Protecting the planet is crucial, and so we must consider this in every aspect of our lives. Overconsumption and earth-damaging products are everywhere, making it difficult to protect the planet. The good news is with a conscious effort it’s easy to make a change. With these ten eco-friendly steps, you can be part of the solution, instead of the problem. Let’s explore ten ways you can make your beauty regime more eco-friendly.

1 . Research your products

If you’d like to make your beauty regime more eco-friendly it’s important that you research your products. Plenty of beauty products contain chemicals that are bad for the planet and for your health. What’s more, not all brands follow ethical practices when creating their products. To ensure that you are supporting the right brands make sure that you do your research.

The Think Dirty app makes the research process much easier. Using this app you can search for personal care products, and access info about the ingredients and brand ethics. You can look up 850,000+ cosmetics using this handy database. You can find out about the ‘dirty ingredients’ in your products, and shop for cleaner alternatives.

2. Recycle your packaging

One of the easiest ways to create a clean beauty regime is to recycle all your packaging. Avoid products that have non-recyclable packaging, and focus on those which are made with biodegradable materials. 

Zero-waste stores are a great place to avoid packaging. Often, you can take along one container that you refill each time you buy a product, (for example shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, etc). When you go-green you’ll boost your health and wellness at the same time.

3. Say goodbye to face wipes

Face wipes should be avoided where possible, these disposable products are not biodegradable and create lots of waste. According to 100% Pure, ‘the average makeup wipe takes a staggering 100 years to decompose.’

There are plenty of makeup-removing cleansers that you can use as an alternative to face wipes. Simply purchase yourself a reusable muslin cloth and you’re good to go. For an eco-friendly makeup remover try the ‘Dirty Hippie Cosmetics’ makeup remover. It’s made with witch hazel, castor oils, and pressed hemp seeds.

4. Focus on natural ingredients

When you’re choosing your beauty products focus on products that are made with natural plant-based ingredients. There are so many great products that are made from plants and herbs. 

If you’re looking for an amazing product for the skin take a look at Dao Drops Herbal Extracts. The Dao skin drops will improve your skin health, improve elasticity, and cleanse your skin. The drops are made with a vegan formula including ingredients such as dandelion root, sea moss, and milk thistle.

Choosing natural products is an amazing way to take great care of your skin. It’s so important to check what’s in your products and be mindful of your health. It’s also useful to know your skin type, whether normal, oily, dry, or combination. Knowing your skin type can help you choose the right products for you.

5. Make your own products

One of the best ways to clean up your beauty routine is to make your own products. It doesn’t have to be difficult, there are plenty of facemasks you can make using natural ingredients. Here are a few facemask ideas to get you started:

Turmeric & Green Tea

Make a cup of green tea and leave it to cool, add the tea to a bowl, and mix in baking powder and turmeric (one tablespoon of each). Stir the ingredients into a paste, and apply as a face mask. Green tea contains lots of antioxidants which help to keep the skin youthful and supple. Turmeric has both antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, it’s useful to soothe blemish-prone skin.

Avocado & Coconut Oil:

Avocado & coconut oil makes one delicious face mask, simply mix 3 tablespoons of coconut oil and 1 avocado in a bowl. Avocado is packed with vitamins E, A, and D while coconut oil contains vitamin E, and fatty acids, all of these ingredients will help to boost the health of your skin. With the help of this yummy face mask, you’ll get healthy and glowing skin.

6. Use your products sparingly

Looking for a super simple way to be more eco-friendly? Try to use your products sparingly, focus on making your products last from your moisturizers to your lipsticks and shampoos. 

Overconsumption is bad for the planet, and so many of us have products that we ever even use. If you have products that you don’t use or have barely used you can donate these to ‘Project Beauty Share’. The project works to provide beauty and personal hygiene products for women who are overcoming poverty, homelessness, addiction, and abuse.

8. Avoid disposable products

To create a sustainable beauty regime avoiding purchasing disposable products, (for example, disposable razors). Invest in a razor that you can use long-term, here are a few eco-friendly picks to check out:

The Leaf Kit, Leaf Shave: This razor is made entirely from metal, no plastic whatsoever. The head of the razor pivots so that you can easily get to those hard-to-reach spots.

Bambaw Razor: You’ll just love this safety razor, it’s a double-edged razor made out of bamboo. It’s lightweight and the head is made from stainless steel.

Preserve Razor: The Preserve razors are made from recycled materials including ocean plastic and yogurt cups. These products are both vegan and cruelty-free.

9. Try shampoo bars

When you use shampoo bars you’ll use less packaging and create less waste. There are plenty of delicious shampoo bars made from earth-kind ingredients. For a few great options, check out these:

Human Kind: These shampoo bars are eco-friendly and come in lots of delicious scents like lemongrass and peppermint. Human Kind bars are ethically made using natural oils, the bar is cured for over a month, your hair will just love this sulfate-free wash!

Meow Meow Tweet: These shampoo bars aren’t only for your hair, they double up as a body wash. Meow Meow Tweet products are both Leaping Bunny certified and fair trade.

10. Simplify your regime 

You don’t need a complex beauty regime to look and feel great, keeping your regime simple can help you to use less and go green. Keep your skincare routine simple with a cleanser, toner, and a moisturizer. Choose a few eco-friendly makeup products, and use these sparingly. Some of the best brands for eco-friendly makeup include 100% Pure, Axiology, Fat & The Moon, and Plant Makeup.

11. Try Multi-Purpose Products

Multi-purpose products are a great way to go green. For instance, you might choose a makeup product that works as a lipstick and a blusher. There are lots of multi-use makeup products on the market including:

Superface Multi-Lightful Blush & Highlighter Stick: This product is an eyeshadow, highlighter, and a blush all in one. You can purchase the stick in four shades, from ‘true pink’ to ‘iridescent pearl’.

Tata Harper Volumizing Lip & Cheek Tint: Made with a natural eco-friendly formula, this product can be used as a blusher and a lipstick, if you like you can even use it as an eyeshadow. A few of the gorgeous shades include Peach, Rosy Pink, Ruby.

Conclusion

There are so many ways that you can go green with your beauty and skincare regime. Some of these ideas will even help you to save some money too. Whether it’s making your own facemasks or recycling old packaging there are lots of ways to protect the planet.

Chemical-laden cleaning products for the home aren’t as good as they purport to be. Yes, they can effectively clean and disinfect your house. When you dispose of them, though, they can leak poisons into your home and the environment around you. Plus, disposing of the packaging and bottles isn’t always eco-friendly either. 

With this in mind, it could be that you’re looking for better, greener, safer ways to clean your home. Yet when you start to look around, this can seem almost impossible; products are expensive or hard to get hold of, and you just can’t be sure you’re doing the right thing. Luckily, there are some easy ways to get past these challenges; read on to find out more.

Open The Windows 

The air quality inside your house can sometimes be more hazardous than the air quality outside. Everything from pet dander to pollen to mold to chemicals may aggravate allergies or asthma, making the air dangerous to breathe. 

To keep things fresh, open your windows every now and again to allow in some fresh air. As an added benefit, you will be able to enjoy the smell of fresh air drifting into your house. Although this won’t help clean your furniture, it will make your home smell good, feel fresh, and make the air much better for you and everyone else in the property. It’s a great place to start when it comes to making things cleaner in the most eco-friendly way. 

Try Baking Soda… Everywhere

Who knew this kitchen essential had so many applications that would enable you to have a clean and green home? For starters, include baking soda into your cleaning regimen to combat odorous carpets. Sprinkle it on, let it rest for a few minutes, and then vacuum the baking soda up. You’ll find that all the smells go along with it. 

You can also make an oven-cleaning paste out of baking soda and water, which you can leave overnight in the oven and scrape off with all the muck it gathered. Alternatively, mix baking soda and vinegar to make a fizzing toilet bowl cleaner; it looks exciting (so the kids might want to get involved in cleaning), and it does a fabulous job. 

Use Lemons 

Lemons contain antibacterial and antiseptic properties, making them a critical component of any natural sanitizing routine. To eliminate germs, rub a slice of lemon on a chopping board. Alternatively, soak lemon peels in vinegar for a few days. After straining out the zests, you’ll have a strong all-purpose cleaner. You can even bring a copper kettle back to its original luster by dipping lemon halves in salt and rubbing them over the outside. 

In other words, the natural cleaning properties that lemons have make them an ideal alternative to the chemicals and powders that you might usually use around your home. 

White Vinegar Is Best 

Only one vinegar should be part of your green cleaning routine, and that’s white vinegar. White vinegar, plain and simple, provides the antibacterial qualities you need to sanitize your house. 

Diluted white vinegar is an effective stain remover, and spraying a fifty-fifty solution of vinegar and water can make your windows sparkle and shine (especially if you use newspaper to wipe it off again, as this prevents streaks). You can even simmer some vinegar while cooking a smelly fish meal, for example; all of the odors will be absorbed by the vinegar, and your home will stay fresh. 

Don’t Use Air Fresheners 

Once you’re done cleaning your home, no matter whether it’s a daily, weekly, or monthly occurrence, you might decide to use air fresheners around the place. Spraying these in your property will keep the place smelling fresh and clean. 

The problem is, despite their nice fragrance, store-bought air freshener mixes are often loaded with artificial chemicals that can degrade air quality. Choose a natural version instead. Boil cinnamon, lemon, or any other plant of your choice that you like the smell of, and wait for the natural fragrance to fill your house.

Invest In Some Greenery

On that same note, having plants in your house, as opposed to commercial air fresheners, will offer a pleasant and welcoming aroma while also organically purifying the air. Plants such as spider plants, peace lilies, or English lilies are some of the best plants to have in your home. Furthermore, in addition to acting as natural air filters, you can use houseplants to decorate your home, so not only are you cleaning and making the place more pleasant in terms of the air you breathe, you’re making it look better (and feel more homely) too. 

Don’t Use Too Much Water 

Fill a bucket halfway with water and use just the water inside to clean. You will save water by not having to open and close the faucet every time you need to wet your cleaning cloth, plus you won’t accidentally leave the tap running. 

When it comes to the exterior of your home, it’s always best to use professionals such as Top Down Exterior Cleaning. In this way, you’ll not only know that they will finish the job to a high quality, but you’ll be sure that the most modern cleaning methods are used, which includes saving water in many cases. 

Buy Green Products 

You don’t have to go completely natural on your own when it comes to changing or adding to your home cleaning habits. A plethora of businesses have released safe – eco-friendly – versions of your favorite cleansers. Buying ready-made green solutions can help to ease the shift from conventional to green goods, showing you what’s available and saving you time. 

With that in mind, after you’ve made your routine more environmentally friendly, you’ll want to get rid of any items that are no longer useful to your family. If you don’t want a product in your house, you shouldn’t want it to end up in the water supply or landfill either, so be careful how you get rid of unwanted chemicals. Find out whether your town has a recycling day for such items. At the same time, you might be able to recycle other potentially hazardous materials, such as batteries.

It is possible to live an eco-friendly life in a cosmopolitan city, but it’s much easier when you live in a rural area. There, people are generally more in tune with the earth than city folk are, which means you’re pushed to live a life that benefits the natural world. But of course, while moving from a city to a rural area can bring a lot of positives, it’s not as if every aspect of it is easy. It will eventually prove to be a good move, but you’ve got to get there first! In this blog, we’re going to run through some useful tips that’ll make the transition from city to rural life all the more straightforward.

Where To Go?

Most people live in cities, but when it comes to which city you’re going to move to, generally, the options are pretty limited. There just aren’t all that many cosmopolitan cities in the United States. When you move rural, you’ll have the opposite issue. These populations are small, but the locations are numerous. There are some 20,000 places in the United States that have fewer than 5,000 people. So the first decision you’ll have to make is: what type of rural place do you want to live in? There’s magic in living close to a lake, mountains, valleys, and every other type of landscape this great country offers, but they’re all pretty different.

Making the Move

Going from the city to a rural space is a big change, in more ways than one. It’s possible, even likely, that you’ll have even more space than you had in the city, so you’ll be able to take all of your belongings with you. Since this means you’ll be taking a lot, be sure to look up ‘best movers near me’ — they’ll ensure that you can easily get your stuff from one place to the other. As with all moves, it’ll be important to give yourself plenty of time to move. If you don’t, then you’ll likely find that your stress levels begin to rise. 

Making Friends 

There are fewer people in rural areas, but oddly, that means that you’ll likely end up having more friends if you want to. When you arrive, it’ll be a good idea to get involved with the local community in any way that you can, even if that’s just making yourself known around town. You’ll soon find that everyone’s willing to get to know you and make you part of the community. 

Give it Time

Finally, remember to give yourself some time to get used to your new environment. Even if you know that moving to a rural area is the right move, there’ll still be times when you wonder if you really made the right decision. Nobody does anything of consequence without having a doubt or two! These feelings could last for a few weeks or a few months. But once you’re all settled in, you’ll know for sure that it was the correct thing to do.