Sustainable Body Scrubs: What Are You Rinsing Down the Drain?

Although I have banned all toxic cleaning agents from our home and changed all of my personal products to paraben-free formulas, I still employ a certain few commerical-grade beauty products in my arsenal. One is a delightful pedicure cream I use when I can’t get over to the neighborhood nail shop. 

    “So what?” I think, “It has a couple of synthetic ingredients. I’m only hurting myself,” I reason as I scrub my heels vigorously. Turns out I’m wrong about that. I’m not just hurting myself by slathering up with gross chemicals, I’m encroaching on the planet and countless animals, too! 

    Recently, I was perusing Slate online when I got a rude awakening about my own consumption. Great. One more negative consequence of my enslavement to beauty products and my own vanity: plastic exfoliating beads in my favorite scrubs and washes are obviously not biodegradable! Duh? 

    I’m ashamed of myself, and from here on out, I am only using pumice, a metal cheese-grater thingy, and sugar crystals for buffing in my home spa routines. (I’ll let you know how it’s going, and I would love your suggestions).

    While plastic beads glide like nobody’s business, and slough like a mug, the little bits of nanotechnology get washed down the drain along with the suds. 

    These particles are showing up in the ecosystem, seriously harming other living things and polluting waterways. Yuck! 

    Solutions are within reach, however....to read the rest of this post, please click here!