Waterless beauty is a trend that's been popular within green beauty circles for a long time, and it's one that has now firmly crossed over into the mainstream, as consumers shop more sustainably than they ever have before (yay!). If you haven't heard of the concept before, here's a quick post to get you up to speed and five tried and tested product recommendations to help you on your way.
Waterless beauty are products that have been made without any water. So think of things like solid, concentrated, and powdered formulas like shampoo bars, exfoliating powders, multipurpose balms, eco-friendly deodorants, etc.
Why Is Waterless Beauty Trending?
It can be difficult to think of water shortages in our everyday lives when you live in the UK, especially with heavy rain and flooding being so commonplace here, but for the rest of the world, water shortages are a massively growing problem due to climate change and overpopulation. Waterless beauty has become a topic of conversation because beauty is the second biggest industry globally that consumes the most water, after agriculture. This is largely because most beauty products contain water; have a look at the products that you use every day and you'll start to see the size of the problem, as 'aqua' is often the first ingredient that's listed.
Not only is the quantity of water used within the beauty industry a cause for concern, but there's also the packaging and transport of all of these products to factor in as well. A standard plastic bottle of shampoo uses a huge amount of water to manufacture than a plastic-free solid shampoo bar for example. This is why most waterless beauty products are packaged in an eco-friendly manner to reduce the need for water at every opportunity. For sustainable consumers, it makes sense because we can easily add water from our own taps to a product, so by purchasing waterless beauty products, you're generally cutting out all those extra CO2 emissions that come from transporting a heavy bottle of shampoo to the shop.
Waterless Beauty Means Less or No Preservatives
In addition, waterless formulas require little or no preservatives to be added. This is because you usually have to add some kind of preservative to a product if it contains water because bacteria grows so quickly in it.
Here are five water-free beauty product recommendations that I've tried out.
Swap One: Marley's Pure & Natural Shampoo with Eucalyptus & Green Clay* (50g, €11.25)
Shampoo bars are the obvious choice when it comes to swapping your regular bottle of shampoo for a waterless alternative, however, they don't always work for everyone and it can be a case of trial and error to find the one that does work for your hair type. Shampoo flakes, on the other hand, seem to be something that more people report having greater success with, and the best that I've tried is Marley's Pure & Natural Shampoo with Eucalyptus & Green Clay. Here you have a pouch of solid shampoo flakes which you add to hot water and then refrigerate overnight, before using as you would any other liquid shampoo - genius stuff! It's a Dutch brand but there are a fair few UK stockists knocking about - I pick it up from my local independent health store; one pouch replaces a large 400ml plastic bottle of shampoo.
Swap Two: Trilogy Everything Balm* (45ml, £15.50, link)
Regular readers know how much I love multi-purpose balms and in fact, I have a stash of them floating around somewhere, usually in every desk drawer, on every bedside table, and in every handbag. You could say I'm a bit obsessed! The Trilogy Everything Balm is one that I've been using for years and this large tin will last you absolutely ages. Packed with skin-quenching ingredients such as Sweet Almond Oil, Beeswax, Marula Seed Oil, Evening Primrose Oil, Coconut Oil, and Vitamin E, this hard-working skincare hero can be applied to dry lips, cracked cuticles, and anywhere else that requires some immediate soothing moisture.
Swap Three: Beauty Pro Tumeric Infused Sheet Mask* (£5, link)
OK, so this one is a little controversial as it's a single-use product, but hear me out! I wanted to include it as an alternative option for those who still love using sheet masks (and I'm partial to using one myself every now and then, especially when traveling). Beauty Pro's Plant-Based Sheet Mask range ticks a lot of good boxes including being certified cruelty-free, vegan, and made from 100% plant origins. It's also water-free, and the sheet mask itself is plastic-free. Instead, it's made from biodegradable bamboo which is fully compostable in your garden waste bin. Pretty neat, huh? This Tumeric Infused mask is great for brightening the skin and gets to work in just 15 minutes.
Powdered formulas are definitely on the rise and lots of brands are producing some amazing products in this area. I'm a big fan of powdered body washes because they are so easy to use; just sprinkle a small amount into wet hands and watch as it lathers up into a foam that you can then use all over your body in the shower. This means that the packaging is a much smaller bottle as the powder is concentrated, and being a powder, it's super lightweight which makes it brilliant for traveling with, especially if you just have a carry-on with you. Dust & Glow is a New Zealand brand (some London-based eco-shops stock them), but if you have trouble finding it, you can try the British brand Inclusev instead which has a great range of powder beauty products.
Mainstream deodorant sticks and roll-ons almost always contain water as their first ingredient so it makes sense to switch to a natural deodorant that's better for your body as well. There are lots to choose from as this sector of the beauty industry has had a massive boom in recent years so shoppers are truly spoilt for choice! One of my top picks would be Elsa's Detox Natural Deodorant which is something that I often recommend to those who are new to using a natural deodorant as it's a pretty strong and powerful formula and makes the switch less daunting! With ingredients such as Activated Charcoal, Bentonite Clay, and Magnesium, it's an easy natural way to keep body odour at bay.
Have you made any water-free swaps this year?
