Did you know that almost three-quarters of all shower gels, shampoos, and body care products contain liquid microplastics, leading to us ingesting about 5g of microplastics per week in Europe? And a number of other critical ingredients such as silicones or synthetic fragrances are also found in many conventional products, even though they are suspected of causing intolerances, allergies or hypersensitivities. These excipients are not really necessary; they are only used to make products cheaper or easier to produce, or to extend their shelf life.
The artificial ingredients in conventional cosmetics cannot be absorbed by the skin and accumulate on its surface. While they quickly provide a pleasant skin feel, artificial fragrances and preservatives can irritate the skin in the long term. In the worst case, the skin may even react with an allergic reaction. When we use such cosmetics, it offers no nourishing benefit to our skin; on the contrary, it can even burden it. We think we are doing our skin a favor with a conventional body lotion after a drying shower, but in reality, this is not the case, and the products remain on the skin's surface without much effect.
Feel the difference
For my Demeter natural cosmetics, I use only regional raw materials from our own vineyards such as wine, grapeseed oil, linden blossoms, or elderberries, which have a proven positive effect on the skin and no negative impact on the environment. My body care products are completely free of artificial fragrances and preservatives, critical excipients like microplastics or silicones, and emulsifiers. Depending on how much care your skin needs, I recommend my rich body milk (pink) for dry skin and my fresh, cooling body fluid (blue) if you want something less intensive. The pleasantly light textures are easy to spread, absorb quickly, provide intensive moisture, and leave no sticky film on the skin.
Facts about microplastics
Basically, a distinction is made between primary and secondary microplastics. While primary microplastics are processed in solid or liquid form in three-quarters of conventional cosmetic products, secondary microplastics occur through abrasion or decomposition of the tube. The applications of mineral oil compounds are diverse and range from solid particles, for example in peels or toothpastes, to liquid compounds that are supposed to influence the consistency, shelf life, and skin feel of products such as shower gels, body care products, and even make-up. Microplastics cannot be naturally degraded, but nowadays, wastewater treatment plants can largely filter these chemical compounds out of the water. The problem, however, is that the plastics accumulate in the sewage sludge, which in turn is applied to soils and fields as fertilizer, and thus eventually ends up back on our plates.
Chemical foam party
Shower products, which only stay on the skin for a very short time and are washed off again, seem to be of little concern for our body. But appearances are deceptive, because shower and hair baths, in particular, are full of artificial ingredients to sweeten the bathing experience with fragrances and lots of foam. Apart from what is then flushed down the drain, some artificial fragrances from the morning shower have even been detected in the air we breathe in the evening. Admittedly, my Demeter-certified shower and hair baths do not foam as much as conventional products, but this is a great advantage, because a lot of foam also means a lot of additives. Whether you really miss the foam is more a matter of getting used to it. But you will certainly quickly get used to your great skin feeling and your good conscience of not leaving a negative footprint.
For the sake of the children
A look at children's products (often colorful and adorned with unicorns and princesses) is particularly alarming. Whether it's cleansing products or creams, it seems more emphasis is placed on product design than on the ingredients. Dyes, fragrances, and preservatives along with silicones and mineral oil-based surfactants to create as much foam as possible are often the main ingredients here. This is different with my organic baby line, which is of course not just for babies but for all children, big and small. The line was developed in collaboration with pediatricians and uses local raw materials, completely free of critical ingredients. The hypoallergenic care cream, for example, consists of only seven, 100% biodynamic ingredients and was formulated completely without fragrances for particularly sensitive skin.
Discover my Demeter natural cosmetics in over 100 specialist shops or in my organic cosmetics online shop.
My grapeseed oil skincare is microplastic-free, palm oil-free, and of course, cruelty-free.
Sources & more on the topic:
Greenpeace Report "From the Washbasin to the Sea"
