Sustainable Skin, Hair, and Body Essentials We Love

From biodegradable packaging, refillable formulas, glass jars, and reusable tools to the radical notion of no packaging whatsoever, the clean beauty industry is working hard toward sustainability, with many hair, makeup, skin, and body products that claim to be sustainable. A number of them are worth changing up your routine for.

Firming Face Oil: Recyclable Glass

goop Beauty GOOPGENES All-in-One Super Nutrient Face Oil goop, $98/$89 with subscription
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Sexy Massage Bar: Renewable Bamboo

Kate McLeod The Sex Stone goop, $45
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Skin-Restoring Serum: Postconsumer Recycled Plastic

Emma Lewisham Skin Reset Serum goop, $115
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As a brand, goop is moving full steam ahead toward sustainability, as are many of the lines we sell. No one claims to be fully there yet, but until they are, there are some broad categories within sustainable to consider.

Plastic is, of course, the least sustainable option: Even if it is recycled after it’s used, just 9 percent of the plastics that get placed in recycling bins are actually recycled, according to the EPA. Product packaging made from postconsumer recycled plastic, or PCR plastic (plastic made from used plastic), is the less wasteful plastic option.

Every piece of plastic bears a triangular recycling logo—mandated by plastic-industry-supported laws—regardless of its recyclability. This shifts the burden of responsibility from plastic producers to consumers; we’re under the illusion that if we were just better recyclers, the plastic problem would go away. But even if we managed to recycle every piece of plastic we interacted with, 9 percent is obviously nowhere near enough. (Look up the Last Week Tonight with John Oliver episode on plastic for more on this—it’s incredible.)

For recycling plastic beauty product packaging (along with other types of beauty product packaging), TerraCycle is the best solution we’ve seen. And below, seven different approaches to sustainability in the clean beauty industry—featuring some of our very favorite products.

1 Glass

Glass is much easier and more cost-effective to recycle than plastic—its recycling rate is roughly 32 percent, according to the EPA. Negatives with glass include the extra weight, which adds to the fuel needed to transport the product, and the fact that glass breaks easily, making it a liability in wet areas like the shower. There are often plastics included with the glass (in the form of tops or applicators), so it’s important to separate them out when recycling.

Bakuchiol Cream

Beautycounter Countertime Tetrapeptide Supreme Cream goop, $98
This super nourishing moisturizer uses bakuchiol for retinol-like results, along with powerful peptides to support elasticity and fermented sugars to soothe skin.

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Silkifying Bodywash

Bathing Culture Mind & Body Wash Refillable Glass goop, $35
This groovy-looking shower gel smells like a redwood forest in Northern California. (The brand also makes a ginormous one-gallon bodywash jug to make it easy to replenish the jar, as well as chic travel-size aluminum bottles that you can refill for trips for years to come.)

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2 Aluminum

Aluminum is also relatively easy and cost-effective to recycle; its recycling rate is even better than glass at approximately 35 percent, the EPA reports. And roughly 75 percent of all aluminum ever produced is still in use today. The most sustainable way to go is packaging that’s made of recycled aluminum rather than virgin aluminum.

Fantastic-Smelling Body-and-Hair Routine (That’s Also Refillable)

Super chic and loaded with sustainably sourced botanicals, everything in this kit (hydrating shampoo and conditioner, silky body serum, invigorating shower wash, and the prettiest hand cream) is supercharged with Australian superplants—and is magic for both skin and hair. What’s more, every formula is free of any ingredient on the HEL List of known pollutants (Haereticus Environmental Laboratory is a nonprofit scientific organization devoted to conserving wildlife and ecosystems). All containers—original packaging and refills—are made of 100 percent recycled aluminum.

Uni The Starter Kit goop, $165
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Rich Lip Balm

Grown Alchemist Watermelon & Vanilla Lip Balm goop, $24
The nourishing blend of antioxidant watermelon extract and rose hip and sweet almond oils leaves lips supple and pillowy-soft for hours—plus, how adorable is the little aluminum tube?

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Cult-Favorite Serum

Augustinus Bader The Serum Nomad goop, $365
This sleek refill canister holds Dr. Augustinus Bader’s multitasking serum—a potent blend of his patented ingredient complex TFC8, line-smoothing pomegranate extract, and soothing edelweiss—and fits right into the gorgeous original flask.

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3 Refills

A strategy that companies often combine with using recycled plastic or glass containers is to sell the container only once, so customers refill it rather than throwing it away. It’s a concept that works for this rich, turmeric-infused moisturizer; this shine-boosting conditioner; and more. (Humanrace, Augustinus Bader, and Emma Lewisham all also offer refillable options.)

Turmeric Face Cream

Tinted a gorgeous golden yellow with antioxidant turmeric, this ultrarich moisturizer leaves skin supple
(and comes in a refillable tub).

Smoothing Shampoo

These brilliant full-size refill pouches of the bestselling Rahua Hydration Shampoo cut plastic use by 90 percent and deliver the same aaaaamazing formula.

Radiance-Boosting Conditioner

This outsize conditioner refill—it’s 33.8 ounces, which shakes out to over four cups—smooths, detangles, and ups shine with avocado and jojoba oils. Plus, its faint sandalwood-bergamot scent is fantastic.

Diamond-Infused Face Cream

This luxurious cream—yes, it’s made with actual diamond powder for brightening—drenches skin in a plumping, luminizing blend of safflower ceramides and linseed polysaccharides.

Prettiest Allover Glosses

Flattering on every skin tone, these sleek pigments light up cheekbones and bare lips and add a gorgeous sheen when dabbed over lipstick. The compact is refillable—and addictively tactile (it’s made of bendy silicone, a sustainable material; the manufacturing of it doesn’t use nonrenewable oils).

NEEN Glisten Up Double Down Gloss goop, $22
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Moisturizing Gel for Supple Skin

This hydrating gel-cream seals in moisture in the skin’s outer layers, leaving it supple and renewed.

4 Zero-Waste

Forgoing containers altogether makes the biggest difference in sustainability. With just paper or cardboard (or the bamboo that holds Kate McLeod’s moisturizing stones) encasing products, these are probably the most sustainable options out there. You can recycle, reuse, or compost all the elements in zero-waste packaging.

5 Recycled Plastic

Creating containers from recycled plastic or resin gets us away from single-use plastic, which is great, but recycled plastic often can’t be recycled, so there’s definitely a trade-off. Still, recycled plastic is an infinitely better choice than single-use.

Exfoliating Cleanser

Humanrace Lotus Enzyme Exfoliator goop, $46
Exfoliating regularly is one of the best ways to improve your skin—and this gentle treatment dissolves debris and unclogs pores with a blend of glycolic acid, fruit alpha hydroxy acids, and rice particles.

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Body-Smoothing Scrub

Nécessaire The Body Exfoliator goop, $30
This foaming scrub both exfoliates and cleanses, leaving your skin super soft.

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6 Reusable

Whether it’s an at-home clinic-grade laser with next-level results or an exquisite jade comb for daily (heavenly) head massages, these can be used until they wear out (or need a recharge) and can replace less-sustainable elements in your routine.

7 Biodegradable Plastic

Biodegradable plastic is made of organic materials (meaning nonsynthetic materials, not USDA organic), according to the EPA. To qualify, it must be engineered to biodegrade at least partially.

Compostable plastics are also biodegradable, but they must be processed in industrial treatment centers with the ability to decompose plastic, according to the EPA. Note that when biodegradable and compostable plastics are recycled with plastics that are actually recyclable, the entire load is contaminated and will likely be taken to a landfill, so definitely don’t try to recycle compostable and biodegradable plastics. Very few beauty companies are using compostable or biodegradable plastic in packaging at this point, and currently there are no EPA-approved methods of composting plastic at home; when the tech develops, we plan to put ours in our compost.

Sustainable Skin, Hair, and Body Essentials We Love

Firming Face Oil: Recyclable Glass

Sexy Massage Bar: Renewable Bamboo

Skin-Restoring Serum: Postconsumer Recycled Plastic

1

Glass

Moisturizing Flower Mask

Radiance-Boosting Bronzer

Face Oil with Real Results

Glowy Body Oil

Sexy Perfume

Bakuchiol Cream

Silkifying Bodywash

2

Aluminum

Fantastic-Smelling Body-and-Hair Routine (That’s Also Refillable)

Rich Lip Balm

Cult-Favorite Serum

Citrusy-Fresh

Beautifully Woodsy

3

Refills

Turmeric Face Cream

Smoothing Shampoo

Radiance-Boosting Conditioner

Diamond-Infused Face Cream

Prettiest Allover Glosses

Moisturizing Gel for Supple Skin

4

Zero-Waste

Lathering Shampoo

Frizz-Easing Conditioner

Exquisite Allover Moisturizer

Clarifying Body Soap

5

Recycled Plastic

Sheer Pink Lip Balm

Day (and Night) Face Cream

Exfoliating Cleanser

Body-Smoothing Scrub

6

Reusable

Laser with Real Results

Sculpting Face Bar

Lifting Face Tool

Gua Sha Comb

7

Biodegradable Plastic

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