![\"Rebecca](\"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Vertical_IMG-3-300x442.jpg\")
Rebecca Fearn is a freelance beauty journalist living in London. She is a Glamour magazine alumni, and now writes for titles such as Dazed Beauty, Refinery29, ES Magazine, and Bustle. You can find her on Instagram (@beautyandtheb<\/a>). Here she discusses the issue of plastic in beauty\u2026<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Plastic. It\u2019s a material which is absolutely everywhere, and one that has piqued our interest in recent years \u2014 for all the wrong reasons. David Attenborough\u2019s groundbreaking 2017 Blue Planet 2 series revealed that an eye-watering eight million tonnes of plastic end up in our oceans every year; a fact that resulted in the world finally sitting up and taking notice about how much the material can really impact our planet. And nothing has proven how huge the anti-plastic movement has become more than Collins Dictionary\u2019s 2018 chosen word of the year: \u2018Single-use\u2019.<\/p>\n
Upsettingly, the beauty industry has a lot to answer for when it comes to plastic pollution. Look around in any drug store, higher-end boutique or online retailer, and you\u2019ll be overwhelmed by the amount of plastic packaging on the shelves. And while we\u2019re taking on excess waste by ditching straws, carrying reusable cups and bottles, and saying no to supermarket plastic bags, there\u2019s a whole lot more we could be doing when it comes to keeping plastic to a minimum in our beauty routines.<\/p>\n
I challenged myself to avoid plastic in my regime for two weeks, and in truth, it was hard<\/em>. After trying it out for myself, it\u2019s clear that certain areas are much easier to go plastic-free in than others. Buying non-plastic hair and body products, for example, is relatively problem free. Plastic bottles of shower gel can be replaced with the humble soap bar, as can facial cleansers (this Australian Bodycare Cleansing Bar Trio<\/a>, for example, is great on the face and the body), and shampoo. My current plastic-ridden haircare routine features a lot of incredibly handy pumps, but unfortunately, these are non-recyclable at present, meaning they had to go (a hard adjustment, I must admit).<\/p>\n a lot of make-up still contains micro plastics, which are hard to avoid but are highly damaging<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Skincare was a little harder, but using things like glass serums and ampoules really helped in ditching plastic. I also replaced any remaining face wipes (a sustainability nightmare which admittedly, I rarely turn to) with reusable muslin cloths and these amazing Face Halo pads<\/a>, which are basically like cotton pads you can wash and use over and over again. There are other areas where reducing plastic in your routine can be done if you buy into the right brands, too. Perfume brand Floral Street<\/a>, for example, has ditched their old cellophane packaging to become more sustainable. Their fragrances come in beautiful glass bottles, and their range of scents are divine.<\/p>\n The real problem is finding totally plastic-free make-up. While some products are packaged in alternative materials like glass tubes, a lot of make-up still contains micro plastics, which are hard to avoid but are highly damaging, inevitably end up in our oceans. While it\u2019s seemingly difficult to avoid plastics completely, brands such as Illamasqua<\/a> are doing everything they can to reduce plastic pollution within their packaging. \u201cWe have made some changes to help protect our planet,\u201d explains Pablo Rodriguez, Head Of Artistry At Illamasqua. \u201cThese include replacing individual plastic eyeshadows for cardboard eyeshadow palettes. In addition, every time you buy Illamasqua products online, they are delivered in 100% recyclable paper\/cardboard packaging.\u201d Rodriguez goes on to explain that all glitter used in products is now biodegradable, and plastic q-tips in store are banned.<\/p>\n