The Surprising Ways Your Makeup Is Harming The Planet

When you get a pimple, what do you use? Pimple cream, perhaps. What about when your skin gets unbearably dry? Lotion.

Whether it’s covering up a blemish or keeping your hairdo in check, everyone uses beauty products ― but they’re likely causing some serious damage to the planet.

In our most recent episode of “Sustainable Self,” a HuffPost Original series that suggests ways to minimize your impact on the planet, we address the toll that makeup takes on the environment.

Many of your favorite shampoos, lotions and concealers may contain toxic chemicals that the environment can’t break down. So when you wash your body at the end of a long day at work, all that gunk is going down the drain, ending up in our water systems and harming aquatic life.

It’s not just oceans, lakes and rivers that are affected. Our bodies are, too. Women use an average of 12 products that contain nearly 170 different types of chemicals each day, while men use an average of six products a day and 85 unique chemicals, according to the Environmental Working Group, a consumer health nonprofit. The group says the vast majority of ingredients in our cosmetics have not been assessed for safety.

It’s time to stop turning a blind eye to what we’re using to lather up.

We’re here to help you curb the mess your makeup is leaving behind. Familiarize yourself with harmful toxins found in cosmetics and read the ingredients of what you’re buying. Choose eco-friendly alternatives. You can also rely on apps and websites to inform you about what you’re using.

In the video above, we share more ways to keep yourself and the planet beautiful for years to come.