Assessing the Ecotoxicity and Sustainability of Your Skincare

Have you ever considered the environmental impact of your skincare? Beyond the plastic and glass packaging your products are in, have you ever thought about their ingredients and how they can impact the waterways and environments they ultimately end up in? The reality is that many cosmetic ingredients end their lives in wastewater and sludge (which can consequently end up in crop fertiliser and terrestrial environments like landfills) and can have damaging effects. While we know of the effects of some ingredients, such as the use of microplastic beads (now banned from use in the cosmetic industry), being known to contaminate oceans and impact marine life negatively, some effects are still being discovered years later. For these reasons, we find it best to play it safe and be kinder to the environment by limiting ecotoxicity through skin care. 

So, what is ecotoxicity?

Ecotoxicity is broadly defined as the study of how chemicals interact with organisms in the environment. The environments at risk of skin care and cosmetic toxicity include marine and freshwater environments, soil, and even the air, where respiratory exposures can occur. Ecotoxicity is generally divided into the evaluation of short-term and long-term exposures by studying freshwater and seawater, which includes plankton, algae, coral, plants, worms, and animals. 
Biodegradability is an additional component factored in assessing the environmental risk of chemicals regarding their potential bioaccumulation in an environment. Measure by how well a material decomposes into smaller molecules; the degradability of an ingredient depends on its chemical structure. An ingredient is considered readily biodegradable by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, an international group that establishes evidence-based international standards) if 60-70% of the ingredient is broken down within 10-28 days. Although a 60% pass level may seem low, it will likely be fully degraded in an environment where additional factors such as pH, health and light can accelerate the process. 

Skincare ingredients to be aware of and avoid:

(following the advice of The OECD) 

Chemical Sunscreens 

Two main chemical sunscreen active ingredients - oxybenzone and octinoxate - have been banned in the state of Hawaii, Thailand and Mexico in response to studies showing the potential of these ingredients to cause harm in marine ecosystems such as coral bleaching. Unfortunately, however, these ingredients still exist in sunscreen products found in Australia today. 

Perfluoro, Polyfluoroalkyl and related substances (PFAS)

These ingredients form strong bonds that make them attractive for various applications such as bottles used in laboratories to teflon surfaces used in your kitchenware. These ingredients are often called the “forever chemicals” because they remain in the environment and human body for many years after exposure. PFAS used in cosmetics include perflurooctyl triethoxysilane and perfluorononyl dimethicone, these are better known as silicones that are both water and oil resistant which contributes to long wear properties in foundations, mascara and moisturisers. Though there is progress in the US and EU to ban these ingredients from use by the cosmetic industry, these ingredients still remain prominent within the Australian cosmetic and skin care industry. 

Skincare preservatives 

Skincare preservatives play a large part in manufacturing skincare products, mainly to prevent spoilage and microorganism growth, essentially acting as an anti-microbial agent. Though the effects of skin care preservatives on the environment are still being understood, it is understood that many preservatives acting as anti-bacterial agents can disrupt the skin's microbiome and, consequently, the bacterial balance of naturally occurring waterways. Only in recent years have reviews taken place, mainly to review the impact of common preservatives such as triclocarban, chloroxylenol, methylisothiazolinone, and benzalkonium chloride. All of these have been noted to collect in waterways, contributing to a reduction in the biodiversity of aquatic environments and damaging the growth, development, motility and lifespan of many integral micro-organisms for healthy marine environments.

Disposable items, such as make-up cleansing wipes and sheet masks 

Single-use items such as these increase your environmental impact on the landfill as commonly available sheet masks often contain synthetic fibres to support the durability of the wipe, which unfortunately means that the wipes can only be disposed of in landfill and can take hundreds of years to break down. 

What to do instead?

Read the ingredients of your skincare

If your skincare contains any of the following ingredients, is it something that you can change your products to a more sustainable option to limit your environmental impact:

• Oxybenzone 

• Octinoxate

• Perflurooctyl triethoxysilane 

• Perfluorononyl dimethicone

• Single-use make-up non-biodegradable cleansing wipes 

• Single-use non-biodegradable sheet masks 

Choose a physical sunscreen instead, such as Zinc oxide

Though no sunscreen can be termed “reef safe” or “reef-friendly” (as this does not have an agreed-upon definition to be regulated by the government and tested), it is widely believed and agreed upon that Zinc oxide sunscreens are less harmful to the marine ecosystem. Zinc oxide sunscreens also pose less risk for allergic reactions and skin heating when exposed to UV rays, meaning they are kinder to you and the environment. Shop our range of physical sunscreens here.

Choose a silicone-free moisturiser or make-up range 

Silicones beginning with polyfluor or perfluor can not only be harmful to the environment but also do not align with keeping your skin well hydrated or supporting a strong skin barrier. Silicones will often remain on the skin and reduce the quality of your skin cells due to limiting your skincare ongoing to reach the cells. Usually, clients using these ingredients will say that once they stop using silicone ingredients, their skin feels terrible because the silicone acts to patch up the “gaps” in your skin barrier artificially and does not support your skin barrier. By cutting these ingredients from your routine, you begin to feel the true texture of your skin, not the artificial texture dependent on the silicone ingredients. Ceasing these ingredients and including ingredients that support a skin barrier will be kinder to the environment and be kinder to your skin in the long run. 

Choose a biodegradable sheet mask 

Taking note of what your sheet mask is made of is important to reduce your landfill impact and, consequently, the prolonged breakdown of plastic-related products. Choose a face mask made from cellulose or labelled as biodegradable and compostable. 

Choose a cleansing cloth over single-use make-up wipes 

Single-use makeup wipes are often high in alcohol or contain essential oils, which can dry out the skin and disrupt the friendly bacteria on the skin. This can lead to ongoing skin irritation and a disrupted skin barrier, meaning there is a higher risk for bacterial imbalances such as perioral, peri nasal, or periocular dermatitis, rosacea flares, eczema flares, acne, and general redness or uneven texture of the skin. Check out our range of cleansing cloths here.

Choose a skincare range that contains natural preservatives such as vitamin C or vitamin E

Vitamin C and Vitamin E are naturally occurring antioxidants that can also be used in skin care products to reduce the oxidation of oil, serums, and other skin-related products.

At The Bright Side, this is an impact we consider in creating better choices and options for our clients. The Bright Side stocks Corneotherapy-approved companies such as Dermaviduals, Prologic, Epi-Novelle, Avocado Zinc and Sunny Skin, which do not contain harmful ingredients. Epi-Novelle masks are biodegradable and compostable, and Prologic has the added benefit of packaging being made naturally occurring packaging from sugar cane that is biodegradable. All brands are thoughtfully chosen to take the hard work out of understanding your skincare ingredients. 

To review your skincare routine and ingredients, book a corneotherapy consultation with Krystyna or check out The Bright Side store to review your next sunscreen or biodegradable sheet mask. 

1 Dobos, K. (n.d.). Assessing Environmental Impact of Cosmetic Ingredients. [online] blog.covalo.com. Available at: https://blog.covalo.com/personal-care/assessing-environmental-impact-cosmetic-ingredients [Accessed 9 Nov. 2023]. 2Nowak-Lange, M., Niedziałkowska, K. and Lisowska, K. (2022). Cosmetic Preservatives: Hazardous Micropollutants in Need of Greater Attention? International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23(22), p.14495. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms232214495.