Microbeads are banned but watch out for the new menace in your beauty bag

From microbead-free skincare to zero-waste packaging, and even a proposed ban on microplastics, it might seem like beauty’s war with plastic is steadily being won.

Yet there is still seven times more plastic than fish in the ocean, with the average human ingesting up to 5g of plastic per week — roughly the weight of a credit card. This rate is steadily increasing, according to a study by The University of Newcastle in Australia.

It’s no wonder, then, that experts are now questioning the safety of liquid plastics — the smallest, most widespread form. They are often water-soluble and invisible to the naked eye.

‘Liquid plastics are commonly used to make products more “spreadable”, and are found in everything from face cream and sunscreen to shampoo and shower gels,’ explains Ruth Morgan-Evans, co-founder of Shrub. This new haircare brand, free from liquid plastic, launched in Boots earlier this year.

In scientific circles, liquid plastics are called synthetic polymers. ‘Some of the most worrisome ones are polyethylene glycols or PEGs, and are found in bath products, skincare and haircare,’ explains Jayn Sterland, the managing director of liquid-plastic-free skincare brand Weleda.

Liquid plastics pose more of a danger than other types as it is nearly impossible to recover them from waterways and oceans. 

Sewage plants can’t filter them out of the water system, and even if they could, they would still end up in our soil via sewage sludge, which is often used as fertiliser.

‘We rinse them out into our waterways and oceans every time we wash our faces or rinse our hair,’ explains Ruth.

But the concern isn’t just environmental. Liquid plastics are damaging to our skin, too.

‘Some PEGs are comedogenic (pore-blocking) and some are known skin irritants, so they’re not ideal skincare ingredients,’ says Jayn.

Most worrying is how many of our beauty items contain liquid plastics. Research by CodeCheck, Europe’s biggest product database, found that 64 per cent of hair products contain at least one liquid plastic.

But despite the damage they may do to the environment, and subsequently our health, the beauty industry has no plans to ban their use.

‘Unfortunately, the European Chemicals Agency, the body in charge of testing the safety of our ingredients, are only focusing on solid or semi-solid microplastics,’ says Madhuri Prabhakar, author at Beat The Microbead. She is the campaigner behind the 2018 ban on the use of microbeads in beauty products.

As always, the price of ingredients plays a big role. ‘Synthetic polymers are often included as cheap fillers — ingredients that give the product a good consistency and a smooth feeling when applied to the skin or hair,’ notes Jayn.

The cost of time-consuming research could play a factor in the industry’s finger-in-ears approach, too.

‘It takes skill and dedication to make genuinely all-natural products without synthetic ingredients which also have the necessary shelf life retailers and consumers expect,’ Jayn adds.

So how can you tell if a product is free from liquid plastic?

‘It can be hard to identify which ingredients are synthetic because they often have several alternative names. Look out for trusted certification logos such as Natrue, Cosmos or Soil Association,’ says Jayn.

‘But also bear in mind that some small organic brands may not have a certified logo yet, in which case contact the company to ask the question.’

Despite all the doom and gloom, there is some good news — there are still lots of products out there that are free from liquid plastics.

‘All products that bear the Natrue certification logo on their pack are authentically natural and made without plastic ingredients or synthetic polymers,’ explains Jayn.

‘There are more than 6,400 products from 285 beauty brands, so you’re not short on choice.’

Check out the product database at natrue.org/our- standard/natrue- certified- world.

To help you filter out the fantastics from the plastics, we’ve rounded up the six most common skincare buys with liquid-plastic-free swaps…