Use Natural Exfoliants, and Help the Oceans

You may not have thought about the connection, but all-natural exfoliants are better for you and the oceans.

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Photo: Istock

By Carol Thompson

You've heard about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a floating island of largely plastic debris that threatens wildlife. It's full of discarded bottles, bags, bits of nylon rope and other rubbish, both seen and unseen. The good news is that we can all make choices that reduce the accumulation. One example you may not have thought of may be lurking in your bathroom: conventional exfoliants.

Exfoliants are products meant to scrape away old, dead skin to reveal younger, fresher cells. Most conventional products are liquid-based and contain beads that do the exfoliating. Trouble is, many of those beads are typically made of plastic. Plastic that's meant to go right down the drain, and which makes its way out into our waterways, eventually ending up in the oceans. The tiny beads take many years to break down, and they can choke marine life, from large animals on down to tiny plankton that got covered in them.

Luckily, there are plenty of exfoliants on the market now that are made with all-natural ingredients like lemon peel, coffee grounds, sugar and salt -- not plastic. Do those ingredients sound familiar? Good! That means you can also try making your own products right in the kitchen using some simple DIY recipes! Or, buy pre-made treatments from natural products stores or even more and more conventional retailers.

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