Every time I am buying new products at the drugstore, I am feeling a bit more guilty. Shampoo, shower gel, hair rinsing, hygiene products and shaver – all of it comes in plastic packaging. In addition to my guilty feeling, I am always lost trying to understand the ingredients of cosmetic products. Especially these products contain microplastics and other harmful substances.

What is microplastic and why is it a problem?

Micro plastics are all kind of plastic particles smaller than 5mm which are contained in cosmetical and personal care products. The problem with these small microplastics is that they are almost unrecognizable for us. They flow from our bathroom into the wastewater system, landing in the marine ecosystem from our oceans. The microplastics get into marine organisms and end in the food chain.  

How can you identify it in cosmetical products?

Acryltes copolymer, nylon or polyacrylamide are some of the ingredients you should avoid using. Free Apps like Code check or Beat the Micro beat help you identifying microplastics while shopping. Scan the Qr-code of the product you would like to buy and check the result in the app.

Besides the problem of micro plastics, a lot of products are packed in plastic. Nowadays start-ups and companies develop various alternatives banning the use of plastic compared to common products from the drugstore. For example, you can buy in most stores toothbrushes made of bamboo, a renewable resource, hair soap without any plastic packaging or safety razors which are a perfect alternative to disposable razors.

Homemade body scrub

Today’s recipe is a homemade sugar scrub. It is super easy and your skin will feel even softer with it. My personal highlight of the sugar scrub is the smell of lime, but you can also add lemons zest, mint or any other smell you prefer.

What do you need?

  • 1 lime
  • 15o g Sugar (depending on the size of the glas you are using)
  • 3-4 tablespoons of Olive oil or coconut oil
  • 2-3 drops of an essential oil

Work materials

  • Small grater
  • Knife
  • Bowl
  • Glas
  • Spoon

This is how it goes

Put the sugar in the bowl and grate the zest of the lime into it. Then squeeze half a lime and mix the lime juice and the olive oil under the sugar. If you like you can additionally add on some essential oils. If you think it is not enough oil, feel free to add some. There you go. Homemade Sugar scrub without any micro plastics.

Check out our zero waste articles for more inspiration!