Bamboo Beauty
Sustainable plant-based beauty products are currently experiencing a boom in popularity thanks to the ongoing green movement and health concerns about artificial and chemical-based cosmetics. Bamboo is an ideal ingredient for beauty treatments and tools, due to its multitude of applications and its environmentally-friendly rapid growth rate (some species can grow 3-4 feet in a single day). It's now easier than ever to find products made with bamboo charcoal, bamboo leaf extract, bamboo sap, bamboo stem extract, and even bamboo plant water extracted from young bamboo shoots. The following products will help you green your routine and look your best at the same time.
Black soap (Annie Hall's favorite) looks awesome on its own, but this bar of bamboo charcoal soap is so attractively packaged you might not want to unwrap it. $9.50.
Fresh Appleseed Brightening Exfoliant
Brighten your complexion with this facial scrub, which uses tiny bamboo fragments and pomegranate seeds, along with natural citrus acids, to slough off dead skin and reveal your true beauty. 3.4 oz for $60.
Basic hairbrushes and beauty tools are often made of earth-destroying plastics or not-so-sustainable hardwoods, but Sephora offers a line of bamboo alternatives. $12-$34.
Maca Root Oil Balance Protector
Men can integrate bamboo into their grooming routines too. This affordable daily moisturizer harnesses the power of bamboo stem extract powder to absorb oil and keep shiny skin at bay. 3.4 oz for $18.
Bamboo stem extract contributes rejuvenating qualities to this soothing body wash. 10.2 oz for $18.
Grassroots Bamboo Leaf Ultra Soothing Anti-Redness Cream
Skin irritation and dryness can ruin your day, but you can put out the fire with the help of this bamboo leaf extract-derived cream. 1.7 oz for $32.50.
The Parisian beauty house Kenzo uses bamboo water (called "Chuli" in Chinese medicine) as an energizing element in this cleansing and purifying lotion. 5.1 oz for $28.
This washcloth spun from bamboo yarn is super soft and naturally hygienic, so it's perfect for sensitive skin. $8.50.