Did you know that some facial and body scrubs use teeny beads of polyethylene plastic to help clean out your pores? Apparently, the exfoliating ingredient in Olay's body wash, and in most similar big-brand products (such as Dove Gentle Exfoliating Foaming Facial Cleanser and Clean & Clear Daily Pore Cleanser), is actually made out of PLASTIC: tiny particles of polyethylene that scrub the dirt from your face and then wash straight down the drain and into watersheds and, eventually, oceans. Plastic does not biodegrade; therefore, the increasing amounts of plastic we consume are clogging the planet's seas, killing millions of sea creatures every year when they swallow it, choke on it, or get tangled in it and drown. Why not find a cleanser that uses natural stuff (such as sugar) to scrub the dirt off your face?
Here are some excellent alternatives:
Here are some excellent alternatives:
- Avalon Organics Exfoliating Enzyme Scrub (ground walnut & flax)
- Burt's Bees line of scrubs (ground peach stones, almond, & oats)
- Freeman Feeling Beautiful Salt Body Scrub (salt)
- Freeman Feeling Beautiful Sugar Body Scrub (sugar)
- Nature's Gate Revitalizing Facial Scrub (ground willow bark, walnut, & corn meal)
- Queen Helene Natural Facial Scrub (ground walnut)
- Skin Milk Facial Scrub, Exfoliate (oat flour & almond meal)
- St. Ives Apricot Scrub (ground apricot kernels)
- Lush Ocean Salt Cleanser (sea salt)
- Aveeno Skin Brightening Daily Scrub
- Clean & Clear's line of scrubs
- Dove Gentle Exfoliating Foaming Facial Cleanser
- Neutrogena's line of scrubs
- Noxzema's line of scrubs
- Olay's line of scrubs
- Phisoderm Nurturing Facial Polish
If you want to go EXTRA ECO, you can always make your own fresh exfoliant at home. Here is a great site with a wonderful recipe you can use:
Another great local source for eco-friendly advice and information is the following:
