Nothing quite like winter weather to make a person focus on the quality of their moisturizer! No one likes a dry, flaky face! Admittedly the winter weather in San Diego is pretty mild, but it’s enough to dry out my skin. For the last few months I’ve been trying to find a plastic-free face lotion that also has safe and effective ingredients. This month I’m happy to share that I’ve found one that meets (most of) my specifications.

Plastic Reduction

As you may recall, we have been permanently eliminating two sources of plastic from our lives each month for the last 11 months. This is our 12th month of our #2x12reductionchallenge! Finding plastic free replacements can be quite challenging, especially when it comes to personal care items. This month’s reduction is just that – a plastic reduction, not a full plastic elimination. I’ve decided to be content with a face lotion that comes in a glass bottle (yay) with a plastic pump (bummer). Compared to my previous all-plastic container of face lotion by BareMinerals, however, this is definitely progress!

Ingredient Safety

The other key consideration for personal care products is the ingredient quality and safety. There can be a lot of sketchy ingredients in cosmetics! I’ve ultimately chosen a face moisturizer by the brand Crunchi Cosmetics. There’s a lot to like about this company!

• Transparency: Each product is labeled with “badges” that tell you about what makes the product unique. For example, some products are vegan, other are gluten-free, or made in the USA. The badges make it easy to check for the key factors that are important to you!
• Safe Ingredients: In addition to the badges and clear ingredient lists, they also have a list of completely blacklisted ingredients.
• Sustainability: One of their badges is “sustainably packaged” because they do their best to reduce the amount of packaging required, especially plastic. They also don’t use plastic shipping materials, even when sending glass bottles. Simple brown paper does the trick!

If you’re interested in reading more about Crunchi I recommend that you read this in-depth review on the I Read Labels for You blog. She breaks down each ingredient to help you understand what it’s for and if there are any risks associated with it. She does fantastic product research!

Complexities of Sustainability

Choosing sustainable products can be complicated. I wish it was just as simple as avoiding plastic, but there are so many factors to consider. Ingredient quality, shipping distance, packaging materials, labor standards, and of course whether or not the product actually works for your body! My journey to find a plastic-free face lotion reminded me how tricky it can be to find sustainable swaps that work well for you as an individual. Living completely plastic free isn’t realistic for us yet. However, I take heart in knowing that we are doing our best to take steps in the right direction.

xo, Nicole