cotton pads that can be washed and reused time and time again. Amazon has plenty to choose from, right here.
4. Reduce Your Water Consumption
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the average American adult uses around 82 gallons of water a day. Sounds like a lot? That’s because it is.
To reduce your water consumption, never leave the faucet running when you’re brushing your teeth, shaving or washing your face. It may seem easier to just leave it on the whole time but it’s totally unnecessary and wastes around eight gallons a day. Eesh!
Also, minimize your shower time. Showers use around two gallons of water every minute meaning if you were to slim yours down from 10 minutes to eight, you’d save more than 100 gallons of water every month.
5. Use Home-Grown Formulations
Has it ever crossed your mind how many thousands of miles some of your favorite products have travelled in order to beautify your skin? K-Beauty skincare, for example, is all well and good, but the distance from Korea to the US is just over 6,500 miles. And that equates to a massive amount of fuel and air pollution just to moisturize your face.
The solution? Simple. Stick with home-produced beauty formulations to help reduce your carbon footprint. What was that? Oh yes, all TruSkin products are formulated and bottled in the US.
6. Switch Out Bottles For Bars
Back in the day, soaps and cleansing bars were the only way to clean your skin. Yes, they were over-fragranced and often very drying but they did have one thing going for them – they weren’t packaged in wasteful plastic.
Understandably, beauty bars fell out of favor sometime in the ‘80s when liquid shower gels and fancy hand washes started to grace our homes. But the good news is, they’re back. And they’re way better than before. Nowadays you can wash both your hair and body with awesome cleansing bars that feel great and are chock full of incredible ingredients that do the job and won’t make your skin and hair feel like they’ve been sucked of all life.
Bars also contain less water (check) are usually packaged in paper or cardboard (check) and last way longer than shampoos and shower gels (check, check, check!).
7. Recycle As Much As You Can
Instead of throwing all of your empties in the trash, check to see if they’re recyclable. Cardboard boxes and glass bottles (literally all of our serums, in a nutshell!) are the most eco-friendly types of packaging and can be recycled just about anywhere. But even plastic bottles and caps are accepted at some local programs so always check before you chuck.
8. Avoid The Ingredient Nasties
If you want to ensure what you put on your face and body doesn’t effect marine life steer clear of parabens and oxybenzone. Parabens help preserve beauty products that contain a significant amount of water (think shampoo and cleanser), but they’ve been detected in surface waters, corals and fish and they have the potential to be extremely harmful to all of the above.
Similarly, oxybenzone, a common UV filter used in sunscreen, is thought to increase coral bleaching and may even cause genetic damage to marine organisms.
When you add all this to the fact that both of these ingredients are common skin irritants, they should really have no place in anyone’s beauty regimen.
Done. Buy TruSkin and you won’t have to worry about either of them coming anywhere near your skin. We use much cleaner preservatives like sodium benzoate and ethylhexylglycerin across all of our products. And for sunscreen? We stick with reef-safe and super skin-friendly zinc oxide in SPF 30 Mineral Sunscreen.
9. Stop Buying Single-Use Wipes
Cleansing wipes might be super convenient and just about acceptable when you’re in a pinch and have nothing else at hand. But honestly, they kind of suck at what they do – aka cleaning your skin. Plus, they suck even more for the environment. Not only are they packaged in soft plastic pouches (red flag right there!), but did you know the average cleansing wipe takes a whopping 100 years to decompose? Woah. This is because, according to the FDA, most wipes contain a whole host of ingredients like polyester, polypropylene, preservatives and rayon fibers – most of which aren’t biodegradable.
Just don’t go there. Instead, do better by sticking with proper cleansing products like our Charcoal, Vitamin C or Tea Tree cleansers.
10. Say No To Animal Testing
According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), animal products are the key cause of climate change due to the amount of water, land and energy animals require to be farmed, killed, processed and transported. Meanwhile, research shows that around 110 million animals suffer and die each year through experimentation, medical training, chemical, drug, food and cosmetics testing.
If, like us, this appalls you, next time you’re buying skincare, makeup or cosmetics, make sure to go for products that say a big fat no to animal testing. How to do this without having companies pull the wool over your eyes? Look for the Leaping Bunny logo which is the only internationally recognized symbol that guarantees no animal tests were carried out in the development of any product displaying the logo. We’re proud to be Leaping Bunny approved across the board. Oh yes!
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![Good Or Bad? 5 TikTok Skincare Trends – Dissected]()
Are social media skincare hacks harmful or helpful? To follow, our thoughts on five of the latest beauty fads doing the rounds…
Isn’t social media awesome? Well, it is, until it isn’t. You see, the problem with giving everyone a voice and a platform on which to share their skincare routines and DIY beauty hacks is that not ‘everyone’ is an expert. In fact, most people are far from it. Of course, there are plenty of fabulous makeup artists, dermatologists, plastic surgeons and aestheticians you can follow across Instagram, YouTube and TikTok and a lot of them have incredible advice to offer. There’s also a lot to be said for things like Facebook Groups where, if you struggle with chronic skin issues, you can connect, learn and find solace from others with similar concerns.
But then there’s all the other 'stuff' from people who have so much to say… about things they don’t know that much about. And this is the kind of information that can do more harm than good. This is why we’ve sifted through some of the most recent viral skincare fads you might want to be wary of. Instead, read on for the real truth about how best to take care of your skin.
1. Slugging
What Is Slugging?
Skin slugging might sound gross, but it’s become a huge deal on TikTok, with its hashtag currently notching up around 1.5 billion views.
Not to be confused with most people’s least favorite mollusk, slugging involves smearing a thick layer of petroleum jelly all over your skin as the last step in your nightly skincare routine. Do so and you’re guaranteed to wake up with the softest, most moisturized skin ever. So they reckon, anyway.
Is Slugging Good For Your Skin?
This trend started gaining momentum almost two years ago, but it will not go away. Therefore there has to be something in it, right? Well, petroleum jelly is an occlusive ingredient that creates a seal over your skin to help lock in moisture. So, sure, it will definitely stop water from evaporating from the surface of your skin as you sleep, we’ll give you that. However, petroleum jelly has no hydrating qualities. At all. This means it doesn’t really moisturize your skin, it just stops any moisture that’s already present from escaping from the surface of your skin.
Not only that but petroleum jelly creates a barrier over your pores, completely blocking them and causing no end of problems for oily skin types. Namely, breakouts like you will never believe.
Much Better Advice?
Rather than slathering your skin with what is essentially just ‘grease,’ you’re much better off applying night cream to not only lock in moisture but to help hydrate and feed your complexion with skin-loving ingredients like antioxidants, ceramides, peptides and/or vitamins and minerals.
Our Vitamin C Deep Hydration Night Cream is a great bet or why not try the combo of our new Rejuvenating Longevity Serum and Renewing Longevity Moisturizing Cream?
2. Potatoes For PimplesWhat's It All About?
Dealing with acne can be a real struggle. Especially when you reach adulthood when you were promised your skin would be so much clearer. But it’s not common to be plagued by breakouts as you get older. In fact, research shows that around 25 percent of American women in their 40s suffer from some kind of acne.
It’s no wonder, therefore, that there are so many short-term hacks for dealing with pimples. Back in the day it was toothpaste and nail varnish remover (gasp!). Now it’s slices of raw potatoes. The idea is that you tape a small slice over your spot to make it magically disappear. Some TikTokers have even resorted to rubbing the whole darn thing over their skin.
Are Potatoes Good For Your Skin?
Don’t get us wrong, we love a potato as much as the next person. But on our dinner plates, not taped to our faces. So, why has this acne hack become such a thing? Ha, your guess is as good as ours but the main draw is that potatoes have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties which are both known to help reduce redness and unwanted pigmentation.
They also contain exfoliating and oil-reducing properties and feel nice and cool on the skin which is a big deal when you have a big, throbbing red zit on your chin. So maybe, just maybe, they might offer some short-term benefits. But little more than that.
Much Better Advice?
If you’re an acne sufferer, you’ll understand that short-term fixes are all well and good but, in truth, it’s all about the long-term. This is why we prefer to treat and control breakouts with smart skincare that’s been specifically (and safely!) formulated for the job. Products that contain science-led and dermatologically-tested ingredients like salicylic acid, tea tree oil and AHAs are going to offer your skin way better benefits than a bag of your best russets. Sorry, but they just will.
3. Sunscreen Contouring
What Is Sunscreen Contouring?
If we had to choose just one viral beauty trend that gets our blood boiling the most, it would be sunscreen contouring. Stupid at best, downright dangerous at worst, sunscreen contouring is when you apply sunscreen to select areas of your face and body only, in order to intentionally create tan lines for a contoured effect.
Some people have taken to applying a lower SPF to areas of their face they want to tan more, and a higher SPF to those they want to remain pale and ‘highlighted’ but either way, this is bad news.
Is Sunscreen Contouring Good For Your Skin?
Absolutely not. Not even slightly. The sun is responsible for almost 90 percent of skin aging, accelerating the formation of fine lines, wrinkles, sagging and dark spots. This means it’s absolutely essential to protect ALL exposed skin to the damaging effects of UV radiation. Because tan skin = damaged skin. End of story. Not only that, but c’mon people, skin cancer.
Much Better Advice?
First, in order to truly protect your skin from the damaging effects of the sun, you need to apply SPF 30 Mineral Sunscreen every day to all areas of exposed skin. The alternatives are just not worth it. And if you do want to create contours on your face and body such as highlighting your cheekbones, sculpting your nose or defining your abs, stick with a self-tanning lotion or makeup. Easy. And way less damaging.
4. Lemon Juice As Toner
What's It All About?
Pure lemon juice. As toner. Simple as that.
Yes, lemons are astringent, yes they’re packed with vitamin C and yes, vitamin C is awesome for the look, feel and health of your skin. But when life gives you lemons, do not squeeze out their juice and use it to tone or brighten your face.
Is Lemon Juice Good For Your Skin?
Citric acid can be an incredible ingredient in many topical skincare treatments, offering great antioxidant qualities and helping to fight environmental skin damage. However, skincare products are formulated in certain ways and use very specific concentrations of ingredients in order to help benefit your skin without causing irritation. Pure lemon juice, however? The opposite. Applying it in its pure form can seriously irritate your skin, screwing up your barrier function and causing long-term issues with hyperpigmentation and sensitivities. It can even burn your skin if you’re not careful.
Keep yours for the G&Ts and leave lemon skincare cocktailing to the pros, OK?
Much Better Advice?
Get your fix of vitamin C from a facial serum that contains sodium ascorbyl phosphate (SAP) which is a gentle and very effective form. Our Vitamin C Facial Serum is always a big favorite but we also have the mighty Vitamin C Super Serum + which really amps up your glow factor. We like to use it twice a week, alternating between this and the OG.
5. Face Taping
What Is Face Taping?
This cheeky little trick has been used by Hollywood’s finest for decades so sorry, TikTok-ers, but you did not invent this one. Also known as wrinkle taping, the idea behind it is that you strategically place sticky tape on your face, usually overnight, to lift the skin, reduce muscle movement and therefore reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. It’s most often used under the eyes, at the edges of the cheeks, over the forehead or across the chest area.
You can also use face tape to provide an immediately lifting effect, keeping it on for an event, for example, whilst camouflaging it with heavy makeup.
Is Face Taping Good For Your Skin?
As an immediate wrinkle-reducer and skin-smoother, face taping is actually pretty effective. But it’s a very short-term fix and takes a lot of clever makeup artistry to cover the tape and make it look natural.
As an overnight solution however? Yeah, we’re not convinced. For one thing, the glue that’s used on the tape can be super irritating for some skin types, especially if it’s used under the eyes where your skin is thin and extremely delicate. And for another, leaving the tape on for long periods of time can clog your pores and encourage breakouts. The phrase, ‘out of the frying pan, into the fire,’ comes to mind.
Much Better Advice?
Two words: effective skincare. Cleansing and exfoliating regularly, treating your skin with daily antioxidants, applying sunscreen daily and using age-defying ingredients like retinol, bakuchiol, hyaluronic acid and vitamin C? So much better than silly old face tape that might be OK for ten minutes but will do no good in the long-term.
Try our new Smoothing Collagen Serum, Firming Collagen Day Lotion and Collagen Boosting Skin Supplement which are great for healthily preventing premature aging.
Good Or Bad? 5 TikTok Skincare Trends – Dissected
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