We have all had it on our snouts at one time or another: face paint. From a small flag on King's Day or smudges of soot during the St Nicholas parade to complete works of art during Carnival. What do we actually put on our faces? We found out. And you guessed it: so it's not such a party. Luckily, we also have tips for eco-friendly make-up.
Quest for eco-friendly make-up
Hair spray, glitter, lipstick, mascara, fake eyelashes, as well as complete make-up kits. All kinds of face paint are available in drugstores and you can often find even more in party shops. Not surprisingly, all these colours are not exactly produced in a sustainable and environmentally and animal-friendly way. But what exactly is in them, how bad is it and what can you pay attention to so as not to spoil the party fun? We think it's important to find out more about this, because children (besides southerners) are the big consumers of make-up after all.
Natural or chemical ingredients
Previously, we conducted research on eco-friendly care products and even then we discovered that claims on products such as ‘natural ingredients’ or ‘vegan’ say little about the sustainability of a product. It's quite complicated. For instance, the term ‘vegan’ just says that it does not contain animal ingredients and that no animals were used in its production. But it says nothing about sustainability. And natural ingredients don't always help you either. For instance, what many people don't know is that a product with synthetic ingredients can be a perfectly safe and sustainable choice, while a product made of natural ingredients - which we are quick to label as sustainable - can actually be a less good choice. Maybe those natural ingredients were obtained through deforestation or very intensive farming.... We just concluded: quite complicated.
Left: children often use face paint, but what is actually in this? Right: I went in search of eco-friendly make-up.
Eco-friendly make-up with a hallmark
We previously tipped to use make-up with a quality mark, such as EU Ecolabel, Fairtrade, Nordic Swan Ecolabel or Bio / Ecocert Cosmos Organic. This way, you know that the product meets quality requirements on environment and sustainability, fair working conditions and trade, and animal welfare. Manufacturers are obliged to report on these requirements and how they meet them. This gives you, the consumer, peace of mind that things are okay. There we are: make-up with a hallmark it is. Well not quite unfortunately. So for face paints, this proved difficult. During our search, we did come across one brand that carried an organic label (Namaki).
Choose eco-friendly make-up without glitter
So if labels are not going to help us further, we ourselves will have to start differentiating on the (digital) make-up shelf in other ways. Step one: in any case, always choose make-up without glitter. That already eliminates a lot of them. We think that's a shame too, because glitter looks so nice. But those pieces of glitter are tiny pieces of plastic or aluminium, or a combination of the two. By using glitter, you leave a trail of microplastics behind. These end up in nature and thus in the food chain via animals. And chances are that you yourself will ingest some of those pieces of plastic and aluminium while partying. Not a good idea, we think. Biodegradable glitter then? It exists! But alas. These aren't much better either, the TV programme discovered Keuringsdienst van Waarde. Conclusion: not biodegradable. Want to know exactly how it is? Then read this article on glitter.
For glitter and shine, the natural material mica is also often used. You've probably heard of it before. It's in lots of everyday products like soap, conditioner, make-up, car paint and paint. And although ‘natural’ sounds tastier, there is little to like about this either. We previously dived into the story behind mica and found a cesspool of poor working conditions and child labour. Nah, mica doesn't suit revelry as far as we are concerned either.
Looking for eco-friendly make-up? Avoid glitter and aerosols. Find out more about glitter in this article.
Also not best: spray cans
OK, we'll leave out the glitter, but that's not all. Those spray cans you use to fix or colour your hair are also best left out. They contain propellants and solvents. These are usually volatile organic compounds, also known as VOCs, according to Milieu Centraal. These VOCs can cause smog and respiratory problems. Therefore, preferably choose alternatives without propellant, such as a cream or a bottle with mechanical atomisation. Still, nice that we can tick off that category too. We'll get there. What's next?
Reading ingredients help
Ingredients. But pooh, ingredients lists of make-up are often hard to check with all those complicated names. Fortunately, there are free apps that are quite handy. The first is Beat the Microbead from Plastic Soup Foundation. This will help you find out whether make-up contains microplastics, because that chance is pretty high. Even if make-up has no glitter, microplastics are often added to make it spreadable. This app helps you find out. You take a picture of the ingredients and the app then tells you if there are (possibly) microplastics in the product.
Similar apps include Clean Beauty, Think Dirty and INCI Beauty. Put those on your phone too! By scanning the label with one of these latest apps, you will learn what ingredients are in it and the possible effect it has on the environment, biodiversity and your skin. If you are going to check that, parabens is a substance to pay extra attention to: this is widely used in make-up to make it last longer. Very nice in itself, but parabens are suspected of interfering with our hormones. There is already scientific evidence of this for one type of paraben: butylparaben.
PFAS in face paint? Plausible...
Although we have not been able to find sources confirming PFAS in face paint, it is plausible that these forever chemicals are present in our party make-up. Yikes, we agree. PFAS has already been found to be present in some make-up products. Although you will not wear make-up on a daily basis, it is not a pleasant idea to walk around with PFAS on your face. Concern about PFAS in our personal care products is high, and rightly so if you Radar's episode looking back on this.
Where to buy better make-up?
So even more reason to always buy make-up in a reliable (online) shop and from a reliable brand. This way, you know that the product complies with Dutch or European environmental and health legislation. Definitely do not buy make-up from webshops like Ali Express, Wish or Temu. Products from those websites may have been tested on animals, are often not dermatologically tested and may even toxic substances include.
Looking for eco-friendly make-up
No glitter, no aerosols, buying from trusted shops are good first steps. Furthermore, those handy free check apps are fine aids to detect microplastics and read ingredients. Those apps are also handy to use for make-up that you still have at home. Of course, the best thing is to use up what you have (tip: always store your make-up in a dry and dark place for this reason, see care product storage tips). But at some point, you will have to buy new products because the old face paint runs out or the expiry date has passed. After all, you don't use it every day... So what do you choose? We found some products that tick quite a few boxes:
Funnily enough, it is difficult to choose make-up that is more environmentally friendly.
Is all that make-up a bit too much for you and are you looking more for a ‘regular’ make-up look, but want to choose it better? We get that, it still parties a lot nicer. And besides, you can still use that more subtle make-up afterwards on a daily basis. How sustainable. Earlier we picked out the usual make-up for you. Fortunately, there is more choice here and good labels will help you on your way. Check out these beautiful long list of better personal care products, including therefore make-up brands. We wish you lots of dancing, dancing and partying fun.
Do you have a fun make-up tip that is not yet listed? Then feel free to contact us and we will be happy to expand the list.
More sustainable tips from thegreenlist.nl
- Looking for a durable carnival outfit? We have plenty of ideas for you!
- Add a colourful nail polish? That too can be more sustainable.
- Even mascara you can choose more durable.
Photo credits: main image: left: Samar Ahmad (Unsplash), centre: Cottonbro Studio (Pexels), right: Vitória Santos (Pexels), child spiderman: Kevin Bidwell (Pexels), editor Mascha Bongenaar with her son during carnival, face make-up with glitter: Lera Kogan (Unsplash), hairspray: Rene Asmussen (Pexels), make-up: Ron Lach (Pexels).
