More and more cosmetics contain tiny plastic beads called microbeads. These microplastics are a hazard to our environment.

Beat the Microbead is now a truly worldwide campaign.

But, I love the feeling I get after I gently exfoliate my face and I always say to my clients to do it gently two times weekly. Exfoliating is a big part of your skin care routine.

Microbeads are a part of many facial exfoliants, but do you know what they really are? They are these little tiny pieces of plastic that are 5mm or less and, yes, they do exfoliate your skin but now they are all adding up and they’re polluting the Great Lakes.

The state of New York announced the Microbead-Free Waters Act and if it’s passed it will bar microbeads. But if they are bad for the environment what exactly are they doing to your skin?

Dermatologist answers: Exfoliators help to remove all your make-up residue but if it is hurting the environment there are other alternatives to use instead. Other exfoliators are still 100 percent effective as these beads.

Companies like Johnson & Johnson, The Body Shop and L’Oreal have started to phase out these the use of microbeads in their products to get rid of them by 2015.

Good News for all our estimated spa visitors, we have the alternative: Thalgo Exfoliant uses only bio degradable microbeads!

~ Rita-Claudia Schrager
Aesthetician and Spa Director