A: Hey Becky,

 

No, there’s not some kind of vast conspiracy against you. Your husband is right — the exfoliating cleansers that you adore may indeed contain those sinister microbeads. And yep, as kind as they are to your complexion, they aren’t so good for the planet.

 

The microbeads found in most conventional body and facial scrubs are finely ground bits ‘n’ pieces of petroleum-based polyethylene. After sloughing away dead skin to give your face and body that radiant glow, they’re washed down the drain and enter water systems where they can be fatal to aquatic critters mistaking them for bite-sized nibbles. Ever heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the Texas-sized blob of trash floating in the Pacific Ocean? Non-biodegradable polyethylene microbeads and other plastics make up a large part of it. Not to sound hyperbolic, but you’ve been exfoliating this whole time with tiny shards of highly polluting plastic. Need further convincing? Check out this insightful article written by Alan Weisman. He may not be Mary Kay, but he knows his plastics.

 

Don’t panic quite yet, Becky. There are plenty of plastic-free face and body exfoliating products on the beauty market. Products with “real” exfoliants like small chunks of fruit, crushed seeds and nuts, sea salt, and sugar may carry a higher price tag than those with synthetic ingredients but their environmental costs are significantly lower. And please use microbead-free scrubs with caution: Some natural exfoliants can be overly abrasive or trigger allergic reactions. Although not an exfoliant, I’ve found that any facial product with grapefruit in it makes my mug look like I just washed it in red paint. So be careful what you scrub your face and body with.

 

Like you, I’m a sucker for various lotions and potions for the face and body and I have my favorite brands. I recommend Korres, a killer company from Greece, that makes several gentle scrubs for the face and body with ingredients like jojoba beads, finely ground bamboo, and walnut granules. A couple summers back, I was downright obsessed with Rough Seas Organic Sudz shower gel from Kiss My Face; it contains a mix of organic lemon extract, chamomile, aloe and jojoba spheres. And although I’ve never used ‘em, I hear great things about the adzuki bean-based Facial Scrub from Pangea Organics and the Burt’s Bees Citrus Facial Scrub with ground almonds, pecans and oats.

 

So there you go, Becky, the answer and a few solutions. Thank your hubby for cluing you in to the not-so-glamorous microbead issue. He sounds like a good man, but if he suddenly becomes emotionless and starts talking about pod-spreading instead of microbeads, get the heck outta Santa Mira.

 

Matt

 

P.S. Check out Fake Plastic Fish for more on reducing plastic.

 

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