Being an ecologically conscious customer, you probably are aware of the chemicals you apply to the skin, hair, and body, but you equally think about whether the packaging that your products come in is safe for the earth and does not contain any hazardous substances. In addition, there is a problem with damaging beauty products that you might consider removing from your daily routine and disposing of them safely. Things such as nail polish that might contain hormone-disrupting and cancer-causing chemicals when expired or not stored properly Yes! That's true makeup products get bad by wrong storing as well.Our products tend to have a longer shelf life but when not stored properly they may degrade quickly due to exposure to sunlight,air,heat, moisture etc.
Following are some of the issues that we have highlighted.
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Dried out: If any of your creme blushes,foundations or in general liquid based makeup is not closed properly after using they can dry out very easily. We observe how this is dependent on us, saving money to buy expensive products and then getting to know that you have wasted them by your silly mistake.
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Change in colour or texture: If you live in a country where the weather normally is very hot it is important to take excessive care of your products since there can be change in colour or the consistency can worsen by the air and light.
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Growth of Bacteria: This is the most dangerous effect of a makeup not stored properly. Moisture can cause bacteria to grow mostly in liquid based cosmetics.
If you feel that your makeup has undergone any of these changes it is time to toss them. One should know that disposing of makeup is not that easy. It requires checking each product, considering its harmful components that can cause harm to the environment and then properly throwing or recycling them. By the end of reading this post you will be able to identify the safest way to discard each product.
Ziplocks or Sealed bags:
Dumping expired makeup that is open straight is not an efficient practice. Always put expired makeup into ziplocks or sealed bags and then throw them away. This way there’s no chance of the expired makeup product’s chemical seeping in the ground.
Use paper towels to clean your containers
If viewed under a microscope one may notice that when a cosmetic finishes or expires and when it is cleaned there’s still some residue that is left in the container. It is harmful to pour a new liquid based makeup product into this old container. Well there’s nothing to panic about, make use of a paper tissue and wipe the entire bottle of container to clean that residue, dispose of this tissue paper. We tend to have this common practice of jettisoning liquid makeup in the drain but experts say that this is not a good practice since the harsh chemicals in these products can cause harm to living things once they get into the waterways.
Recycling or dumping makeup?
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Recycling
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Throwing
Recycling via Disposal Centers:
Check online or call a nearby disposal center to know if they make use of expired cosmetics as hazardous household waste. Disposal Centers often have specified timings for dropping of different products such as cosmetics,medicines,batteries,bulbs etc. Bringing and submitting your product here guarantees you that they’ll be disposed of in the right way either by recycling,by being burnt up,pyrolysis(thermochemical decompistion) or by being dumped in contaminated water that is of no good to marine life and other living things.These mentioned ways are the safest methods to discard makeup.
Recycling via Beauty Retailers:
What if disposal centers do not respond to you or refuse to take your makeup products for recycling well? In that case we have another option as well and that is contacting a local beauty retailer nearby. Beauty retailers have programs in which they accept empty makeup containers with some restrictions on them for recycling but in the long run this is a better option rather than pouring them directly into waterways.
Recycling via terracycle:
Terracycle is known to be a renowned leader that owns partnership with alot of high end brands when we talk about recycling programs. Try to look online for a nearby drop off location for any product you are willing to recycle. Sign up if you want to empty your containers, that too for free!
Just make sure you attach labels on them.
Disposing of applicator tools:
Applicator tools such as makeup wands,lip glosses and lip tints cannot be recycled as they are made of composition of mixed materials. This means that once they expire there’s no other place they are going except the dustbin. Try to close them tightly before dumping so that they are less prone to percolating into the soil.
Getting rid of cosmetics containing heavy metals:
Lipsticks and nail polishes that are made up of lead and acrylates are dangerous to be dumped directly into the environment. The issue with these products is that they contain lead and other harmful chemicals which cannot be broken down when recycled. Therefore one should try to get rid of it via some hazardous waste program.
Effective use of curbside recycling program:
For other light products that do not need special recycling you may place them in your local curbside recycling program. Products like eye shadows and compact powders can be dumped into these designated cans for dumping and recycling garbage. Likewise perfume bottles and products that have glass bottles can be put into glass recycling.
Understanding how to safely dispose of your makeup is essential because as it is said “Earth day everyday”. We should take care of the environment and make room for fresh and new makeup products that are safe for our skin. We hope this blog has answered all your questions.
