Finding the Beauty in Earth Day

In honor of Earth Day, we wanted to discuss the importance of recycling old beauty products. We spend lots of money on these items, and usually the containers are just too awesome to toss. Other times, there is just no use for them, and they need to be tossed. Make sure to check out Earth991 to find out which materials are hazardous and how to dispose of them.


Nail Polish: Most of us have tons of old nail polishes sitting in our bathroom drawer. They are almost empty, dried up, or screams the 80’s and you will never wear them again. Did you know that throwing them away in the trash is harmful to the environment? The Environmental Protection Agency says that nail polish is considered a Household Hazardous Waste Material, and should be disposed of properly. Find a recycling center near you, or, if you are crafty, here’s a couple of fun ways to reuse your old nail polish bottles:
- Get artsy and mix a couple of old colors together
- Use for arts and crafts projects with the kids
- Decorate the bottle and use it as a ring holder

Make Up and Perfume Bottles: Women tend to collect make up and perfume like crazy. Every season, we try to stay up with new trends, colors and scents and end up with a huge collection barely used products. When you are done with your make up (either because you used it all, or the color is soo last season), check with your make up company, as many of them will collect your empty make up containers and recycle them. Some will even give you a product or sample in return! If you are looking to toss old perfume bottles, we suggest checking with your local Hazardous Waste Facility before placing them in the recycling bin. The empty bottles still contain toxins from the perfume that should not be placed with other recyclables. Since some packaging is pretty stylish, you may want to keep the empty containers. Here are a couple of suggestions:
- Use lipstick containers to hold things like pills, Q-Tips, bobby pins, or mini sewing kits.
- Place loose change, jewelry or pills in empty loose powder pots
- Take off the top of a perfume bottle, and use it as a single stem vase
- Fill old bottles with water, and use to mist indoor plants
- Place an essential oil in perfume bottle and add tall wooden skewers to create a room diffuser


Other Lotions and Potions: Both men and women seem to rack up huge collections of bottles and containers. Shampoo bottles, hair gel, face wash, moisturizers (even Antiox™ Daily)….the list goes on and on. When we are done with these products, we usually pour them down the drain or toss them in the trash. If the container is completely empty of any product, it is okay to recycle them. If there is still product in it, you will want to make sure to take to a hazardous waste location. Bottles with product inside are considered flammable and can pollute the landfill.


If you are looking for earth-friendly products, all HydraFacial™ take home products are completely recyclable! Whatever you choose to do with your old beauty products, just make sure you are doing something that Mother Earth would be proud of this Earth Day!