Steps to Make your Daily Routine Eco-Friendly!

If you’re anything like me, you love your sleep, which makes waking up in the morning that much harder. Whether you’re running late for work or lounging back on a lazy Sunday morning, one thing stays the same- your daily routine. While we prep ourselves for the day that lies ahead, we neglect to think about one very important thing- how are our daily products negatively affecting the earth? The answer is quite daunting, and leaves you feeling guilty about achieving clear skin, and healthy hygiene. Luckily, there are eco-friendly alternatives for all products, leaving your skin and conscious clear.

Cleanser

With beauty gurus flooding the internet, Youtube, and Instagram, skin care has become more important than ever before. At the top of my list of essential items is a cleanser. Cleansers with microbeads harm the environment. The beads inside the cleanser gently exfoliate your face but are also made of polyethylene, polypropylene or polystyrene; these beads do more harm than good. Microbeads are not easily degradable, and with water systems unable to filter them out, the beads enter the water stream and pollute rivers, lakes, oceans, and even drinking water. Once in water streams, these beads can be mistaken for food, releasing their harmful toxins down the food chain.

Here’s what you can do to help!

Avoid buying cleansers with microbeads, and opt for a natural and organic face cleanser.

Moisturizer / Sunscreen

We have all heard the horror stories of what skipping facial moisturizer or sunscreen can do, so it’s clearly an integral part of everyday skin care. With summer amongst us and the importance of sunscreen weighing heavily now more than ever, here are some tips of what to avoid when out shopping: Chemical sunscreens have been proven to be more damaging than beneficial. One chemical in particular, oxybenzone, is in many different sunscreens and moisturizers, and was found to seep into water streams and become highly toxic to coral and marine life, affecting their reproductive and growth cycles.

Here’s what you can do to help!

Switch out your chemical sunscreen, to a mineral one. Mineral sunscreens have been proven to be safer on the environment, while still protecting your skin from harmful UV rays.

Deodorant / Antiperspirants

Arguable one of the most noticeable parts of one’s daily routine, deodorant is a step that we just cannot skip – but our need to smell fresh and prevent the often-embarrassing sweat stains has taken a toll on the environment. A study published in the journal Science proved that petroleum-based chemicals used in products emit as much air pollution as motor vehicles can. Additionally, the ingredient triclosan, which is often found in deodorant, is a powerful anti-bacterial chemical that cannot be filtered out of water streams, making it one of the most prevalent chemicals found in waterways. Paired with the health concerns that deodorants and antiperspirants present, the environmental impact they create leaves us wondering if there is way to smell good, while protecting the earth.

Here’s what you can do to help!

Luckily, natural deodorants and antiperspirants exist. Cruelty free, made of natural products, and eco-friendly packaging make the choice to switch to natural deodorants an easy, and smart one.  

Shampoo

We often choose the best smelling shampoo when at our local drug store. Overwhelmed by the variety of options, it’s easy to overlook the fact that at their core, all shampoos are essentially the same. There are two main ingredients in shampoo that actually clean our hair, the rest is added to amplify the experience and aesthetic. The two ingredients that clean hair are Ammonium Lauryl Sulphate and Ammonium Laureth Sulphate, unfortunately the most dangerous ingredients for your hair, and the environment. Sulphates are chemicals that are present in pesticides, and once these chemicals enter the water stream after your shower, they can directly impact wildlife. 

Here’s what you can do to help!

Next time you are shopping for shampoo, make sure to read the ingredients listed on the back. Avoiding shampoos that included these toxic ingredients can ensure that you are doing your part to help the environment. Switching to natural shampoo is easy, all it takes is a little knowledge!  

By starting small and changing a couple things in our daily routine, we can collectively make a huge difference. This earth is worth fighting for, and a couple shampoo bottles aren’t going to stand in the way of that! So the next time you’re at the store, ask yourself; what would Mother Earth want me to do?