Nanoplastics, What are they and How can we Avoid them?

It seems like it’s almost impossible to avoid plastics in our lives. Plastic products are literally EVERYWHERE- shampoos, toothpaste tubes, creams, snacks, nearly all food packaging, baby toys, and the list goes on and on! Abundant as it is, there is one teeny tiny plastic we often overlook and may not even think about when we hear the word plastic.

I’d like to share an article by Peter Borkens, Dutch Entrepreneur in Sustainability and Change, sharing some insight on nanoplastics and the harm they can cause to our health and our environment. To read his original blog post, go here.

Nanoplastics, what are they?

Unfortunately, a lot of the cosmetics we use today contain microplastics which are basically tiny bits of plastics less than five millimeters long. There’s really no plastic size limit smaller than microplastics, however, scientists have started using the term nanoplastic for particles smaller than a few micrometres. This distinction of terms is useful because these tiny nano particles are extremely difficult to filter from the environment using other methods traditionally used for microplastics.

Nano plastics are made up of ‘Acrylates Copolymer’ also known as styrene copolymer. These tiny plastics have been intentionally added to our cosmetics since the 1960s. They are what give the lotions and creams the shine and smoothness customers look for in beauty products.

Often times you can find them in skin care products for that scrub effect, toothpastes, facial cleansers, bath products and even makeup! See a list of 11 makeup brands exposed for their use of micro plastics here with products like mascara, lipstick, and foundations ranking with the highest concentrations of plastics!

“I found out that many of these so-called ‘revitalization’ products have misleading texts on their containers and packages. In my case, I discovered that the manufacturer of my shower gel uses nano plastics. They call their gel in Dutch, Zee Mineralen (sea minerals). What? That’s a good one, because plastic nowadays actually is in the sea!”

— Peter Borkens

Why should we care?

These microplastics and nanoplastics are absorbed into our bodies through the skin and our bodies don’t know how to break them down. They’ve even been found in the placenta of unborn babies! Although the health impacts of these plastics in the body are unknown, scientists did say they could cause significant long-term damage to fetus’s developing immune system. There’s a potential risk that instead of being simply stuck in the guts of organisms, nanoplastics can penetrate tissues much easier than larger pieces of plastic causing much harm to ocean and aquatic life but, there still isn’t enough research to really know how nanoplastics impact our health and environment.

Fortunately, The European Commission has opened a call for more data on the health effects on nano particles in our bodies. But while more research and legislation continues to be gathered and studied, we should be doing our own part to avoid ingesting this toxic particles.

How to avoid the plastic particles?

It’s important to be cautious and aware of every product we’re buying and putting on our skins. Anything that may be labeled as smoothing, revitalizing or scrubbing the body should be checked twice to make sure they don’t contain microplastics.

Look out for ingredients such as ‘acrylates, styrene, copolymer, polyethylene, nylon, and PMMA,’ these are all nano or micro plastics. Instead look for products made from natural materials with as few ingredients as possible. Check out BeattheMicrobead.org for plastic free cosmetics. You can also use the Beat the Microbead app for a quick way to learn if your cosmetics and personal care products contain plastic ingredients!