Throughout the past couple of months, I’ve slowly become a skin care aficionado. I’ve read about why retinoids, about why double cleansing should be mandatory, and I’ve been witness to the whole “yes to serums, no to serums” debate.
And I’ve noticed something terrifying: most (all?) skincare products dubbed as must-haves come packaged in layers and layers of plastic.
Yuck.
Every year we produce over 300 million tons of plastic, and over 50% of this plastic is single-use. Maybe the plastic container with our face cream will be necessary for a couple of months, but the second that cream is over so is the useful life of the plastic container. After a few months of service, that container will float in our oceans for hundreds of years or will sit in your nearest beach to break down into millions of harmful microplastics.
Now think about how short the useful life of packaging is, but the unbelieveable amounts of single use packagings we’re throwing away.
I don’t think we can excuse this huge waste for the sake of beauty – and you’re reading this post, so probably you agree – and mostly knowing that we have hundreds of beautiful plastic-free alternatives that work just as good (and sometimes better) than the plastic-wrapped thing.
And you can’t imagine how many exciting alternatives to plastic-packaged cosmetics are popping up every year: from containers made of purple glass that filter UV rays to cork tubs and refillable aluminium container schemes.
But hands down my plastic-free alternative of choice are skin care bars, not only because they’re possibly the only 100% zero waste alternative, but they’re also a very affordable choice that is easy to find everywhere and their ingredient lists are often very simple and natural – without all those weird preservatives with names that are impossible to pronounce.
About Solid Skin Care
Is there something bad about skin care in bars? Because I haven’t found that out yet.
Apart from their zero-waste-ness, their affordability and ubiquity, they last for way longer than any cream you already have (you’ll buy a bar of solid lotion and use it for half a year). And let’s not forget, unlike our bottled liquid serum, they’ll never be confiscated by an airport TSA agent.
I also feel that solid beauty and solid skin care is an attempt to go back to basics. I have very vivid memories from my childhood of my grandma and other elderly ladies from my village making soap out of olive oil. Oh, was that a staple. We could use it for everything: from washing our hands and cleansing our faces and showering, to washing the dishes and removing stubborn chocolate stains from my dresses.
Now solid skin care goes beyond just soap. You will find solid lotions, serums, cleansers, exfoliants and shaving bars. In a time where everything is extremely complicated and elaborated, the simplicity of a skin care bar with simple and natural ingredients feels like a breath of fresh air.
Solid skin care might be a huge part of the future of skin care: great for your skin, your health and our planet.
These are the low to zero waste skincare brands that we love at Pretty Green Lily and the best solid skin care products they offer. All tried and true 😉
Ethique
I’ve talked about Ethique before, and I can tell you that I’ll do it again and again. It’s the first plastic-free beauty brand I ever tried and it just keeps getting better (you can see a bit more about my love story with Ethique in this post and this one).
Their motto is #giveupthebottle, which sums up their whole philosophy. They’re in a quest to switch all the plastic bottled products on your vanity for plastic-free ones – and let me tell you, they’re doing a hell of a good job.
Ethique is plastic-free, carbon neutral, palm oil free, cruelty-free and vegan, and they practice fair trading, which ensures transparency and fair prices for the communities that produce raw materials.
Our picks
Green+Kind
Imagine having planet friendly alternatives to all the products you use daily. Now stop imagining, because that’s exactly what Green and Kind offers you.
Something I love about them is that they sell the zero waste versions of everyday products to help you greenify your daily routine (bamboo toothbrushes, straws,…).
They also have zero waste additions to your skin care routine, like plastic-free cotton buds, reusable cotton pads, and – my favorite – konjac sponges. I use them regularly along with my soap or face cleanser bars in order to get that deep but gentle exfoliation.
Our picks
Nuebar
Welcome to the science-y side of solid skin care. Nuebar offers us concentrated bars for our hair and our body by taking advantage of the amazing properties of nature’s chemistry.
They use exclusively organic ingredients that will feed your skin with all the goodness it needs, hydrating and cleansing it in the most natural way possible. Oh, and they say NO to parabens, sulfates, petroleum by-products and artificial fragrances.
And they’re plastic-free, of course. When you order their soaps, they’ll come in a recyclable and compostable card container (can we address the fact that they look like the elements of a very aesthetically pleasing periodic table?)
Our picks
Dirty Hippie
Dirty Hippie is a family business that creates conscious, guilt-free eco-friendly and low waste skincare and beauty products. They’re vegan and cruelty-free, organic and toxin-free, and their ingredients are ethically sourced.
Their bars look so unique. They have this unpolished look that make each one of them one of a kind.
Something I love is that their products are made in small batches in order to avoid unnecessary waste and ensure their great quality. This slow pace is part of their philosophy and their call to quit the harmful chemicals and additives that fill our skin care routines these days.
About their packaging? Minimal. They’ll wrap your order in recycled newspaper collected from local businesses and post-consumer tape and boxes.
Our picks
Viva La Body
Their products are certified by Orangutal Alliance and Choose Cruelty Free.
Viva La Body prides itself in being the first truly zero waste brand in Australia.
They offer solid beauty products that don’t need container (no glass, no tin, nothing), and their packaging can be composted after used (and it has little plant seedlings inside!).
Our picks
