3 Ethical Beauty Solutions That Cost Nothing But Totally Work

Buying ethical beauty products is easier than ever. An increasing number of beauty brands and fashion labels are working hard to ensure that looking gorgeous doesn’t come with an enormous price tag for your conscience.

Many manufacturers have eliminated the use of harmful microbeads that can seriously toxify our oceans, and while there are some brands that refuse to move with the times the industry as a whole is pushing emphatically away from animal testing.

The likes of Kat Von D, Clove + Hallow, Osea and Meow Meow Tweet are leading the charge for vegan beauty products that use absolutely no animal derivatives (and still look amazing), and the rise of cruelty free beauty boxes means that you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your own home to look good with a clear conscience. Even big name subscription boxes like FabFitFun are cruelty-free!

You can get $20 off your FabFitFun subscription here.

Image by MaxPixel

BeautyIsCrueltyFree is a cruelty-free beauty & subscription box blog covering all the best ethical, cruelty-free, vegan and eco-conscious subscription boxes, brands & products. This post may contain affiliate links which is at no cost to you. For more information, see my disclosures.

Yet, as hard as we try to shop ethically, many of us still worry about the environmental damage caused by the packaging of the products we use or the carbon footprint caused by sending products from all across the world to your nearest department store. If you feel like really going the extra mile in ethical beauty the likes of Bea Johnson can lead you in the direction of beauty solutions that are zero waste, almost zero cost and give a consistently great look.

So you won’t need to take out any microloans or worry about the ethical cost of your beauty. Here are just a few that really work!

Ethical Beauty Solution: Cocoa Powder Bronzer

Not only is cocoa powder a great zero waste and almost zero cost alternative to commercial bronzers, unlike commercially available products it actually nourishes your skin.

It’s rich in vitamins and antioxidants so you don’t even have to worry if you should find yourself leaving it on overnight.

Cocoa powder provides a rich, sheer look and can be used as a base with other additions to match it more closely to your coloring or desired outcome e.g. a dash of nutmeg and cinnamon will give it a more golden tint while cornstarch will make the end product lighter.

Ethical Beauty Solution: Make Your Own Nail Polish

Jin Soon Nail Polish is a fabulous cruelty-free and vegan nail polish brand which features products that are ’10-Free’ meaning that their nail polish formulas are made without harsh chemicals such as Formaldehyde, Toluene, DBP, Formaldehyde resin, Camphor, Xylene, Ethyl Tosylamide, Triphenyl phosphate, Parabens, and Lead.

Unfortunately, those harsh chemicals mentioned can be found in most commercial nail polishes.

Most drugstore brand nail polishes are full of harmful additives and carcinogens like formaldehyde and endocrine disruptors like bisphenol A.

When these chemicals get into our water supply they can be deadly to fish and seabirds, too. Yet you can make your own nail polish easily with alkanet root and henna. Here’s how.

Ethical Beauty Solution: Make Your Own Kohl Powder

Kohl has been used for centuries to give eyes that smoky look. While kohl powders of old were poisonous because of their lead base (and who knows what’s in most commercial brands) you can make your own from scratch using burnt almond or sandalwood paste.

More Ways To Make Your Own Ethical Beauty Products

DIY Collectives is a subscription service that will send you a different box of materials each month, of which you create a new DIY organic beauty product.

Some previous month’s projects:

DOPE SOAP: ACTIVATED COCONUT CHARCOAL, PUMICE & ESSENTIAL OIL DETOXIFYING SOAP SCRUB

DEAD SEA SOAK AWAY SCRUB: DEAD SEA SALT, LAVENDER, OLIVE OIL, LEMON

LET’S GET MUDDY FACE MASK & TONER: BENTONITE CLAY, ALOE VERA, CHAMOMILE & ROSEWATER

Get your DIY Collectives box here! Plus get 10% off your subscription with coupon IHEARTU

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