As part of my #zerowaste or more accurately #lowwaste green vegan journey I have made the switch to this all natural plastic free vegan face wash from Back 2 Nature that is packaged in a reusable glass jar.
Why go natural?
Do you know that traditional face wash contains harmful synthetic chemicals that not only negatively effects the environment but also negatively effects our health. All you have to do is google the often unpronounceable ingredients on the back of the package.
Some of these chemicals are known skin irritants, cause respiratory distress, negatively effect the reproductive system, and some are even known carcinogens (cause cancer). The reality is that there is a long list of negative effects associated with these chemicals and the companies who use them are allowed to use them because the regulations on beauty product ingredients is not at all what it should be!
Once washed down the drain, many of these synthetic chemicals cause serious damage to the environment when they reach the rivers and oceans. The water itself as well as the plants, organisms and animals living in those bodies of water are all negatively affected by these often toxic chemicals!
Another factor to consider is that many face wash products on the market today, contain exfoliating beads made of harmful polyethylene micro plastics. The problem with these plastic beads is that they are so small that they can’t be removed from the waste water during the treatment processes. All these billions of pieces of micro plastics will end up in the rivers and oceans together with the harmful synthetic chemicals. Over time these micro plastic beads become even smaller, as plastic doesn’t biodegrade but rather breaks down into even smaller pieces. And these micro plastics become more toxic over time as they absorb harmful chemicals. I once watched a YouTube video about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, where they mentioned that in some places in the ocean there is more micro plastics than plankton.
These plastic beads are so small that they are often consumed by tiny organisms as well as animals living in these bodies of water, like fish, which is then consumed by bigger animals or by humans. I read somewhere that we have many pieces of micro plastics inside us and that micro plastics can even be found in the air we breathe. Again it is not illegal for companies to use these micro plastic beads so they continue to use them. Sugar, salt, apricot kernels, coffee grinds and other biodegradable ingredients are often used as natural alternatives to plastic exfoliating beads.
As a conscious consumer I am very aware of these harmful effects as well as harmful effects of the packaging the often un-recyclable products comes in. I only buy products containing natural ingredients, that is not tested on animals, contain no animal ingredients, is safe for me and for the environment. I also aim to buy products that come in no or reusable packaging, preferably glass.
Back 2 Nature
All Back 2 Nature’s products are handmade in Cape Town, and are natural, vegan, cruelty free and free from harmful chemicals. All their products have been approved by the Beauty Without Cruelty Association of South Africa (@bwcsa) , as well as the South African Vegan Society (@savegansociety) A small percentage of all profits go ‘back 2 nature’ to a local non-profit ocean conservation organization called I Am Water.
The base of this facewash is made with rooibos, kaolin clay and tea tree oil and all of the ingredient are from plants and quite a few are organic. Read more about it here. It is a lovely product and I highly recommend it!
Where to buy?
I bought mine from Shop Zero (@shopzero.sa), who have a physical shop in Woodstock as well as an online shop. You can also have a look here for more stockists.
Have you tried any of the Back 2 Nature products? Which face wash do you use? Please let me know in the comments below. If you’d like to see more of the body & beauty products I have found, have a look here. If you’d like to see what home & garden products I have found browse my have a look here. New products posted regularly.
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