5 Ways You Can Save The Planet Starting With Your Face
Climate change is the biggest threat to our modern world and this is becoming harder and harder to ignore with forests disappearing, rising sea levels and wildlife extinction. Ethical global ambassadors such as Emma Watson are encouraging people to see how they are harming the planet in their daily lives. So if you want to do your part as an eco warrior you can start by making the smallest changes to your beauty routine!
1. Beat The Beads!
Greenpeace demanded a ban on all plastic microbeads last September because of the alarming amounts of pollution they are causing to our oceans. Plastic microbeads were often found in many budget high street shower gels, scrubs and exfoliators. These tiny plastic microbeads are not only harmful if caught in your eye but they are also poisonous to fish and marine wildlife. So that expensive fillet of salmon you are eating is most likely to contain plastic microbeads!
To help the environment, stop using products containing plastic microbeads and use natural exfoliators instead. Odylique's Coconut Candy Scrub (£25.00, www.odylique.co.uk) uses organic poppy seeds and Fairtrade sugar cane and Janjira's Marine Radiant White Exfoliating Scrub (£26.00, www.janjira.co.uk) uses walnut shell to gently cleanse away the dirt from your pores without destroying the ocean.
2. Beware Palm Oil!
Palm oil or vegetable oil as it is also widely known is found in many beauty products from shampoos to lipsticks. This natural ingredient may seem innocent but in fact the extraction and production of palm oil is contributing to mass deforestation in Eastern Asia. This in turn has resulted in devastating loss of life of orangutans and tigers with the threat of their extinction ever paramount. Odylique is ranked as one of the top 3 skincare brands that chooses not to use palm oil in their skincare or cosmetics, alongside Dr Hauschka and Lush.
3. Don't forget the packaging!
Buying from brands that use recyclable and sustainable packaging is another way you can reduce your damage to the planet. There is a growing trend for brands to start going greener and use biodegradable packaging that is less harmful to the environment. Odylique's packaging is made from earth-friendly recyclable and often recycled materials including old milk bottles, to minimise the impact of waste and plastic on the environment. Conscious of 'packaging miles', Odylique chooses to source its packaging and printing from European suppliers only.
4. Go Organic!
It goes without saying but natural and organic ingredients are the gentlest to incorporate in your daily skincare routine. The damage to your health and wellbeing of using a cocktail of artificial ingredients which are commonly used in mainstream beauty products - has yet to be fully understood. Using natural ingredients is literally picking the wholesome bounty of Mother Nature and applying it to your skin, without being concocted artificially in a lab using a variation of parabens and chemicals.
Odylique's Co-Founder, Margaret Weeds comments that: "Much of what we apply to skin is absorbed into the body so it makes sense to cut down on your toxic load and 'feed' your skin with wholesome organic ingredients."
"Buying organic encourages more plants to be grown organically which is better for the environment: fewer pesticides and herbicides and greater biodiversity."
5. Save Water!
We are all told to cut our showers to less than 5 minutes and limit the amount of water we use in our baths. It's a very tricky thing to do once you are lathered up and warm in your own private haven. But to help you step out the shower that tiny bit quicker and shave some time off your water usage start investing in a natural shampoo that is nourishing and non-drying you will not have to use a conditioner at all!
1. Beat The Beads!
Greenpeace demanded a ban on all plastic microbeads last September because of the alarming amounts of pollution they are causing to our oceans. Plastic microbeads were often found in many budget high street shower gels, scrubs and exfoliators. These tiny plastic microbeads are not only harmful if caught in your eye but they are also poisonous to fish and marine wildlife. So that expensive fillet of salmon you are eating is most likely to contain plastic microbeads!
To help the environment, stop using products containing plastic microbeads and use natural exfoliators instead. Odylique's Coconut Candy Scrub (£25.00, www.odylique.co.uk) uses organic poppy seeds and Fairtrade sugar cane and Janjira's Marine Radiant White Exfoliating Scrub (£26.00, www.janjira.co.uk) uses walnut shell to gently cleanse away the dirt from your pores without destroying the ocean.
2. Beware Palm Oil!
Palm oil or vegetable oil as it is also widely known is found in many beauty products from shampoos to lipsticks. This natural ingredient may seem innocent but in fact the extraction and production of palm oil is contributing to mass deforestation in Eastern Asia. This in turn has resulted in devastating loss of life of orangutans and tigers with the threat of their extinction ever paramount. Odylique is ranked as one of the top 3 skincare brands that chooses not to use palm oil in their skincare or cosmetics, alongside Dr Hauschka and Lush.
3. Don't forget the packaging!
Buying from brands that use recyclable and sustainable packaging is another way you can reduce your damage to the planet. There is a growing trend for brands to start going greener and use biodegradable packaging that is less harmful to the environment. Odylique's packaging is made from earth-friendly recyclable and often recycled materials including old milk bottles, to minimise the impact of waste and plastic on the environment. Conscious of 'packaging miles', Odylique chooses to source its packaging and printing from European suppliers only.
4. Go Organic!
It goes without saying but natural and organic ingredients are the gentlest to incorporate in your daily skincare routine. The damage to your health and wellbeing of using a cocktail of artificial ingredients which are commonly used in mainstream beauty products - has yet to be fully understood. Using natural ingredients is literally picking the wholesome bounty of Mother Nature and applying it to your skin, without being concocted artificially in a lab using a variation of parabens and chemicals.
Odylique's Co-Founder, Margaret Weeds comments that: "Much of what we apply to skin is absorbed into the body so it makes sense to cut down on your toxic load and 'feed' your skin with wholesome organic ingredients."
"Buying organic encourages more plants to be grown organically which is better for the environment: fewer pesticides and herbicides and greater biodiversity."
5. Save Water!
We are all told to cut our showers to less than 5 minutes and limit the amount of water we use in our baths. It's a very tricky thing to do once you are lathered up and warm in your own private haven. But to help you step out the shower that tiny bit quicker and shave some time off your water usage start investing in a natural shampoo that is nourishing and non-drying you will not have to use a conditioner at all!