Microbeads: The Skin Exfoliant, Planet Pollutant

Plastic is everywhere. It is used across a variety of applications from industrial equipment, household appliances to throw-away single-use items and even the clothes we wear.

These properties make it a problem, because it's so durable the lifespan of a plastic product is often much longer than the time it is useful for. This is especially the case for single use plastics like straws, bottles and bags. A wet wipe has an average usage time of 2 minutes, while it can take up to 100 years to break down.

Microbeads, like wet wipes and blended single use pads, are also a forms of single use plastics. Since they aren't visible, they are often disregarded. In recent years, scientists have found these tiny beads in deep oceanic water, remote lakes, ground water and even drinking water. They are dangerous as the tiny particles take up harmful chemicals from the environment and, when ingested, act as carriers for pollutants into our bodies.

The problem is microplastics are difficult to get rid of because they're so small and are found nearly everywhere. The best tactic to fight this pollutant is therefore to reduce the amount of plastics entering the environment.

But most microplastics result from the breakdown of larger pieces of plastic that were not recycled and break up due to exposure to the sun or physical wear.

To keep clear of microbeads we use our Daily Peach Cotton Makeup Removal + Toning Pads. They're great exfoliators, last for years and are compostable at the end of their lifespan. 

- Courtney