I have to admit, I am a face product junkie. Everyone in my family knows that I can’t go near lotions, scrubs, toners, or moisturizers in a store without drooling over them like candy. It’s actually kind of hilarious if I look at it from an outside perspective. Since starting my zero waste journey however, I have not bought any more facial products and am slowly using up the ones I currently have. Some of my bottles have been in my bathroom for five years! I realized that I wasn’t actually enjoying each product because I was in such a hurry to use it up and move on to the next one. The photo attached to this post is what I currently have in my bathroom that I consider “facial” products. This doesn't even include make-up, hair products, or medical supplies! As you can see, it is kind of a ridiculous amount for one person for just their face. Unless, of course, I happen to have ten faces that nobody has discovered yet!
To follow along with my process, here’s what I am planning on stocking my bathroom with as I slowly use up each one of these products:
Make-up Remover – Every time make-up remover seems to come up in zero waste blog sites, olive oil is mentioned. I tried it once just for fun and it actually works great! It doesn’t leave your skin dried out and red like some make-up removers do which is wonderful. The only downside is that is doesn’t remove very well any waterproof mascara. If you are still using water-proof mascara though, you probably should switch over to a more environmentally friendly one before worrying about make-up remover.
Toner – I have used a rose and strawberry infused toner for the last year or so but I haven’t seen great results. It smells wonderful! But it doesn’t actually seem to help the acne on my face. Apple cider vinegar is something I have recently discovered that is supposed to be amazing as a toner! You mix one part vinegar to two parts water and – taaadaa! You have a skin toner!
Moisturizer/Lotion – Jojoba oil and coconut oil are both great moisturizers. I may try one for a few weeks and then try the other to see if my skin responds better to one of them. This can be bought in bulk, if available, or bought in large glass jars.
Facial Scrub – My favorite scrub is a homemade one with brown sugar, coconut oil, and tea tree oil. I have found that the brown sugar provides a gentler rub than many other scrubs created from plastic beads or seashells. Since this recipe is created from so few products and all of which can be bought locally, you can create it in a small batch just to test it out. You may enjoy adding a different essential oil like peppermint instead of tea tree.
The benefit to all of these alternative options above is that they are all chemical free and completely edible! I’m not saying though that you should try your facial scrub as an afternoon snack – but if it came down to eat, these ingredients wouldn’t do you any harm. If the goal of using all of these products is to clean our faces, then it’s only logical that we should look for “clean” alternatives.
So that’s my plan. But at this point, that is all it is until I can go through the numerous products I already have. I’ll have to drop this “facial product” addiction permanently if I truly want to keep my bathroom clean and simple!