#goodvibesbeauty - ĀTHR Beauty Blog

TEFLON (PTFE) IN MAKEUP

Tue, Feb 23, 21

Fluorinated chemicals like Teflon don't break down in the environment – they’re found in oceans, local waterways, and in animals, fish, and people. They’ve even been found in super remote regions in the polar ice caps.

How does this happen? Let’s say a face wash with PTFE is washed down the drain – it then enters our waterways and gets ingested by fish, which eventually end up on human plates. Once it enters the body (human or animal), it just continues to accumulate, never breaking down.



A month-long compassion challenge, Veganuary is your chance to try out the vegan life for the month of January. While it started with just food, Veganuary is broadening its horizons to include vegan beauty, skincare, and fashion. Keep reading to find out:

  • Why take part in Veganuary?
  • All the ways to participate: food, beauty, and fashion.
  • All the resources to get you on your merry, vegan way.

The first most sustainable thing we can do as beauty buyers is change our buying habits:

  • Buy fewer products (and choose quality, long-lasting products that multitask)
  • Choose sustainably packaged products wherever possible

And the next best thing we can do: recycle. Keep reading for facts and tips to help you navigate the confusing world of beauty recycling!   

Are synthetics more sustainable than natural ingredients? The short answer: sometimes. The truth is, sustainable sourcing goes much deeper than natural vs synthetic – it’s a seriously in-depth process that’s A LOT to think about!

Keep reading to learn more about how we evaluate ingredients for sustainability, and why in some situations, a safe synthetic is the most sustainable option.

Found in almost every compact, lipstick, and palette, magnets are a mainstay in the beauty world. They keep products shut, create that satisfying ‘click’, keep refillable inserts in place, and recently they’ve even been put inside products like false eyelashes and as actual ingredients in skincare masks (scary).

Almost every cosmetic product contains some sort of palm oil or palm oil derivative. To grow palm oil, growers burn down forests to clear the land. Animals lose their homes, developers aggressively seize land from indigenous groups, and the fires give off huge amounts of greenhouse gases, formaldehyde, cyanide, and small particles that cause serious health conditions and many deaths. 

While COVID has had some positive effects on the environment (cleaner air and clearer waters), it’s had the opposite effect on plastic usage. With many grocery stores banning reusable bags and containers, and coffee shops like Starbucks rejecting reusable cups, plastic use is at an all-time high. Not to mention, many areas that previously banned single-use plastic have lifted their bans during coronavirus. Plus, we’re all using plastic-laden, disposable PPE at an inconceivable rate.

So, what can we do? Can we bounce back from this? And how big is the problem really? While a completely Plastic Free July probably isn’t possible during COVID, we can arm ourselves with tips and truths to choose better and bounce back from the plastic pandemic when this is all (blessedly) over.

In the middle of the Black Lives Matter movement, where so much of the world is fighting against police brutality and social injustice, another important (and lesser-known) issue is being brought up – environmental racism. The fact that climate change and environmental hazards disproportionately affect BIPOC, and that climate change is being made worse by systemic racism.