The Best Zero Waste Facial Beauty Masks
Battle Green Clay Face Masks are sold in compostable brown paper bags. You can buy multi-packs, to save on postage (each sachet gives 5 to 8 applications).
Made with a blend of kaolin and bentonite clays and arrowroot powder, mix one teaspoon with a little water to form a paste, apply and leave on your skin for 5 minutes (until partially dry, don’t let the mask dry completely).
Avoid beauty products with essential oils if pregnant/nursing. Many skincare items contain cocoa butter and/or zinc oxide (also found in sunscreens, cosmetics and deodorants). So if you live with pets, wash your skin before letting pets kiss you, or avoid items containing them.
Most kerbsides recycle plastic packaging. You can also recycle (including pipettes and hard-to-recycle items) at any Boots store (look for the recycling box).
Choose from:
- Beetroot Rose (brightening): Contains beetroot and mango powder, and rose geranium essential oil
- Chamomile (inflamed skin): Contains fragrance-free chamomile flower and carrot powders, and turmeric
- Orange Raspberry (exfoliating): Contains upcycled raspberry seeds, with hydrating seaweed powder and brightening sweet orange oil
- Charcoal & Tea Tree (congested skin): Contains upcycled charcoal powder and tea tree oil
Why choose clay beauty masks?
Clay beauty masks have been around for hundreds or possibly thousands of years. They can absorb excess oil and clean our pores for congested skin and soothe other dry skin, depending on the clay used. Just choose the right type of clay:
- Bentonite clay is from volcanic ash. For oily and acne-prone skin.
- Green clay is also good for oily skin.
- Kaolin clay is milder and good for sensitive and dry skin.
- Red and pink clays contain iron oxide and are good for sensitive and tired skin.
How to use clay beauty masks
- Wash your face with warm water and gentle cleaners, to remove surface dirt.
- Leave your skin slightly damp, then use your fingers to apply a thin layer on your face, avoiding the sensitive eye and lip areas.
- Leave the mask on for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Rinse off while still sticky. Don’t leave it to dry until it cracks, this strips out moisture.
- Rinse with lukewarm water and a soft washcloth.
- Pat face dry and use a moisturiser if wished.
Use clay masks two to three times a week on oily skin, and once a week on dry skin.
Green People facial masks
Green People Purifying Face Mask is made with vegan organic ingredients, sold in easy-to-recycle sugar cane tubes. Made with purifying charcoal, bentonite clay and sustainably-sourced alpine willow.
Ideal for oily or congested skin. Just smooth over clean dry skin, leave for 15 to 20 minutes, then rinse with a damp cloth. Scented with eucalyptus oil.
Green People AHA Radiance Mask is for dry and ageing skin, with 5 types of alpha-hydroxy-acids to promote cellular renewal. Contains extracts of bilberry, rosehip, cranberry and maple sugar, scented with oils of mandarin and neroli. Leave on for up to 15 minutes, then rinse off.
Green People is one of England’s best organic beauty brands. All sold in easy-to-recycle sugar-cane packaging. The brand was founded by a mother to help her daughter’s severe eczema.
Sadly her daughter then developed a serious medical condition and died just 28. So by helping people switch to planet-friendly skincare, her late daughter is leaving a wonderful legacy.
Raw Beauty Lab vegan collagen mask
Raw Beauty Lab offers a vegan collagen mask from a supplement company, trusted by over 20,000 happy customers. Created by a former Miss World contestant (and scientist – who obviously wanted more than world peace) and her husband, it’s sold with a reusable scoop and a special version for pregnancy (don’t use the other one as it contains vitamin A).
Check with GP before taking supplements if pregnant/nursing or on medication or supplements. Keep away from children and pets.
You should start seeing results within 4 weeks, and there are plenty of before/after photos to view before you buy. Just mix the powder (in plastic-free packaging) into water, juice or smoothies. You can use the mask standalone or with the supplement.
The only caveat as is that none of them, will make you look like her (she was a Miss World contestant, for goodness sake!)
Unlike some beauty products that sell collagen from cows or fish, vegan collagen mimics natural proteins in skin, to help you look good while feeling good too.
We don’t need to ‘put collagen’ in our skin to remain youthful. We already have the collagen, these helpers simply help your skin to help itself! Vegan collagen creams basically instantly plump the skin to seem smoother, though only work with lifestyle changes.
Raw Beauty Lab vegan collagen superfood
Raw Beauty Lab vegan collagen superfood is easy to use, just scoop into your favourite drink, to benefit hair, skin and nails. Made with antioxidants and 100% of daily Vitamin C recommendations. Also sold in a pregnancy-safe version.
Sweet Cecily clay beauty masks
Sweet Cecily’s Green Clay Mask is ideal for oily/congested skin, sold in a glass jar with metal lid. This Whitby company also offers a Pink Clay Mask for dry and sensitive skin.
One jar (around £10) will last ages, as you only need 2 teaspoons per application (mixed with equal amount of water).
Use clay masks two to three times a week on oily skin, and once a week on dry skin.
World’s first biodegradable sheet beauty masks
BeautyPro is a brand founded by two men with years of experience in the professional beauty salon business. Together they have created the world’s first biodegradable sheet masks (including packaging). Traditional sheet masks are so toxic, that they are even banned for sale in some countries.
After inventing a portable hot towel steamer for mobile beauty therapists, they turned their creative brains to finding a natural sheet mask alternative. These masks are now widely sold, and helping to reduce plastic waste.
To use these masks, just place on your face, sit back and relax for 15 minutes. Each mask is so packed with produce, that it can be used up to three times, making it great value for money.
The pouches are made from a layer of paper printed with vegetable ink and thin food-grade plastic lining that contains an additive that changes change molecular structure once exposed to oxygen. So you can safely place both in the bin, to biodegrade within 75 days.
The range includes:
Cica + niacinamide blemish control
This is made with bamboo fibre and cassava root (which helps to reduce redness and oil) and chia seed (locks in hydration and rebuilds the skin’s moisture barrier).
Hyaluronic acid (hydrating)
This contains soybean (hydrating) and hyaluronic acid (which can hold up to 1000 times its weight in water, so perfect to lock in moisture).
Chamomile boasts anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties to soothe skin and reduce redness. It’s also good to help reduce under eye circles and puffy eyes. Smells lovely, too!
Retinol (anti-ageing)
This mask contains seaweed-derived ocean retinol, to stimulate collagen production, diminish fine lines, reduce pore size and even out skin tone. It also contains organic pine oil to target pimples, eczema and acne, also reducing inflammation (the oil also helps to prevent sagging skin).
Squalane (nourishing)
This plant-based squalane (from olives, not sharks) helps to boost production of collagen, wrinkles and improve elasticity. It’s also good to soothe and nourish dehydrated skin, and is rich in vitamin A and C, to help protect against tired-looking skin.
Vitamin C (brightening)
This mask uses blueberry to brighten the complexion, as well as reduce redness, hyperpigmentation and under-eye circles.
Yuzu citrus stimulates the production of collagen production and reduces fine lines and wrinkles, an sea buckthorn (rich in vitamins A, C and E) hydrates skin and helps to protect from pollution and free radicals.
Difference Between Sheet & Facial Masks?
Natural face masks are things like Fuller’s Earth, where you simply mix it with water and apply to absorb oil. But most face masks on sale are just full of chemicals, and won’t do your skin any good.
Sheet masks are a bit different, in that they are soaked with serum (fast-absorbing skincare, usually enriched with vitamins and antioxidants) to deliver an instant boost to skin that needs it.
They are usually opened and applied (so you look a bit like Hannibal Lecter), but the results last for a few days. Good for your skin need an occasional boost for hydration, blemishes or a special occasion.
