Microbeads have been losing popularity for years due to their negative impacts on the environment. Don’t know what microbeads are? You’re not alone. Microbeads are tiny plastic beads that have been used in beauty products for years. They are used as an exfoliating particle to slough off dead skin and range in products from body scrubs and facial cleansers to moisturizers and even toothpaste.
 
When they were first created, microbeads were a dream. They are cheap to manufacture and work well as an exfoliating ingredient. However, they are also not biodegradable. They are so prevalent in beauty products that billions of microbeads get flushed down the drain every day and end up in local water sources that then lead to larger water sources. This is essentially the same as dumping all of your plastic bottles into the water- except it’s worse. The beads are so tiny that they cannot be cleaned out of the water and many fish and aquatic life end up eating the microbeads. The plastic is toxic for fish and animals when ingested, and then the fish eating the microbeads eventually ends up on our plates, also poisoning us. All living creatures eventually die from ingesting too much plastic.
 
This problem is so big that it is ruining our water. A large part of the pollution in The Great Lakes, the world’s largest source of freshwater, is from microbeads. According to the State University of New York, there are anywhere from 1,500 to 1.1 million microbeads per square mile in the water.
 
As of today, the U.S. has successfully banned microbeads in beauty products in the Microbead-Free Water Act (read here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/12/28/statement-press-secretary-hr-1321-s-2425 ). This is a huge step forward in having cosmetics creating healthier products and will require big changes from many large companies such as Neutrogena, Clean N' Clear, Aveeno, Bath and Body Works, Bliss, Clarins, Clinique, Clearasil, Caress, Dermalogica, Dior, Kiehl's, Olay, Ponds, AXE, Simple, Mur Ad, Acne Free, Up & Up, Hempz, Guerlain, and many more. It’s scary to think that many synthetic ingredients in our skin and beauty products can have such damaging effects on the environment and human health. We are coming into a time when people want to take control of what’s in their products, from food to the beauty industry. People are starting to care more about their health and don’t want to be lied to about what they are putting into and on their bodies. It’s vitally important to be aware of what you are buying- make sure to support companies that strive to provide quality products with safe ingredients that are organic, vegan, and cruelty-free.