Best chemical and plastic free beauty products?

[TwinkleMerrick]

I want to reduce the amount of plastic I am using and also have concerns about what chemicals I am using everyday in terms of make up and other beauty products.

I had no idea that a lot of foundations actually contain plastics!!

Anyway, I have used arbon in the past but it's very expensive. Do you have any cheaper alternatives?

I'm going to test out lush shampoo bars, but what about make up?

Any advice is welcome, thanks xx

I’m making similar changes and would really appreciate recommendations for good soaks that are not drying and do not contain palm oil. Thanks

Following as well as I was thinking about this the other day. Alas I don't have any actual suggestions yet, sorry

I really really wanted to like the lush bars, but they gave me a waxy coating on my hair that was horrible!

www.wearthlondon.com/blog/zerowaste-beauty-brands-uk

I use Lamazuna solid shampoo. I quite like the lack of chemicals in them (lush shampoo has a few things I want to avoid) plus there is no plastic involved.

You can buy it through Amazon, and other places, like Greener Habits .com.

I did have to 'train' my hair to get used to the non-chemical stuff though!!

I’ve just started using Beauty Kubes for washing hair - no plastic, you’d need a chemist to tell you in detail about the ingredients but they look pretty good (no SLS, silicones, anything obviously ‘bad’ and pretty simple). Easy to use and make my hair (thin/flat) nice and clean and shiny.

beautykubes.co.uk

I use coconut oil instead of deodorant - just buy a big jar and rub on a little blob every morning. It doesn’t leave me completely stink-free but much better than just putting nothing on. I gave up anti-perspirant when breastfeeding first DC 9yrs ago; just felt wrong to be putting those chemicals right next to where she was feeding.

I make my own dry shampoo from cornflour, cocoa and bicarb.

Would like some good make up suggestions - I don’t wear a lot but mascara, concealer and blusher makes a big difference and would like to find some good ones.

I’ve been meaning to try these soaps since reading about them in a magazine a while ago - expensive but really good ingredients, no palm oil.

savonstories.com

Lush have loads of packaging free products!

Bloomtown also do a plastic free shampoo bar which looks lovely...

bloomtown.co.uk/collections/artisan-soap-bars/products/shampoo-bar-lemongrass-peppermint-balancing-hair-bar

Some great ideas thanks guys, still struggling on the make up front. There is a massive gap in the market, hopefully someone will come up with some new plastic, chemical free products

What chemicals are you trying to avoid and why?

I’ve been trying to find plastic free make up for a while and am struggling. There must be somewhere that can do make up in recyclable tin/ cardboard boxes.

@MeowthThatsRight it's more about using more natural products. When I read the ingredients on the label and I can't pronounce half the names it concerns me. So I'm looking for more plant based products. Doing a trip to lush tomorrow and I will check out their make up range. I'm looking for a mineral powder, lip and cheek tint, mascara and eyeliner. Any recommendations?

Being unable to pronounce the names of particular ingredients doesn’t mean they are harmful or unnatural. Lots of very natural products have long names.

Body shop still does decent quality make up. The packaging is sometimes recyclable (but often not) and they are at least cruelty free and contain fair trade ingredients.

I've had done great products from here:

www.freshnaturals.co.uk

Think it's mostly skin care and bath products as opposed to make up though. Agree about the gap in the market!

Have a look a these products - not cheap but lovely and worth treating yourself. My friend Dom runs this company, their perfumes are delicious, I treated. Mum and myself for Christmas and they're all about natural ingredients and saving the oceans.
haeckels.co.uk

‘Chemical-free’ is nonsense - everything is made from chemicals. If you’re using nothing but water to wash your face, you’re putting chemicals on your skin.

Many of those ‘long names’ may relate to naturally sourced ingredients or completely harmless synthetic ingredients.

Random examples from the Lush website:
Benzyl Salicylate - naturally occurring in essential oils.
Stearic Acid - derived from palm oil.
Benzoin resinoid - derived from a tree.

If you look at Lush products, they have a full ingredients list which highlights what is synthetic and what occurs naturally. And details of where each ingredient is sourced from.

It might make sense to research exactly what you want to avoid any why.

For example, are you looking to avoid particular ingredients because there is evidence they may be harmful? Or because of the supply chain or environmental impact?

Not saying this to be rude or b*tchy, it just doesn’t make sense to avoid ‘chemicals’ or ingredients that have long names etc.

You’re right swifter. It might be useful to suggest what we are avoiding and why to help each other.
I’m avoiding plastic bottles and palm oil but need to know what else I should avoid for the environment