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Microbeads: What are they and what do they do?

Nicole Anson
Sep 12, 2016
2 min read

What are microbeads? What do they do? Thanks to Diane from Calgary, Canada for mentioning microbeads in her comment. I didn't know what they were so I investigated and thought to make a blog about them! Here's more about it.

I found a really good video explaining microbeads so you can watch that below but I will still be writing more.

What are they?

Microbeads are pieces of plastic which are 0.1 to 0.5 millimetres in size used in beauty products like facial and body scrubs to give a grainy texture for exfoliation. They are advertised as a "healthy beauty advance" even though they are not proven to be good in any way BUT, they are VERY dangerous for ocean life as they are polluting the ocean and killing animals.

Why aren't they banned?

Companies use microbeads in their products because plastic is much cheaper than natural exfoliants we use to use. It's also an excuse to sell more because they are used so quickly that you need to buy more and more when you run out. Some places have already banned them, countries like Australia, Sweden, Denmark, Canada are banning them and shops like Waitrose, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Marks & Spencers in the United Kingdom have banned them.

How do they affect the ocean?

They affect the ocean because they're designed to go down the drain. They are so small that water treatment plants can't catch them so billions go into the ocean everyday. They also absorb all the toxic around it like a sponge so a single microbead can be a million times more toxic than the wate

r around it. Fish then end up eating them, becoming sick and die and they could also be caught by humans and eaten for dinner. Then we would become sick and maybe even die.

How do I know a product has microbeads in it?

The product would have tiny ball shaped objects in it like in the picture below or it would just say on the label. When looking for beauty products in the shop, make sure you look at the ingredients and see if it has any one of these listed down. These all mean it has microbeads in it.