Every year, over $6 billion is spent on beauty products in the United States. Most of these beauty products contain harmful chemicals that are not only harmful for people, but also for the Earth. Not many people know that there are natural, eco-friendly and cost-effective beauty product alternatives available.
Everything from hair dye to skin exfoliates can be replaced with natural alternatives that do not contain the harmful ingredients that can end up polluting our water system.
DMC student Sheridan Brandt opts to use henna instead of store-bought hair dye. Her choice benefits her and the environment.
“I started using it about a year ago and have done it about eight to 10 times. I wanted something to color my hair and use something that wouldn’t hurt my hair,” said Brandt.
Not only does henna give her an eco-friendly alternative, the cost for henna is less than commercial hair dye.
“My friend, Sandy, gets it from San Antonio from a special shop, it only costs her $2 for a box,” said Brandt.
Unlike commercial hair-dye, henna gives a user more lenient rules of usage. According to Brandt, henna works on a large range of hair colors and types.
“It comes out a different shade on everyone’s hair and it works with your natural highlights to accent them with a red tone,” Brandt said.
Instead of over-the-counter face moisturizers one can use avocado oil, almond oil, hempseed oil or cocoa butter. Sarah Bernal, DMC student, uses cocoa butter as a skin moisturizer instead of commercially-sold lotions for many reasons.
Cocoa butter “moisturizes better than any other lotion I’ve tried. When you first shave and put on scented lotion, it burns, cocoa butter doesn’t,” said Bernal.
Cocoa butter, most popularly used for the reduction of stretch marks, can be used in many other ways. Using it for more than personal reasons, Bernal acknowledges the long-term benefits of using cocoa butter.
“It’s really good for scars. When I had knee surgery I started using it to make my scars go away,” said Bernal.
Cocoa butter does not contain many of the chemicals most store-bought lotions do.
“It’s all natural. There are no chemicals in it…It has more healing qualities than most of the scented lotions sold at the store,” said Bernal.
Not only does Brandt use a natural hair dye, she makes the entire process eco-friendly, mixing the henna with eucalyptus oil and olive oil. “I leave it on for about an hour and wait for it to
dry, and it doesn’t burn like regular hair dye. Then I blow dry it, it just feels like mud. Then I rinse it out,” said Brandt.
She not only uses it for all the benefits for her hair, she is knowledgeable of the fact that it benefits the environment.
“I think it’s a lot better for the planet. It doesn’t have any of the chemicals that regular hair dye has,” said Brandt.
An alternative method of exfoliating is using a mixture of lemon juice and sea salt. This mixture uses no chemicals or earth-damaging substances.
Instead of store-bought mouthwash that contains formaldehyde, sodium lauryl sulfate and polysorbate, one can use a few drops of peppermint oil or sage oil.
Many over-the-counter deodorants contain ingredients that are harmful for the Earth such as aluminum. Instead of commercial deodorant, one can use witch hazel, apple cider, vinegar, coconut oil, or rubbing alcohol.
Students can find many alternative choices for beauty products that will benefit the earth. When students find themselves running out of lotion, it might be a good idea to take the initiative and make the better choice for natural rather than walking into a grocery store and choosing the most eye-catching product on the shelf.
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