“Beauty” and “eco-friendly” are terms that don’t have to be mutually exclusive … even though they often are. Although many beauty brands have wised up and stopped doing things like using dangerous chemicals and testing their products on animals, it’s not always easy to figure out who’s on the up and up and who isn’t. A lot of skin and hair care companies give lip service to using responsibly sourced or vegan/organic ingredients and others, well, they simply hope you won’t ask.
It probably won’t seem far-fetched that you can find eco-friendly beauty products on Amazon; after all, you can find just about anything else on Amazon, can’t you?! A quick search for “eco-friendly beauty products” on the online retailer turns up more than 10,000 results (and I’m guessing many, many more than that) including things like compostable razors, zero-waste body lotion bars, and vegan toner. You can still look good while feeling good about your carbon footprint … with the addition of great Amazon prices and speedy Prime shipping!
Give Yourself A Kiss of French Beauty
Oui oui, mon cheri! This natural lotion enriched with shea butter, olive oil, and vitamin E smells like black tea and blackberry and is made in France for use throughout your home. Formulated without coloring agents, animal fats, and parabens, reviewers call it light and non-greasy with a luxurious formulation and gentle scent. The black-and-white bottle is chic enough to go anywhere.
A Shave And A Hair Cut
Have you ever shaved with a razor made of wheat straw? That’s what I thought. These twin-blade razors are 100 percent compostable and come in a box of 50, making them great for traveling or for businesses who want to provide razors for less than 40 cents per piece. Even the box they come in is environmentally friendly, made from recycled materials.
Pad Your Beauty Resume
I can’t do without makeup remover pads in my beauty arsenal, but I’ve always felt bad about the cotton disposable kind. These makeup remover pads, however, are reusable and washable and come with a handy bag to keep them from getting lost in the wash. A set of 30 is included here, boasting a mix of terry scrubbers, soft cotton pads, and charcoal makeup removers.
These Babies Are The (Bath) Bombs
I love bath bombs, but I don’t love not knowing what kinds of chemicals might be in them. This 12-piece set of bath fizzies uses ingredients you can pronounce like baking soda, cocoa butter, Epsom salt, and coconut oil to create not only a swirl of color in the bathtub but a hydrating experience as well. One reviewer who called herself a “bath bomb connoisseur” said: “I can’t say enough how much I love these over the 10-12 other brands I’ve tried.”
Not Just Fresh; LA Fresh
If you want all-day hydration, you need a good day moisturizer, a natural and cruelty-free moisturizer that’s made by LA Fresh. The formula features a light, natural scent and jojoba seed oil, olive oil, and grapeseed oil, all known for their anti-inflammatory, moisturizing and antioxidant properties. It’s also anti-aging and fights fine lines and wrinkles with collagen-producing peptides, hyaluronic acid, antioxidants, vitamin E, and an anti-aging botanical complex.
Try A Reef-Safe Sunscreen
I was uneducated about reef-safe sunscreen until I moved to the beach and started doing a bit of research. This Unseen subscreen from Supergoop! is considered reef safe, which means it contains ingredients that eliminate or reduce toxic effects on marine life. This option is a totally invisible, weightless, scentless formula that provides oil-free sunscreen protection for all skin types, tones, and lifestyles.
Detangler — Add Milk And Sugar, Please
Hair detanglers are a dime a dozen, but a silicone-, sulfate- and paraben-free option is a bit trickier to find. This conditioning detangler for kids from NOAH uses only ECOCERT certified ingredients to effectively combat frizz and control static without weighing hair down. This one is specially formulated for kids with milk, vitamin E, and other proteins, but if you decide to use it on your hair, too, I’ll never tell.
Give Yourself A Hand
I’m never very far from a tube of hand cream. I just love for my hands to feel soft and hydrated; I love clean beauty even more. This vegan hand cream from Frudia combines sea butter and essential oils for vegan-friendly hydration with a light sandalwood and chamomile scent. Buy it in “dazzling,” “earthy” and “greenery” fragrances and enjoy ingredients derived from fruit and other organic sources.
Love, Beauty And Planet
When a brand is named Love Beauty & Planet, you sort of expect them to be at the forefront of loving both beauty products and the planet, don’t you? This shampoo/conditioner/leave-in set boasts a French lavender scent and both organic coconut and argan oil for smoothing and calming frizz. The line is safe for color-treated hair and follows the brand’s commitment to #smallactsoflove.
Smell Like A Native
Deodorant is one of those essential products (is it ever essential!) that I just never thought about in terms of being vegan or cruelty-free. Native Deodorant did the thinking for me, thank goodness, with its naturally-derived recipe that includes lavender and rose geranium oil and things like tapioca starch and coconut oil. Try it in coconut and vanilla or cucumber and mint in addition to the one pictured.
More Vitamin C Than OJ
“Finish your orange juice and then you can get up from the table.” We learn at an early age the importance of vitamin C, even if we don’t even really know why. Then, we get older, figure things out, and search out products that give us a good dose of the stuff. This vitamin C serum is a whopping 2 oz. in size and is packed with hyaluronic acid, jojoba oil, and — of course — vitamin C itself.
Ahh, Sugar Sugar
Brown sugar body scrub just sounds luxurious, doesn’t it? This scrub is a multitasker, working to exfoliate, cleanse, nourish and moisturize your skin with organic brown sugar crystals infused with organic essential oils, nutrients, and skin softeners. This one is unscented for folks who are sensitive to aromas, but you can also grab it in scents like cinnamon, vanilla, and coconut.
Concentrate — It’s Body Lotion
When I saw this body lotion concentrate bar … mind. blown. Packed in a compostable cardboard box, this body lotion concentrate uses naturally derived and sustainably sourced active ingredients like cocoa butter and eucalyptus essential oil. One bar makes 12 oz. of body lotion and, even better, it saves 23.7 ounces of water and one plastic bottle from manufacture and disposal into a landfill.
Join The Clean Revolution
I think we’ve all learned the importance of washing our hands more over the past year, haven’t we? With this foaming hand soap from Clean Revolution, you’re not only staying clean, but you’re also bettering the environment by using clean, non-toxic, eco-friendly ingredients. Clean Revolution is all about delivering reusable and refillable products, which is an eco-win in itself.
Belly Up To This Bar
Once I got over that body lotion bar a few products up, I started noticing a trend, like this super hydrating deep-conditioning bar for your hair. This option, titled “Too Delicious,” uses plant-based biodegradable ingredients and compostable packaging. Try its other varieties, too, like Curliosity (a co-wash and conditioner for wavy/curly hair) or Tone It Down, which is a purple conditioner for removing brassiness.
A Flawless Floss
Beauty is more than skin deep — think about your teeth! This biodegradable dental floss eschews the typical plastic containers and uses a refillable glass container. The 100% silk floss stretches to 33 feet in length (if you’re counting) and can be added straight to your compost pile since it’s made of Kraft paper, compostable transparent stickers, and printed with soybean ink.
Put It On My Toothpaste Tab
While we’re on the topic of teeth, why not give these charcoal whitening toothpaste tablets a go? Also housed in a reusable glass jar, these tabs are infused with mint and work simply by popping one in your mouth, chewing until foamy, and then proceeding to brush as normal. You’ll be grinning from ear to ear knowing you’re using toothpaste that is 100 percent eco-friendly, natural, vegan, and cruelty-free.
Unicorns Are Jealous Of This Biodegradable Glitter
If there’s one thing you’ve probably never considered when it comes to eco-friendly products, it’s glitter. (I know, I hadn’t either.) This chunky body glitter features high-intensity pigment and metallic shine in a chunky size that’s actually made from a renewable plant-based raw material known as cellulose. Karizma glitters are tested on celebrities, not animals, and are vegan, cruelty-free, non-toxic, and cosmetic-grade.
Take Off The Day With This Organic Makeup Remover
All of that natural beauty you’re putting on your face has to be removed at some point. Don’t stray from your eco-commitment by grabbing a couple of bottles of this organic makeup remover made with aloe vera and witch hazel. This remover gets rid of dirt, oil, and sweat in a vegan, paraben-free, cruelty-free remover made right here in the USA.
A Zero-Waste Deodorant Like No Other
What I love about so many of the products on this list is that the manufacturers not only considered natural ingredients but zero-waste packaging, too. This natural deodorant set, which includes a full size and a travel mini, uses a gentle magnesium and baking soda formula. According to the manufacturer, one purchase will last you at least four months and the packaging is completely biodegradable as well.
Do You, Bamboo
Eco-friendly products don’t just mean clean ingredients; sometimes, it means eco-friendly materials. This brush and comb set is made from 100% natural bamboo, which grows fast, has a very high yield, and is sturdy and durable enough to be used in numerous applications. This set includes two air cushion paddle brushes and two combs — wide tooth and pointed tail.
Toner Time
When you think of fresh ingredients, what comes to mind? Fruits? Vegetables? Flowers? This vegan alcohol-free toner has a healthy dose of several things from those categories including oat, chrysanthemum, dandelion, cabbage, bergamot, bitter orange, and more. Using the power of fermentation, which has been used to boost the natural benefits of the ingredients, you get a toner that is especially good for dry skin.
Shave The Environment
I love it when a product says, “A little goes a long way,” because that means I’m about to get even more for my money. This plant-derived shave cream from Pacific Shaving Company includes things like aloe vera, shea butter, and sunflower seed oil to deliver smoother skin with no razor burn. And, thanks to its ingredients, it also delivers on its healthy, soothed skin promise.
By The Beard Of Zeus
This beard oil doesn’t come with cool packaging or a chic name, but it more than measures up with a silky blend of conditioning pumpkin seed and avocado oils that absorb quickly to hydrate dry beards, stubble, and facial hair without the oily residue. Think of it like pumpkin spice for your face … or don’t. But, it’s still free of parabens, phthalates, silicones, and mineral oil.
Goody Two Shoes
In my four decades on this planet, I’ve had nothing short of a few bazillion of these elastic hair ties. They’ve always just been regular old hair ties — until now. Now, they are crafted from plant-based and earth-friendly materials from Goody’s first-ever line of sustainable and natural hair accessories. These Planet Goody hair ties are made from viscose derived from bamboo, housed in outer packaging made from recyclable kraft paper.
Unisex Fragrance FTW
I’ve never heard of a unisex fragrance until I found this bergamot and wild rose fragrance from 100 BON. Available in a travel size, full bottle, or refill, this scent is a clean and fresh fragrance spray with notes of geranium, rose water and bergamot fragrance, rounded out by mandarin, vanilla, and subtle flower blossom. When you run out, grab the refill and keep doing good for our planet.
Wiped Out
Sometimes you’re just too tired to do the whole cleanse, exfoliate, tone, moisturize routine, am I right? These refreshing facial wipes are formulated with a combination of natural and organic ingredients like aloe vera that cleanses and moisturizes and green tea which detoxifies and purifies. The wipes themselves are made from biodegradable organic cotton.
Sing A Song of Six Soaps
What’s better than one bar of soap? How about six? What’s better than six? Nothing, unless you count these bars being vegan, cold-processed, and full of essential oils with no fragrances or synthetic chemicals. This six-pack box set from Crate 61 Organics includes interesting combos like avocado grapefruit, seaweed and sea salt, and eucamint along with traditional favorites like lemongrass, lavender, and coconut.
Snag This Vegan Sponge
When I think of makeup sponges, I’ll be honest and admit I had never considered what they were made of. Now that I’ve seen this vegan and latex-free beauty sponge blender, I’m questioning everything. Made in the classic teardrop shape with no edges, it helps create flawless maximum coverage in a vegan and cruelty-free package. I especially love the mini-coffee cup-style storage case it comes with.
Hey, Honey
I’m on a mission to incorporate more manuka honey into my diet and my beauty routines. This exfoliating face mask with manuka honey, aloe, and walnut shell powder is microdermabrasion in a jar. With its natural ingredients, it is less harsh on the skin than similar products with chemicals whose names you can’t pronounce. You can also leave it on longer, using it as an anti-aging mask.
Put On This Scrubbing Glove
I don’t know what a traditional Moroccan hammam exfoliating glove is exactly, but it helps exfoliate your skin and leave a glowing appearance behind. And, Amazon’s shoppers seem to love it, with nearly 7,000 reviews like this one: “My skin has never been smoother or healthier and the Argan oil I put on after while skin is moist soaks RIGHT in! My skin is silky smooth.”
Is That A Shower In Your Pocket?
No matter what your Mom used to say about showering every day, sometimes it’s just not possible. These cleansing face and body wipes are a good stand-in when running water isn’t an option. A large 12-by-12 size, these wipes can be used to remove sweat, stink, dirt and grime whether you’re stuck in traffic, camping, at the gym, or at the beach. These wipes are 100 percent biodegradable, too.
Giving Me Lip
Who needs a six-pack of organic lip balm? You do, that’s who. These 100 percent USDA organic lip balms come in fun flavors like vanilla bean, creamy coconut, eucalyptus mint, bing cherry, citrus blast, and strawberry breeze. Beyond that, they’re packed full of organic goodies like sunflower oil, beeswax, coconut oil, rosemary extract, organic flavorings, and more.
Falsies In A Tube
You don’t need falsies. Repeat after me: You don’t need falsies. Especially if you grab a tube of Lash Princess False Lash Effect Mascara from essence. This mascara allows you to define and separate lashes while achieving a bold look right from a tube. This company is certified cruelty-free and has earned nearly 200,000 rave reviews from fans of this product on Amazon.
Let’s Just Take A Swab
Hear me out before you dismiss the idea of a reusable cotton swab, O.K.? This plastic-free set includes four swabs with bamboo silicone tips and a portable bamboo travel case. Unlike the plastic variety, nothing here is plastic from the sticks to the packaging. Bamboo cotton swabs are a great option for beauty, pet care, baby care, arts and crafts, and whatever else your heart desires.
You’re Making Me Blush
Um, first of all, blush never looks as good on me as it does on the model pictured. Let’s get that out of the way. This creme cheek blush from Honest Beauty is cruelty-free and made without parabens, paraffin, talc, petrolatum, mineral oil, or synthetic fragrances. It’s also available in four gorgeous colors from a bright warm peach to a dusty neutral pink to the cool plum pictured.
Nailed It
Nail products are probably one of the biggest offenders of harsh chemicals and toxic ingredients in the beauty industry. This nail polish remover from Mineral Fusion is clearly an industry disruptor with its non-acetone formula that uses effective natural ingredients free of gluten, parabens, talc, artificial colors, synthetic fragrances, SLS, and phthalates. It works to remove shellac polish, regular nail polish, and Mineral Fusion’s own gel polishes without stripping or overdrying nails.