Trending 5th January 2016 by Victoria Stokes

The Very Scary Reason You Should Stop Using Products That Contain Microbeads

They've been banned in the US. This is why.

Take a look in your beauty cabinet and you’ll likely find at least a few products that contain microbeads. They’re those little teeny tiny plastic balls used in many face and body products that are deadly at exfoliating your skin. But just last week President Obama passed a bill that will see them phased out in the states by 2017, while at the same time the UK is lobbying to pass a similar law.

But why are governments targeting this seemingly harmless beauty ingredient?

It’s all because microbeads are virtually impossible to dissolve in water, meaning that the tiny plastic particles enter water streams in their billions. After they get washed down your bathroom sink they pick up toxins en route to the ocean, before these toxins are ingested by fish mistaking them for food. Next? Those toxins invariably end up on your plate.

And it’s by no means a tiny problem. One report suggests that eight trillion microbeads are being released into our oceans every day.

So what can you do if you’re worried about the environmental and health effects of microbeads? Always check the product’s ingredient list and opt for natural scrubs like oatmeal or jojoba bead granule-based beauty buys.

Here are a few of our faves…