Microplastics are simply small pieces of plastic. To be called a microplastic, the piece must be smaller than 5 millimeters, but often they are much smaller and are called microbeads. Microplastics are added to many cosmetics. According to some, they have excellent properties and cosmetics cannot do without them. Others are mainly concerned about the negative impact that the spread of microplastics entails. Microplastics are abundant in the environment, they are found in animals, they have a place in our food chain, and have even been found in human blood. But what exactly are microplastics?

What exactly are microplastics?

Microplastics are pieces of plastic up to 5 millimeters in size, so quite large. When talking about plastic in cosmetics, we are not really talking about microplastics, but about microbeads, which are much smaller (0.5 mm maximum). And you sometimes can't even see those microbead pieces.

Microbeads are therefore a product consisting of plastic specifically made for cosmetics. It is very cheap to produce. At least, financially it is very cheap; for the environment, it is less good.

Why are microplastics used in cosmetics?

According to some experts, microplastics offer truly amazing properties. Shower gels would get a much better texture. Creams would become much more spreadable. And what about scrub soap, how would you ever make that without microplastics?

Such experts disregard the fact that purely natural ingredients are also suitable for this.

What we know about microplastics (microbeads) is that they are incredibly cheap to produce. Much cheaper than natural alternatives. Perhaps that is the real reason why they are widely used.

You could almost speak of unfair competition.

What is the danger of microplastics?

In October 2020, a documentary about microplastics was broadcast on the television program "Keuringsdienst van Waarde". The documentary explains very well the pros and cons of microplastics.

It is striking that not many people know exactly what microplastics are. Some don't even know that microplastics are present in cosmetics. But the reality is that most cosmetics contain microplastics.

Take, for example, a scrub soap with microplastics. After applying the scrub soap, the residues wash down the drain, on their way to the sewer, the wastewater treatment plant, and back into the environment. In this way, microplastics end up in our drinking water, for example. Microplastics are regularly found in animals, such as fish, but actually all animals. It is logical that microplastics are found in the stomach. But microplastics are even found in the fat of the animal. In other words, microplastic enters the stomach through the mouth, is then absorbed, and ends up in the fat via the bloodstream.

The number of microplastics in cosmetics is, of course, well within the maximum allowed limits per package. The danger, however, could lie in the total of all microplastics that a person consumes per day. This simply cannot be calculated.

How do I recognize microplastics in cosmetics?

Microplastics are sometimes not very easy to recognize on the ingredient list. Sometimes you can recognize them by their plastic name, for example, polyethylene, polypropylene, acrylates copolymer, or polyacrylate.

But manufacturers also use other methods to make the use of microplastics (consciously or unconsciously) less noticeable. Microplastic is then often described as PEG, followed by a number.

Is there also cosmetics without microplastics?

The question of what microplastics do in cosmetics has been answered above. Cosmetics get a better texture, are more spreadable, and get that nice scrub effect. Oh, and it's very cheap.

All these things are also perfectly achievable with cosmetics consisting of natural ingredients. Just try the creams from Evergetikon for fun; you'll see how spreadable they are. Anyway. In one area, cosmetics without microplastics will never win, and that is price. It is simply more expensive to make a shampoo that does not contain microplastics than one that does.

But is it possible? Absolutely.

Whether microplastic is good or bad, we at Pure Health Store leave entirely up to you. We only choose to sell products without microplastics.