5 Ways to Green Your Beauty Routine

My love and appreciation for Mother Earth has been a lifelong relationship. You might remember my post a couple Earth Day's ago called, "Every Day Should Be Earth Day," where I shared a funny anecdote about trying to save a tree in my neighborhood. On the other hand, my passion for beauty really bloomed in high school. I remember dying to figure out how to do my makeup like Lily Ghalici (still quite haven't figured it out yet) and trying so many brands and products to get there. Although I did really learn a lot about beauty and how to do my makeup at a young age I didn't realize how much I was consuming at the time. I know I can't change who I was in the past, but I am trying my best to be an eco-warrior of the present.

Here are 5 Ways to Green Your Beauty Routine

1. Buy Less. The first of the three R's is reduce. I know this is something that no one wants to hear, but without reducing you can never truly have a green beauty routine. Today's makeup is so innovative that you can do more with less, and that allows you to buy and consume less! I challenge you to really try to cut what beauty products you're purchasing in half. You don't need to stock up once a year. Buy what you need throughout the year as you need it or you will never curb your consumption. Not only does it save money, but Mother Earth will appreciate it too.

2. Ditch makeup wipes and buy a Makeup Eraser. I had heard about the Makeup Eraser a long time ago but was always weary about it. One day I found it at TJ Maxx for $8 and I was like, "Done!" Since then I haven't bought any makeup wipes. The Makeup Eraser works super well and takes off all kinds of makeup: glitter pigment, lipstick, mascara, foundation, etc. You can wash it in the laundry machine and it lasts up to 1000 washes. It does need to be washed rather frequently but I have been able to get by washing it every 4-6 weeks and it works fine. Sometimes I do miss makeup wipes, probably out of convenience and the fact that the Makeup Eraser has a slight smell, but I've started having a mini bottle of makeup remover which I can recycle to make sure makeup doesn't seep into my fine lines.

3. Join Terracyle. Terracycle helps recycle the "non-recyclable." They partner with collectors, companies, retailers, etc to help recycle all sorts of "non-recyclable" items. Once you join their website you can sign up for recycling programs. I will be honest signing up for recycling programs is a bit secretive. They don't tell you how many spots there are for each program/where you are on the wait list, but that's my only problem. Recently, I was accepted into TerraCycle's beauty recycling program which allows me to recycle skin care, hair care, and cosmetic packaging. Its pretty amazing because you can recycle lipstick tubes, mascara tubes, eye shadow cases, eyeliner, hair care products, etc. I am really close to reaching my 10 lb goal! 

Sidebar: You can recycle beauty empties via  BEAUTYCYCLE at Nordstrom locations across the US. Note that these products don't need to be fully cleaned, just try to remove the most product out of it.  

You can also recycle cleaned beauty empties at Sephora locations across the US via Pact Collective.

4. Head to Origins/the Origins counter. Origins recycles cosmetic empties from any brand! Simply bring your empties to the Origins store or Origins counter at Macy's/Nordstrom/etc.

5. Support eco-friendly brands. We all have certain brands that we follow but we should try our best to support brands that are making a difference and making it easier to follow the three R's. I used to be a MAC fanatic in high school and that's something I'm not ashamed to say because you get rewarded for using and recycling makeup. Recycling 6 MAC empties to the MAC counter gets you a free $17 lipstick. MAC is not the only company making a difference. Ecotools, The Body Shop, Alba Cosmetics, Honest Beauty, Kiehls and Burt's Bees are a few other brands making a difference in the beauty community.

I know its not easy to change your ways, but its important to be accountable for our waste. I am working on nail polish/remover/cotton balls and trying to find a balance between my want for polished nails and need to help protect the environment.

Do you have a green beauty routine? What are some ways you could incorporate green beauty into your regular routine?