Microplastics in Beauty Products: Where They Hide and How to Avoid Them

Microplastics are plastic particles smaller than 5 millimeters. They enter the ocean from many sources: degrading larger plastics, synthetic clothing fibers, tire wear, and personal care products. The beauty industry is one of the few sources that adds microplastics intentionally.

Where Microplastics Hide in Cosmetics

The most obvious offender is exfoliating scrubs. Those tiny beads that give facial and body scrubs their gritty texture are often made of polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP). Each use sends thousands of plastic particles down the drain. Wastewater treatment plants catch some, but particles smaller than 0.3mm pass through filtration and enter waterways.

Scrub beads are not the only source. Microplastics appear in cosmetics in forms most people do not recognize:

Liquid microspheres. Some foundations, primers, and BB creams use plastic microspheres for a smooth, blurring effect on the skin. Listed as polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) or nylon-12 on ingredient labels.

Glitter. Conventional glitter is made from aluminum bonded to polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Every eyeshadow, body shimmer, and nail polish containing glitter releases microplastic fragments. Biodegradable glitter alternatives made from cellulose exist but are not yet common in mainstream products.

Film-forming agents. Some hair sprays, setting sprays, and mascaras use liquid plastics (acrylates copolymer, polyurethane) that dry into thin plastic films. These wash off during cleansing and enter wastewater as dissolved or fragmented plastic.

Controlled-release encapsulation. Some serums and moisturizers encapsulate active ingredients in plastic microspheres for slow release. The plastic shell eventually washes away.

Scale of the Problem

A 2015 study estimated that a single use of an exfoliating facial scrub releases approximately 94,500 microbeads. With millions of people using these products daily, the cumulative load is staggering.

The United Nations Environment Programme estimated that cosmetics and personal care products contribute 2% of global microplastic pollution in the ocean. That sounds small until you consider the total: an estimated 8-12 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean annually. Two percent of that is 160,000-240,000 tons of microplastic from beauty products alone.

What Microplastics Do in the Ocean

Microplastics do not biodegrade. They persist for centuries. In the ocean, they cause harm through several pathways.

Ingestion. Marine organisms from zooplankton to whales ingest microplastics. Plankton mistake them for food. Fish eat contaminated plankton. Seabirds eat contaminated fish. At every level of the food chain, microplastics accumulate. A 2019 study found microplastics in 100% of sea turtles sampled across all major ocean basins.

Toxin transfer. Microplastics adsorb persistent organic pollutants (POPs) from surrounding seawater. PCBs, DDT, and heavy metals bind to plastic surfaces at concentrations 100 to 1,000,000 times higher than in the surrounding water. When marine animals ingest the plastic, they receive a concentrated dose of these toxins.

Coral damage. Microplastics are ingested by coral polyps. Research published in Marine Pollution Bulletin found that coral exposed to microplastics showed reduced feeding rates, impaired energy reserves, and signs of stress. Combined with chemical sunscreen pollution, microplastics add another stressor to already fragile reef systems.

Sediment contamination. Heavy microplastics sink and accumulate in ocean sediment, altering the chemistry and biology of the seafloor ecosystem. Benthic organisms (those living on or in the seafloor) are particularly affected.

How to Read Labels

The tricky part: microplastics are not always labeled in obvious ways. Here are the ingredient names to watch for:

• Polyethylene (PE) — the most common microbead material
• Polypropylene (PP) — used in scrubs and rinse-off products
• Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) — microspheres in foundations and primers
• Nylon-6, Nylon-12 — powder and microsphere forms in makeup
• Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) — glitter and some film-forming agents
• Acrylates copolymer, acrylates crosspolymer — liquid plastic film formers
• Polyurethane — film former in hair and setting products

If any of these appear in the ingredient list, the product contains microplastics. The Beat the Microbead app (by the Plastic Soup Foundation) lets you scan product barcodes and check instantly.

Legal Status

The US Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015 banned the manufacture and sale of rinse-off cosmetics containing intentionally added plastic microbeads. This removed the most obvious source (exfoliating scrub beads) but did not cover leave-on products like makeup, sunscreen, or hair products that also contain microplastics.

The European Union proposed a comprehensive restriction on intentionally added microplastics in 2023, covering all cosmetic product types. Full phase-out is expected by 2035, with rinse-off products restricted first.

Canada, South Korea, and several other countries have enacted partial bans similar to the US model: rinse-off products only.

None of these regulations address microplastics that enter cosmetics unintentionally (packaging degradation) or microfibers from synthetic packaging materials.

Alternatives

For every microplastic-containing product, alternatives exist:

• Exfoliants: Use scrubs with salt, sugar, jojoba beads, ground walnut shell, rice bran, or pumice. Our sea salt scrub recipes use zero plastic.
• Glitter: Biodegradable glitter from brands like BioGlitz or EcoStardust uses plant cellulose.
• Foundation: Mineral foundations use zinc oxide and titanium dioxide for coverage without plastic microspheres.
• Hair products: Look for products using plant-based film formers (pullulan, carageenan) instead of acrylates.

Switching to sustainable beauty products eliminates the microplastic problem at the source. Read ingredient lists. Avoid the chemicals listed above. Your skin does not need plastic to look good.