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Microplastics in Beauty Products: Nourish Your Skin, Not Pollute the Ocean

Microplastics in Beauty Products: Nourish Your Skin, Not Pollute the Ocean Walk into any UK high street chemist and the odds are that the beauty products on the shelves contain microplastics. These synthetic polymer plastics are invisible to the naked eye, yet they pass through water treatment systems, enter the food chain and accumulate in the human body. This Earth Day, we are calling on the UK government to ban microplastics from beauty products and cosmetics entirely. A Problem Hidden in Plain Sight The Plastic Soup Foundation estimates that microplastics are present in 9 out of 10 cosmetics and personal care products. Scientists have detected microplastics in human blood, lungs, placentas and breast milk. The scale of the issue is hard to overstate. The European Union has already acted, introducing a sweeping restriction on intentionally added microplastics in cosmetics under Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/2055. The UK hasn’t adopted an equivalent measure. DEFRA research published in 2025 estimated that, without intervention, up to 50,000 tonnes of microplastics from intentionally added sources alone could be emitted into the UK environment by 2043. To put that in perspective, that is the equivalent of filling the Royal Albert Hall more than thirty times over. 'Natural' Doesn’t Always Mean Microplastic-Free This is where things get frustrating for shoppers. Products labelled "natural", "organic" or "eco-friendly" may still contain microplastics in the form of synthetic polymer film-formers, thickeners and texture agents. In the absence of any UK-wide regulation, the burden of scrutiny falls entirely on the consumer. As Craig Larkin, Managing Director at re:gn, puts it: "Microplastics did not appear in beauty products by accident. They were added because they were cheap, versatile and invisible, while the industry assumed no one would ever ask questions. But people are asking now, and Earth Day is the perfect time to call on the government to act." Nobody should have to cross-reference their foundation ingredients just to feel good about buying it. Nature Got There First At re:gn, we stock over 327 plastic-free beauty products across seven categories, from eco-friendly skincare and organic haircare to eco-friendly makeup, each selected for their natural, non-synthetic formulas. That includes corners of the beauty aisle where plastic-free alternatives are rarely found on the high street, such as nail care and makeup, where synthetic polymers are commonly used as film-formers and texture agents. [269956513857, asc_alphabet, asc_price, 12] The ingredients our brands use, bamboo, plant-based oils, natural waxes and botanical extracts, are inherently free of synthetic polymers. They come from the ground rather than a petrochemical plant. There is nothing to reformulate, nothing to clean up and no hidden ingredient list to worry about. Craig sums it up well: "What we have always believed at re:gn is that the most sustainable product is one that was never a problem in the first place. You don’t need to reformulate bamboo. You don’t need to clean up a shea butter supply chain. Nature got there first. We are just making it easier for people to find." Where to Start When people think about cutting plastic from their routine, the shampoo bottle is often the first thing they look at. But the microplastics in mascara, blush and eyeshadow palettes are just as real, and just as invisible on the label. Every brand we stock is built around the principle that the best beauty routine is one that leaves no trace: not on your skin, not in the water supply, and not in the ocean. [269956513857, asc_alphabet, asc_price, 12]