The essential solutions for a zero waste beauty routine.

ECOLOGY On the occasion of European Waste Reduction Week, here are some simple steps to go towards zero waste in the bathroom baths ...

Article by Anne Demoulin. Posted on 11/21/18 at 6:58 p.m. on 20 minutes .

• 75,000 tonnes of packaging for cosmetic and hygiene products are thrown away each year in France.
• Only 21% of French people sort bathroom packaging correctly.
• There are solutions to avoid disposable products.
• Solid cosmetics are on the rise.

The beauty routine is a monumental source of waste. Between the bottles, tubes and jars, 75,000 tonnes of packaging of cosmetic and hygiene products are thrown away each year in France, according to an IPSOS study commissioned by Eco Emballages published in 2010. The equivalent of the weight of ten Eiffel towers. On the occasion of European Waste Reduction Week, here are some simple steps you can take to reduce your bathroom waste even if you are not (yet) ready to live like Bea Johnson , world high priestess of zero waste.

We start by sorting

Some 47.6 million perfume bottles and 440 million skincare and make-up products are sold each year in France. Only 55% of French people say they systematically sort bathroom packaging. Only 21% of French people sort them correctly .

Since April 2016, the 515 Marionnaud stores in France have been collecting all empty beauty products, perfume bottles, nail polish, jars and tubes of cream, lipsticks, eyeliners, makeup palettes, mascaras … Whether or not purchased from Marionnaud. To reward you for your eco-responsible gesture, Marionnaud is offering you a 20% reduction on the purchase of a product. Nocibe and Sephora are doing the same type of operation with perfume bottles.

Striving for zero waste also means sorting out your bathroom and keeping the cosmetics that you really use and questioning the acquisition of the glitter varnish that you will only wear 'in the New Year. It is also to favor multi-use products such as Multipurpose fragrance-free balm, Les petits prödiges (14.90 euros) or Solid cocoa butter with baobab oil and Lamazuna frangipani (9.95 euros). Treatments that are equally useful for the body, face and hair.

A sustainable alternative to every disposable item. While durable products come at a cost in the first year because you need to equip them, they save money in the long run. According to ConsoGlobe , a woman uses an average of 6 cottons per day to remove makeup and take care of her skin, i.e. 2190 cottons per year, at a cost of 20 to 100 euros per year depending on the brand used. Those in organic cotton are suitable for all skin types, those in bamboo or hemp fibers for combination and oily skin, while those in eucalyptus fibers will soothe dry & sensitive skin. Emma's Eco Belle Trends Kit (29.90 euros), ready to use, consists of 15 washable make-up removing squares (material of your choice), a kit for storing them and a net for washing them. Perfect for starting and replacing six years of disposable cotton.

Plastic cotton swabs have been banned for sale since July 1 in favor of biodegradable and compostable cotton swabs? Another solution, the bamboo earpick, infinitely reusable Oriculi offers sticks with a colored ball at the end, which makes it possible to differentiate his own from that of other members of the family, and from the other. , a microspatula to collect the earwax. After use, rinse with soap and water.

We brush our teeth with bamboo brushes, 100% biodegradable. The rotating brush Be. is 100% mechanical. It only takes two turns at its base to release the energy needed for 80,000 rotations, or two minutes of brushing. Its refills are made of bamboo.

Products are solid

Bye bye shower gel, the soap is back! We choose it from 100% natural origin. The must? A cold saponified soap surgras! It will have retained its emollient agents and is enriched with vegetable oils and / or butters for well hydrated skin.

Solid shampoos and conditioners are shaped like a bar of soap and apply to hair like soap. Make the wise decision to opt for those without sulfates and silicones at the same time. Weighing around sixty grams, they provide between 60 and 80 shampoos, about twice as much as a conventional 250 ml bottle. Ultra-practical, these solid products are already in travel size.

There are also solid deos in the form of bread, like those from Lamazuna, or in the form of solidified cream, and sold with a small spatula which allows the product to be removed in a hygienic way. Most brands enrich them with vegetable butters that will nourish the skin.

Plastic toothpaste tubes are residual waste and are therefore not intended for recycling. The French buy 189 million per year, according to Planetoscope . And it is estimated that 4% of the tube is wasted because it is difficult to extract at the end, or 70,000 tonnes of toothpaste thrown in the trash every year. If many brands such as Pachamamai, Lamazuna or Les soaps de Joya offer it in solid format, it is still quite expensive. The easiest way is to make it yourself - there are plenty of easy recipes on the Internet - and store it in a reusable container. It takes less time than cooking a fried egg and it's 100% eco-responsible.