What Are Microbeads
Micro beads. It sounds kind of scientific, right? Politicians and environmentalists have been making a lot of noise about the little objects as of late. You probably used micro beads this morning and you may use them again tonight. Keep reading to find out what they are and why some say they’re threatening our environment.
So, I’ve always called these little things scrubbers. You know, the coarse little balls in face washes that make you feel like you are scrubbing all the gunk out of there that’s wreaking havoc on your face. Those little things are micro beads. I carefully plucked one out of my Neutrogena face wash for this photo.
To give you an idea of just how tiny these things are… it’s the little green dot you can barely see against my dark lipstick. They’re also in body wash, hand soaps, toothpaste, and a few other products.
So, what’s the BIG deal?
It’s actually that the beads are so… small. Politicians and environmentalists say the beads aren’t captured by filtering systems in water treatment plants because of their tiny size. According to them, they get flushed into large bodies of water where they’re eaten by birds and fish. They say that will threaten the health of those ecosystems.
If you’re interested in learning more, check out this article from The Washington Post.
Right now politicians in New York and New Jersey are working on legislation to ban the little plastic beads in those states.
I’ve used products with, and without, the beads and I can’t seem to tell if they make a difference. The last face wash I used was by Murad and it had beads that dissolved. While I haven’t made an honest effort to avoid the plastic beads all the chatter about it has gotten me thinking.
So, will you give up your precious microbeads, or do you think they’re not all that bad? Let’s talk about it in the comments!
