Microbeads in Cosmetics

Recently there has been a lot of media coverage on the use of plastic microbeads in cosmetics and how they may be harming the environment. Plastic microbeads are found in exfoliating personal care products and some toothpastes. Microbeads are polyethylene microspheres, the fact that they are spherical and a very small uniform size means they have a lubricating ‘ball-bearing’ effect in creams and lotions. They are designed to be small enough to wash down the drain, but they are not caught by sewage treatment, instead flowing into waterways, rivers and the sea.

Once in water they can be eaten by small creatures and potentially move up the food chain and pose a threat to humans. The Netherlands was the first country to announce a ban the manufacture and sale of products containing microbeads from the end of 2016. Large manufacturers and many other countries have also taken steps to eradicate the use of these plastics by 2019. The good news is Cosmiko has never used plastic microbeads! Where exfoliants are needed we use natural products such as crushed walnut shells or fine pumice stone and being 100% natural they have no impact on the environment.

If you are concerned about microbeads and whether products you use may contain them, there is an app to download to your smartphone that will enable you to scan a product’s barcode and it will tell you if it uses them – http://get.beatthemicrobead.org/